This is what the Tour de France is.

It’s Jonas Abrahamsen, 29-years-old, not even a WorldTour rider, winner of only two bike races before – the last one 13 months ago, and the other one against riders you’ve never heard of – winning a helter-skelter stage 11 of the Tour de France.

It’s being a rider whose weight problems were so bad that it delayed his puberty.

It’s going against the grain of being lighter, and instead gaining 20 kilograms to a) be healthier and b) to be competitive in bike races.

It’s adding all that extra muscle and then switching from being a climber to a stocky, puncheur. No more mountain dreams; just breakaway and Classics dreams. “If I didn’t have a big change with my weight I would never be in the Tour de France and winning a stage,” he said.

This article was published by Cycling Weekly during the 2025 Tour de France. You can read the full article here.