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Tuesday, June 30, 2026

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I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people. - Isaac Newton

Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the 2023 Tour de France, 2023: The Viking Again Conquers the Tour is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

July 4 - 26: Tour de France
July 8 - 12: Tour of Austria

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Tour de France team rosters and other TDF news

Here's news from 2025 Tour winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

Tadej Pogačar aims for a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title

UAE Team Emirates-XRG announces its lineup for the 113th edition, with Pogačar to be joined in the mountains by the likes of Isaac del Toro and Adam Yates
Tadej Pogačar will line up at the Tour de France as defending champion once more
Led by the four-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates-XRG is delighted to announce its eight-strong lineup for the 113th Tour de France.

Can Tadej Pogacar make it five Tour de France victories? Here he is after stage 17 of the 2025 Tour. Sirotti photo

Headed up from the team cars by Sports Directors Fabrizio Guidi, Andrej Hauptman, and Simone Pedrazzini, the Emirati squad will consist of Pogačar, Isaac del Toro, Felix Großschartner, Brandon McNulty, Nils Politt, Florian Vermeersch, Tim Wellens, and Adam Yates.

Combining an all-star ensemble of rouleurs and climbers, the experienced team will hope to support Pogačar’s ambitions of taking his third Tour title on the bounce. Should he do so, the two-time world champion would equal the record of five Tour de France victories, joining an exclusive club that contains Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Induráin.

Of course, three weeks of the toughest racing of the season stand between Pogačar and that goal, but the Slovenian will head into this year’s race fresh from victories at both the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse.

Looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead, Pogačar spoke of his motivation to put all the months of preparation to good use in July.

Pogačar: “The Tour de France is always the biggest challenge of the season and also the race that motivates us the most. Every year, you arrive at the start knowing that anything can happen over three weeks, and that’s what makes it so special.

“We’ve prepared really well as a team, everyone has worked incredibly hard, and now we’re excited to finally get started in Barcelona.

“I feel good, I’m looking forward to racing, and I know I’ll have a fantastic group of teammates and staff around me. We have a lot of confidence in each other and have built up a lot of experience together over the years.

“There will be strong rivals, difficult stages and many other unpredictable moments, but we’re ready to give everything.

“It’s a privilege to wear these colours at the Tour de France, and we’ll do our best to make ourselves, the team and the fans proud.”

Speaking of the team, Pogačar will count on the support of a wealth of experience across the race’s 21 stages. For Nils Politt and Adam Yates, this year’s race will mark their tenth appearances in the Tour de France, whilst Tim Wellens, Brandon McNulty, and Felix Großschartner all have a track record of helping Pogačar land Grand Tour titles.

After a wonderful Classics campaign for the Emirati squad, Florian Vermeersch adds to the team’s engine room, and for the mountains, Isaac del Toro will be ready to shine.

The Mexican youngster is all set to make his Tour de France debut, and heads into the race having recently won the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes at a canter. Prior to winning two stages and the overall at the race formerly known as the Critérium du Dauphiné, the 22-year-old also won the general classification at both the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico.

With this track record, not to mention his second-place finish at the Giro d’Italia in 2025, Del Toro can begin his first Tour confident of rising to the occasion.

As for Pogačar, since claiming the most memorable Tour de France victory on debut in 2020, the 27-year-old has never finished outside of the top two. With four titles along the way, the Slovenian has enjoyed a generational contest with Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike. The pair’s consistency of finishing in a varying pattern of 1-2 on the final podium for each of the last five years is unprecedented.

In that time, Pogačar has taken his tally of Tour de France stage wins to 21, adding four to that number in last year’s edition alone.

Tadej Pogačar made it four Tour de France victories in 2025

Full of motivation to raise their arms to the sky in Paris once more, Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates will begin their title defence 830km south, in Barcelona. In fact, the first three stages of this year’s Grand Départ will all take place in Catalunya, with Barcelona hosting the opening stage on Saturday, 4 July.

There, the race will get underway in spectacular fashion with an evening team time trial around the city centre. Across 19.6km, the first yellow jersey of the Tour will be awarded, with every single team preparing for this task for months in advance. The general classification contenders will all note the importance of getting off to a good start, and there will be no place to hide in the race against the clock.

