PARIS, 21st July, 2025 (WAM) -- With a textbook display of breakaway craftsmanship, Tim Wellens rode to his first Tour de France stage victory on Sunday afternoon. The Belgian national champion made the most of his opportunity up the road on stage 15, taking the day's honours and with it, UAE Team Emirates-XRG's fifth stage win of the race.

Wellens grasped his chance on the rolling roads from Muret to Carcassonne with both hands. The 34-year-old joined a speculative breakaway before conserving his energy and waiting for the ideal moment to strike out on his own.

Making his move with 43.5km to ride, Wellens immediately distanced his breakaway companions, and went to work at extending his advantage. Pedal stroke by pedal stroke, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rouleur began to put daylight between himself and his chasers, eventually raising his gap over those behind to well over a minute.

It was ultimately an exemplar of how to win from a breakaway, with the next-best rider crossing the finish line some one and a half minutes after Wellens had raised his arms in celebration.

For Wellens, the stage 15 win is a landmark moment, completing his set of stage victories from all three of cycling's Grand Tours. Having already taken two stages apiece at the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, the Belgian's victory in Carcassonne sees him become the 113th rider in history to have joined what is known as the 'Treble Club.'

With Wellens in the breakaway for the UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the 34-year-old was joined by the likes of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Matej Mohori (Bahrain Victorious), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), Victor Campenaerts and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Tim Wellens of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG won Tour de France 2025 stage 15 with a time of 3:34:09; Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) finished second at +1:28; followed by Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) at +1:36.

In the Tour de France 2025 general classification after stage 15, Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) retained the yellow jersey with an overall time of 54:20:44. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in second at +4:13, while Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) sits third at +7:53.