While the fight for the yellow jersey captures headlines at the Tour de France, there\u2019s a high-octane battle playing out at terrifying speeds in the bunch sprints. With finishes regularly topping 70 km\/h, this year\u2019s Tour has already delivered some blistering top speeds \u2014 and it\u2019s time to see who\u2019s really the fastest man in France so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Jonathan Milan\u2019s searing burst in Lille<\/strong> to Tim Merlier\u2019s gritty Stage 3 victory<\/strong> in Rouen, we\u2019ve crunched the numbers from the sprint finishes to rank the peloton\u2019s quickest men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though Milan didn\u2019t win Stage 1<\/strong>, his final 200m burst clocked an eye-watering 70.2 km\/h<\/strong> \u2014 the fastest recorded sprint speed of this Tour so far. The Lidl\u2013Trek sprinter\u2019s raw power in a straight-line finish turned heads, confirming his status as a serious threat for any flat-stage finish this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Philipsen\u2019s unfortunate crash and exit from the race, Milan now inherits both sprinting form and opportunity in equal measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the average speed was slightly lower in the rain-affected Stage 3 sprint into Rouen<\/strong>, Merlier\u2019s 66.4 km\/h top speed<\/strong> was enough to pip Bauhaus to the line by centimetres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than raw velocity, Merlier\u2019s win showcased perfect positioning and acceleration timing \u2014 essential when road conditions and nerves play havoc in the peloton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not just rider legs that dictate sprint speeds \u2014 conditions play a huge role:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biniam Girmay (Intermarch\u00e9\u2013Wanty)<\/strong> came close with 65.4 km\/h<\/strong> in Stage 3 despite finishing 5th, showing remarkable consistency in bunch gallops. Watch for the Eritrean star to edge closer to the 70 km\/h club as the Tour hits the flatter northern stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny)<\/strong>, another Classics-style sprinter, hit 65.7 km\/h<\/strong> on Stage 1, confirming his danger in chaotic finishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, Now with Philipsen sidelined<\/strong>, both Milan and Merlier emerge as favourites for the points classification. Milan\u2019s ability to hit higher top speeds bodes well for pure drag-race finishes, while Merlier\u2019s tactical acumen makes him lethal in scrappy, technical finales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If upcoming sprint stages feature headwinds or more urban finishes, expect Merlier to have the edge. If it\u2019s a wide, wind-assisted drag strip, Milan could clock a new Tour top speed record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Tour has already shown that the new generation of sprinters are pushing the boundaries of what\u2019s possible in the final 200 metres of a flat stage. As conditions improve and adrenaline surges, don\u2019t be surprised if we see someone crack 71 km\/h<\/strong> later this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Milan, Merlier, and Bauhaus<\/strong> \u2014 the fight for the fastest man in France is just getting started.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While the fight for the yellow jersey captures headlines at the Tour de France, there\u2019s a high-octane battle playing out at terrifying speeds in the bunch sprints. With finishes regularly topping 70 km\/h, this year\u2019s Tour has already delivered some blistering top speeds \u2014 and it\u2019s time to see who\u2019s really the fastest man in…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-de-france-2025"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":32,"label":"Tour de France 2025"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Evan Pembroke","author_link":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/author\/evan-pembroke\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":32,"name":"Tour de France 2025","slug":"tour-de-france-2025","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":32,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Full battle coverage of the Tour de France 2025, Stage guides, live results & route maps. Track every climb, sprint, and yellow jersey battle.","parent":0,"count":76,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":32,"category_count":76,"category_description":"Full battle coverage of the Tour de France 2025, Stage guides, live results & route maps. Track every climb, sprint, and yellow jersey battle.","cat_name":"Tour de France 2025","category_nicename":"tour-de-france-2025","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2763"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2768,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763\/revisions\/2768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franceletour.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\n\ud83d\udcca Fastest Sprint Speeds at the 2025 Tour de France (After Stage 3)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\ud83e\udd47 Position<\/th> Rider<\/th> Top Speed (km\/h)<\/th> Stage<\/th> Result<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> 1\ufe0f\u20e3<\/td> Jonathan Milan<\/strong><\/td> 70.2 km\/h<\/strong><\/td> Stage 1 (Lille)<\/td> 2nd (behind Philipsen)<\/td><\/tr> 2\ufe0f\u20e3<\/td> Jasper Philipsen<\/strong><\/td> 69.8 km\/h<\/td> Stage 1<\/td> 1st<\/td><\/tr> 3\ufe0f\u20e3<\/td> Tim Merlier<\/strong><\/td> 66.4 km\/h<\/td> Stage 3 (Rouen)<\/td> 1st<\/td><\/tr> 4\ufe0f\u20e3<\/td> Phil Bauhaus<\/strong><\/td> 65.9 km\/h<\/td> Stage 3<\/td> 2nd<\/td><\/tr> 5\ufe0f\u20e3<\/td> Arnaud De Lie<\/strong><\/td> 65.7 km\/h<\/td> Stage 1<\/td> 4th<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nJonathan Milan \u2014 The Unofficial Fastest Man in France<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nTim Merlier\u2019s Tactical Masterclass in Rouen<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhy Sprint Speeds Vary Stage to Stage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\n\n\nHonorable Mentions and Rising Speedsters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\ud83c\udfc6 What These Numbers Reveal About the Green Jersey Fight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThoughts: The 70 km\/h Club Is Growing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n