As has been seen at Paris-Nice and the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to great entertainment earlier this year, the rules of the TTT will be that each rider is awarded individual times. As such, there is no need for a minimum set of riders to reach the finish line together, opening up the possibility of GC leaders going off on their own towards the end of the route, where two tricky climbs appear.

Time will tell whether individual strength can outweigh a unified team, though.

For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, both Großschartner and Politt can look forward to pulling on their newly-made skinsuits, having won the National Time Trial Championships of Austria and Germany, respectively.

Once the TTT is out of the way, Barcelona will feature heavily again on stage 2, with a 168km-long route that begins in Tarragona but ends with three hilly laps around Montjuïc. The final ramps to the line stretch out for 700m at an average gradient of 7%, promising an entertaining fight between the puncheurs.

To end the Catalan Grand Départ, the climbers will come to the fore across the 3,989m of climbing that will come to define stage 3 between Granollers and Les Angles in the French Pyrenees. Finishing at the ski resort of Pla del Mir, stage 3 will take the peloton into France and end at the top of a 7.7km-long climb at 3.7%.

The first full stage in France will see the breakaway likely given its due, as is so often the case in Foix, which will host the finish of stage 4. More well-trodden ground will continue on stage 5, with a bunch sprint to be expected in the city of Pau, hosting the finish of a Tour de France stage for a whopping 64th time.

For new horizons, then, one must only look to stage 6, with a first-time finish at Gavarnie-Gèdre. The 186.2km-long stage will head for the mountains, with the likes of the Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet adding up to some 4,163m of climbing across the day. On paper, this is one of the most demanding stages of the race, but the relatively modest final 20km may struggle to separate the big contenders.

Two pan-flat days will follow, between Hagetmau and Bordeaux on stage 7, and Perigueux and Bergerac on stage 8, before the Tour crosses the Corrèze on the last stage of the final week.

Stage 9 leads into the first rest day on Monday, 13 July, with the Tour returning with a bang on Bastille Day.

Aurillac will host the start of stage 10 on Tuesday, 14 July, with thousands of fans expected to flock to the roadside on the French national holiday. Le Lioran will host the finish, but not before the peloton is tasked with almost 4,000m of climbing in the Massif Central. This stage is very similar to that of two years ago, with the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol and the Col du Pertus featuring in the finale.

Once more, two sprint stages will follow this challenging affair. Stage 11 runs from Vichy to Nevers, with stage 12 coming to an end in Chalon-sur-Saône.

A category one ascent tops out with 30km to ride on stage 13, and this rolling parcours between Dole and Belfort is the longest of the race, at 205.7km. With this in the legs, the riders will be treated to back-to-back mountain stages on the penultimate weekend of the race.

It is on stage 14 that the Tour de France heads into the Vosges Mountains for a summit finish at Le Markstein Fellering. Although the ski resort lies at the end of a 6km false flat, the preceding 3,855m of climbing, and in particular, the 6.3km at 7.8% that precedes the plateau will more than leave their mark.

Before the second and final rest day, stage 15 will throw up another melody of mountains between Champagnole and Plateau de Solaison. There is a little under 4,000m of elevation gain in the 183.8km-long stage, with the last 11.3km averaging 9%. The ramps of up to 14% should certainly draw out fireworks as the second week draws to a close.

A final day for rest beckons on Monday, 20 July, and just as well, because there is no let-up through the final week of this year’s Tour.

The race’s only individual time trial will kick things off on stage 16, raced across 26.1km from Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains. Just as with the team time trial in Barcelona, this will be a course that creates precious gaps between those with an eye on the final podium in Paris.

The first 10km of the stage 16 ITT are exclusively uphill, with an average gradient of 4.1%. Once the riders have climbed up to Larringes, with a view over Lake Geneva, a quick downhill will take them into a flat final 9km stretch. The profile of this test against the clock appears to suit the time trial specialists who can exert maximum power when stationed on the skis.

