Favorites youth classification Tour de France 2025 | A one-man show for the white jersey? Maybe, maybe not…

As mentioned, a trend has emerged in recent years in which 18- or 19-year-olds can already compete at the highest level. And so, from 2020 to 2023, we saw four consecutive editions in which Tadej Pogacar won the white jersey, while also taking the yellow jersey twice and finishing second behind Jonas Vingegaard on the other two occasions.

In 2024, it was no different, with Pogacar, now too old, winning the yellow jersey. Still, Remco Evenepoel finished third on his Tour debut and thus received the white jersey in Nice, in addition to a spot on the final podium. The Belgian from Soudal-Quick Step has one more year to compete in the youth classification in 2025, as all riders born in or after 2000 are still eligible.

Every disadvantage has its advantage because although young riders sometimes compete in the youth classification for five or six years, a constant influx of new young talent also ensures that someone like Evenepoel is challenged. Pogacar simply stood out, but the Belgian can count on a few young guns who might just surprise us in the classification. Who are they? We asked our editorial team!

2024 Remco Evenepoel
2023 Tadej Pogacar
2022 Tadej Pogacar
2021 Tadej Pogacar
2020 Tadej Pogacar
2019 Egan Bernal
2018 Pierre Latour
2017 Simon Yates
2016 Adam Yates
2015 Nairo Quintana

We start the list with the winner of the Tour de l'Avenir in 2024, and then you're in for something special. The now 22-year-old British rider from Israel-Premier Tech beat UAE phenomenon Pablo Torres (three years his junior) in the Tour de France for the future. The fact that in 2024, in his first months with the team, he only rode for the development team for six months before making the move to the WorldTour core tells the whole story.

Blackmore can climb, is punchy, and proved in the spring that he can handle long and tough classics. The big question is how he will fare in three weeks because the only races longer than last year's shorter version of the Tour de l'Avenir (6 days) were the Tour du Rwanda, which he won last year, and the most recent Tour of Switzerland (both 8 days). Perhaps this Tour de France will be a good introduction, but maybe it will be more than that.

Soudal-Quick Step's intended leader is Evenepoel, but should anything happen to the Belgian; The Wolfpack has a strong candidate to fall back on. Ilan Van Wilder is the same age as his leader and, therefore, competes in the Tour for the last time in the youth classification. The climber has shown this year that he has taken a step forward, a development he acknowledged during the Tour de Suisse.

At the beginning of this year, he finished seventh in the Tour of the Algarve, tenth in Paris-Nice, sixth in the Basque Country, and recently eighth in Switzerland. Normally, this would not be enough to win the white jersey in the Tour de France, but Van Wilder has often grown in a Grand Tour in the past. He already finished twelfth in the 2023 Giro d'Italia, and as Evenepoel's domestique, he often rises above himself.

We will come across another Frenchman later in this list. Still, while the prediction of a good Tour for him is mainly based on potential and raw talent, Kévin Vauquelin's recent form proves that he is a dangerous contender for the race in his own country. Last year, he already pulled off a stunt with a stage win on day 2 of the Tour de France, and in the Tour de Suisse, he finished second behind the flying João Almeida of UAE.

Vauquelin has been in excellent form all year, with overall victories in the Star of Bessèges and the Région Pays de la Loire Tour as proof. The altitude training in May has clearly done him good and, at 24 years of age, we are very curious to see if he can take another step up on the biggest stage in the Tour. Arkéa-B&B Hotels will need it in their search for sponsors, although Vauquelin seems ready for a big step up with a good Tour.

Max Poole has already made a name for himself in the Giro d'Italia, and Picnic PostNL's other British hope also appears to have found success in 2025. Both top talents have performed very well in recent years, but they have often been plagued by illness and crashes. However, Poole finished eleventh in the Giro, and Onley will now get his chance in the Tour de France. For the general classification? Why not, we say, after his Tour of Switzerland.

The 22-year-old Onley finished third in the overall classification and impressed by giving Almeida a run for his money. The Dutch team is in desperate need of good results, so Onley may well go stage hunting. But anyone who does that can quickly find themselves in the GC. And try beating him on a course with only one flat time trial...

Belgium is naturally looking forward to Evenepoel's Tour ambitions, but it can also hope for three wonderful weeks with the young Lennert Van Eetvelt. The 23-year-old climber is making his Tour debut after two appearances in the Vuelta a España, and why shouldn't he immediately aim for a solid top ten finish in the GC? Van Eetvelt has certainly proven himself to be an effective attacker in one-day races, but it is his endurance that offers the most potential. Van Eetvelt is a born stage racer.

