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Who Rules the Road

From Sky’s iron grip to today’s tug-of-war between UAE team Emirates-XRG and Visma-Lease a Bike, Tour de France glory has shifted from single riders to team powerhouses. In 2025, the question isn’t just who will win — it’s which system…

7 July 2025 2 minute read
Feature image for Who Rules the Road.

🟡 Riders, Nations or Teams? (2005–2024)

A #CoffeeTableViz blog post and #TableauPublic Viz

☕ Set up

This visual charts Tour de France yellow jersey winners from 2005 to 2024, showcasing the rider, their nation, and their team. What begins as a timeline of champions quickly reveals deeper patterns in dominance — and a story that shifts from individuals to institutions.

🎣 Hook

Is the Tour de France won by the rider on the podium… or the machine behind them?

Over the last 20 years, victory has rarely been a solo affair. This visual digs into the dynamics of domination — and who’s really been calling the shots.

📈 Rising insights

A few have left serious marks.

  • Chris Froome claimed 4 titles (2013–2017).
  • Tadej Pogačar has 3 wins (2020, 2021, 2024).
  • Jonas Vingegaard added 2 consecutive wins (2022–2023).

Nations:

  • The UK went from no wins to 6 titles in 8 years (2012–2019).
  • Slovenia, a country of just 2 million, stunned with 3 titles in 5 years.
  • France? Not a single win — the drought continues since 1985.

Teams:

  • Team Sky/Ineos dominated the 2010s: 7 wins in 8 years (2012–2019).
  • UAE Team Emirates (Pogačar) won 2020, 2021, 2024.
  • Team Jumbo-Visma (Vingegaard) took 2022 and 2023 — a back-to-back feat.

😮 Suspense

But here’s the tension: since 2020, the baton keeps passing.

Sky’s long reign is over. UAE and Visma trade wins. The Tour is no longer anyone’s to dominate. So, is this chaos… or healthy competition?

💡 Aha moment

We’ve entered a new era: a power triangle.

No one rider, team, or nation has taken more than two consecutive wins since Froome. With Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG vying for supremacy, and new challengers rising.

And with the 2025 tour kicking off this past weekend, the next move is up for grabs — could we see Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel, USA’s Matteo Jorgensen or Spain’s Enric Mas have the legs over the next 3 weeks?, or even Geraint Thomas sign off his Tour de France journey with a podium finish?

🏁 TL;DR

From Sky’s iron grip to today’s tug-of-war between UAE team Emirates-XRG and Visma-Lease a Bike, Tour de France glory has shifted from single riders to team powerhouses. In 2025, the question isn’t just who will win — it’s which system will outpace the rest?

Thanks for reading, ping me if you have any questions or thoughts about my viz.

Adam

First published on the original coffeetableviz WordPress site.