Stage 17 from Chambéry to Voiron is no easy day in the saddle – there is over 2,000m of elevation gain – but the relatively flat 80km will offer hopes to the sprinters that they will get their chance. From here until Paris, it will be a game of survival for the fast men, as the general classification contenders face a date with destiny in the Alps.

At 185.1km in length, stage 18 is the longest of the three mountain stages to come, but on paper looks to be the most manageable. The final climb to Orcières-Merlette stretches out for 10.2km at 6%, which pales in comparison to the 8% average gradient of Alpe d’Huez’s famous hairpins.

Falling at the end of stage 19, the 21 hairpins of Alpe d’Huez will make their grand return on the penultimate day in the mountains, but the 2026 Tour de France returns to this well not once, but twice.

It will be on the back side of Alpe d’Huez that the Tour’s final podium will likely be decided on stage 20, with the Tour’s roadbook referring to a second successive summit finish on the mountain. In truth, the last day of racing in the mountains draws to a close on the slopes of the Col de Sarenne for the most part, before nipping across to the climb’s more famous neighbour for the final 3.8km.

The Col de Sarenne will be well known to those cyclo-tourists who have visited the Alps, with its punishing slopes tried and tested by riders keen for a challenge but without the hustle and bustle of Alpe d’Huez. Stretching out for 12.4km at 7.3%, the Sarenne is a mighty mountain in its own right, and just a 10km stretch will separate its summit from the brief return to Alpe d’Huez for the stage 20 conclusion.

That is not to underestimate what comes before the Col de Sarenne/Alpe d’Huez duo. The 170.8km-long stage sets out from Le Bourg d’Oisans on the morning of Saturday, 25 July, and heads straight for the 24km-long ascent of the Col de la Croix de Fer. This is before the Col du Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier rear their heads, making the Queen stage an eye-watering challenge with 5,432m of elevation gain.

From the top of Alpe d’Huez, it will be an overnight dash to the north of France for the Tour’s caravan. Stage 21 will finish on the Champs-Élysées of Paris, as is tradition, with the added spice of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre once again featuring. Following on from its entertaining debut in last year’s edition, the 1.1km-long cobbled climb will be used three times, the last ascent of which will top out with 6.1km to ride.

It was here that the Tour de France bore witness to a fantastic showdown between Tadej Pogačar and Wout van Aert in 2025, and with a bit of luck on the weather front, stage 21 could even play a role in the general classification battle this time out. It will be there, on the Champs-Élysées, that the winner of the 113th Tour de France will be crowned.

Here’s the Tour news from Team Picnic-PostNL:

The early cobbled classics seem like a distant memory and with the first three-week foray ticked off, all attention in the cycling world, and further afield, turns to the Tour de France for the month of July.

Team Picnic PostNL will hunt stage results throughout the three weeks, with a focus on the fast finishes and in the hillier days when the race situation allows it. The team bring four Development program graduates to the Tour de France once again, including their very first Belgian graduate. The younger talents will be guided by experience, as Team Picnic PostNL coach Matt Winston elaborates.

“We head to the Tour with a group that is highly motivated to show our colours at the pointy end of things. As a team we’ve had a bumpy run-in, with an injury to sprint finisher Pavel, meaning that he missed some key racing kilometres. However, he’s recovered now and is ready to get in the mix in those fast finishes, like last year.

Warren Barguil (shown at the start of the 2025 Milano-Sanremo) is scheduled to be in the start line. Sirotti photo

“We also bring a lot of experience within our sprint group with John, Niklas and Julius, and after a great first season as a pro, it’s exciting to have Frits make his race debut too. We also have another Tour debutant in the squad, Robbe, who’s a proud product of our Development program and is another exciting talent who can gain valuable experience and learn alongside his teammates as we hunt for stage results over the hillier terrain with the likes of Frank and Warren. We’re looking forward to getting underway in Barcelona and making a plan for each stage to best show ourselves over the three weeks.”

The team’s partnership portfolio is further strengthened with expanded Raisin collaboration

Team Picnic PostNL are also pleased to announce the enhanced partnership with savings and investment platform Raisin, following a successful campaign at the Giro d’Italia. The partnership reflects the strong alignment between the two organisations, with both sharing an ambitious, challenger mindset and a focus on game changing innovations in their respective fields. The expanded partnership with Raisin – which centers around bigger impact during the three-week Grand Tours – underlines the team’s ambitions to build for the future with a dedicated group of partners.