In his third season with Lotto, the results were not great, but that was because all the races were ridden before April. Then he broke his foot, and we didn't see him in the races anymore. That doesn't have to be a problem because the Belgian has prepared well at altitude. Perhaps chasing a stage win is more realistic, but if his legs are good and we take his all-round qualities into account, he could pull off a stunt, just like Van Eetvelt did in 2024 with his overall victory in the UAE Tour.

France would have preferred to see him in the Groupama-FDJ jersey, but that won't dampen the hype surrounding Lenny Martinez's Tour participation. The 21-year-old Frenchman made the switch from Groupama to Bahrain Victorious last winter, and that team is now proudly showcasing him in its project to make Martinez a Tour winner one day. With his previous employer, he made his debut in a Grand Tour in the Vuelta in 2023 and finished 24th after a flying start.

His Tour debut followed in 2024, although that seemed a bit like an act of revenge. Martinez was somewhat exhausted after a spring full of victories, but with the transfer to Bahrain imminent, Groupama sent him to his home race anyway. Martinez finished 124th, which did not do justice to his incredible climbing talent. In 2025, riding for his new team, he won a stage in Paris-Nice and the Dauphiné, finished fifth in Catalonia, and second in Romandy. Will he go all out for a Tour classification? Or will we see him chasing stages (and the mountain jersey)? If scenario A plays out, white might well be a realistic goal.

It feels like Carlos Rodriguez has been competing in the Tour for ten years, but the Spaniard is still only 24 and, therefore, eligible for white this year and next. He has never won that jersey in a Grand Tour, but he has come close several times. In his Grand Tour debut in the 2022 Vuelta, a crash in the final week prevented him from continuing to fight for the podium and the young rider's jersey. In the 2023 Tour, he finished fifth and won a stage, but Pogacar took the white jersey.

Last year, Rodriguez was back on track, but once again, a crash in the third week forced him to drop out of the podium battle and finish seventh overall. In last year's Vuelta, he finished tenth. That's four top ten finishes in four Grand Tours, an incredible achievement. But his preparation for the 2025 Tour was less than ever. He finished sixth in Valencia and Romandy, crashed out of the UAE Tour, and finished an anonymous ninth in the Dauphiné. Will he be back with a bang in July?

With the same number of points as Rodriguez (57), Mattias Skjelmose is actually tied for third place with the Spaniard from INEOS. The 24-year-old Dane has focused his entire year on his second participation in the Tour de France, even though he was still a bit reluctant in the winter and would have preferred to do the Giro d'Italia for a second time after his Vuelta debut last year. However, Lidl-Trek also sees the potential in the climber, who needs to reach the highest podium.

In hindsight, that's just as well because, after several months of crashes and physical setbacks, Skjelmose is ready for the Tour just in time. Whereas in 2023, he was still acting as a domestique for mountain king Giulio Ciccone, he now wants to go for the GC. He did that for the first time in last year's Vuelta, finishing fifth and winning the white jersey for the best young rider. Perhaps that will also be the outcome after his first attempt at a Tour classification.

There he was in the Critérium du Dauphiné, on the final podium alongside Pogacar and Vingegaard and, more importantly, ahead of Evenepoel. The 24-year-old German from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe withdrew early last year in his first Grand Tour in the Giro d'Italia, but later that season finished seventh in his first Vuelta a España. Expectations are high for his debut in the Tour de France, even though he has Primoz Roglic ahead of him.

Lipowitz is having a great year, and the Dauphiné was just one example of that. In only his third season as a professional, he also finished second in Paris-Nice (behind Matteo Jorgenson) and fourth in the Tour of the Basque Country, following his third-place finish in Romandy the previous year and victory in the Sibiu Cycling Tour. The Tour is a massive step up and perhaps a place in the general classification, and, indirectly, the yellow jersey is coming too soon. But in the world of cycling in 2025, that doesn't seem like a logical thought.

Remco Evenepoel is the defending champion in the points classification and, at 25 years of age, already a big name in cycling. What's more, as the reigning Olympic time trial champion and road race champion, with an overall victory in the Vuelta a España, stage wins in all three Grand Tours, and third place in last year's Tour, Evenepoel is in top form and the clear favorite for the white jersey, and perhaps even an outsider for the yellow.

His preparation in 2025 was better than it had been a year ago, although it was still not optimal following a crash in December during training. Evenepoel nevertheless wants to take a step towards Pogacar and Vingegaard, and anyone who says that also implies a victory in the youth classification. With his qualities on the climbs, on the time trial bike, and his tactical ability, Evenepoel is a complete stage racer. If nothing happens to him, he can win the white jersey one last time.

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])