Tour de France 2025 through the lens of James Startt - Stage 17

Wout van Aert hasn’t made the impact he would have liked on the Tour de France just yet, but it hasn’t been for the want of trying. His best result to date was second place in the sprint at Laval, while he was also prominent in the break on the road to Toulouse and Carcassonne.

In the final part of this Tour, Van Aert’s primary role will be in support of Jonas Vingegaard, and he set a fierce tempo for his leader at the foot of Mont Ventoux on Tuesday.

On stage 17, however, Van Aert had a degree of freedom, and he opted to accelerate with intent out of the peloton on the climb of the Col de Tartaiguille with 45km remaining. For a moment, it looked as though the Belgian was turning back the clock to his stunning solo win in Calais on the 2022 Tour, but he was unable to bridge up to the early break and he was swept up by the bunch 10km or so later.

By then, a heavy rain had begun to fall heavily over the Drôme and the roads were treacherous by the finish in Valence. After his attacking cameo, Van Aert played no part in the final sprint and he rolled across the line already thinking of the tasks ahead as the Tour faces into the Alps.

James Startt is covering his 36th Tour de France. He is a two-time winner of the World Sports Photography awards and he currently serves as the creative director to inGamba luxury cycling tours.