Line-up::
Warren Barguil
Julius van der Berg
Pavel Bittner
Frits Biesterbos
Frank van der Broek
John Degenkolb
Robbe Dhondt
Niklas Märkl

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Team EF Education-EasyPost sent me this Tour update:

Our roster for the 2026 Tour de France: EF Education-EasyPost is bringing an attacking, opportunistic squad to light up the Tour

On July 4, Richard Carapaz, Ben Healy, Kasper Asgreen, Michael Valgren, Alex Baudin, Sean Quinn, Max Walker, and Georg Steinhauser will race down the TTT start ramp in Barcelona and let fly around the city's streets to start the 2026 Tour de France.

The Pyrenees, Vosges, and Alps await them – 21 stages through the mountains and fields of La France Profonde en route to Paris for the iconic finish over Montmartre and onto the Champs-Élysées. Every day will be a new opportunity to take the race to the peloton. We're going to rip up the script again and again.

Richard Carapaz is back to his best and ready to soar in the high mountains. The Olympic champion and 2024 polka dot jersey winner is coming off second place at the Tour de Suisse and would love to get another Tour stage win.

Ben Healy had a dream Tour last year with two days in the yellow jersey and his stage 6 victory. Ben is going to race this Tour with the same aggressive verve.

Ben Healy in yellow before the start of 2025 Tour de France stage 11. Sirotti nphoto

Alex Baudin is on a roll in 2026. Our Frenchman won stage 1 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with a 28-kilometer solo breakaway and defended the yellow jersey until the final stage. He can't wait to show his strength in his home Alps.

Max Walker and Georg Steinhauser will make their Tour debuts this weekend in Barcelona. They are confident and excited to take on the biggest race in the world. Max is a dependable teammate with the power to drive the peloton or a breakaway on all terrain. Georg is a Giro d'Italia stage winner. Earlier this year, he finished third on GC at Paris-Nice and won the white jersey as best young rider. He will go on the attack when the Tour hits the mountains.

Danes Kasper Asgreen and Michael Valgren bring strength, experience, and race-winning savvy. Kasper has already won a stage of the Tour de France, alongside classics like the Ronde van Vlaanderen, E3 Saxo Bank Classic, and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and a stage of the Giro. He knows how to keep a cool head in a break, see his moment, and go. So does Michael Valgren. Michael just added a Giro stage win to his long list of achievements and would love to do the same at the Tour.

Sean Quinn rounds out our EF Education-EasyPost roster. The 2024 American champ is in great form after coming back from a career-threatening knee injury. Sean can't wait to get this Tour de France started.

Read our squad's thoughts before the start in Barcelona.

Richard Carapaz:
I'm very motivated for this Tour. After a long period at home training at altitude, things have gone really, really well. I'm coming in with high motivation and, above all, high morale, which I think is crucial for starting this great race. I am very happy and very eager. I believe that's the most important thing for the start of this Tour.

My ambition is to try and do my absolute best, to make it a beautiful Tour, and, above all, to enjoy it as much as possible.

We have a versatile team and that ultimately helps a lot with the team's ambitions. The general classification will depend heavily on how the race circumstances unfold. I want to go after stage wins and could try to repeat winning the mountains jersey. That would be beautiful for me, and it's what I desire most for this Tour.

The Tour is a race that is simply the best in the world. The top riders are there, and it's surrounded by an atmosphere of the absolute highest level. Just being there is already a win for me. The Tour is the Tour, and everyone involved in cycling knows it is a beautiful, very special race – the most important one in the world of cycling. It's a race that makes you fall in love, fills you with hope, and stirs up emotions that few other races can. It's thrilling and, above all, incredibly motivating.

Ben Healy:
I'm hopeful. I've had a spring with some bad luck, but I'm in good shape and ready to race. I'm looking forward to being back racing again and hopefully racing at the front.

Last year was a standout year and it would be amazing to replicate it, but even half that success would still be a successful Tour in my eyes. There’s not too much pressure – I just want to be up front and in a fight for a stage win, maybe even two. There are a lot of hard transitional stages this year, so I think there'll be plenty of opportunities for breaks.

Our team is super strong and pretty well balanced. We can go into this Tour with any goal in mind and be adaptable to any situation. We have a lot of experience, a lot of young guys – it's going to be a fun one.

I have had a good prep. I did an altitude camp, which I was able to do the full block of, and then Dauphiné as a prep race – even though I got sick, I didn't really miss too much and was able to get back into training fairly quickly. And yeah, some heat work in Mallorca. Hopefully that's me ready.

I will just have to race the same way, with an air of unpredictability. Even if they know how I'm going to race, if it's still unpredictable then it's still hard to predict. Even last year people kind of knew who I was and I was still able to do it. So nothing's going to change really – just going to try and rinse and repeat.

Max Walker:
It doesn't really feel real at the moment. I don't think it will till I get there, but it's really exciting. I can't really believe it's happening. I always remember when I was in primary school, probably around 10 years old, rushing back from school to watch the last 20 or 30 kilometers of the Tour at home with my brother and my dad. I think since then I just wanted to do it because I thought it looked so cool, mainly because Cav was doing it, and it's obviously where we both grew up, so just watching him – I remember shouting at the TV so much on the sprint stages, getting mad if he crashed, then being really happy if he won. Those are the stages I remember most, the sprint stages when he was winning.

Hopefully, we'll be doing the same – well, hopefully I can be one of the teammates helping someone win. I don't really have any personal ambitions. I just want to go there and be the best helper I can for Ben and Richie and the people going for stage wins. The TTT is something we're quite focused on, so it'd be nice to get a good result there. But the rest of the time, my ambition is just to be as helpful as I can for the team leaders.

I think the first few stages will be really cool – the crowds will be big, and my family's coming out to watch, so those are the ones I'm most looking forward to at the moment. My family is really excited.

Kasper Asgreen
I'm feeling good. Obviously the preparation hasn't been without bumps in the road – with the broken collarbone and things like that – but in the end I think it's been OK. I feel like the shape is pretty good and it's definitely on the way up, so I hope to be able to add a little bit in the first week.

First of all, the goal is trying to get a stage win for us. I'd love to get out there myself, of course – that's always fun in the breakaways. But otherwise it's about supporting the team. Alex is going super well, and Richie seems to be going well for the climbing stages.

The Tour is just super cool. It's the biggest race on the calendar, and I'd say 90 per cent of cycling's media exposure comes from the Tour. When you win a stage there, the reach you get is so much bigger – the number of people who realise what you've done and what kind of rider you are, it reaches so many more people. So it's incredible for your career.

Everybody there is at the peak of their physical ability, and they've been working specifically towards that race. Nobody is there to prepare for something else; this is what it's all about. That makes everybody go that bit faster, because that's what's necessary to win. And the exposure means there's a lot of pressure on all the teams to perform. It just means the world to any cycling team to do well there.

The TTT is going to be super nice. It's been a long time since there has been one in the Tour. I was going over the stages right now looking at wheels and gears and stage 9 also looks really, really interesting. It's really lumpy – up and down all day, with some third- and fourth-category climbs. Looks like a hard day, and then there's a rest day after, so you can really empty the tank.

Michael Valgren
I honestly hadn't really imagined I'd be doing the Tour this year, so it's quite a surprise, but I am feeling good, feeling ready and looking forward to it for sure. After the Giro, I went back into the same routine. With age, professionalism somehow gets easier. I knew I might be doing the Tour, but if not I was thinking maybe the Tour of Austria or other races. I am having a good season and want to ride that wave. That's my motivation.

The Giro stage win and the Tirreno win have given me a lot of confidence. It's always nice to win – you start to believe in yourself more. But I've done eight Tours de France now, and I know how difficult it is. So I'm trying to keep my expectations within reach. I'm not going to say I want to go there and win a few stages or whatever. I'm just going to do a good job for the team, and if an opportunity comes, I'll try to grab it.

In my first couple of Tours I just ate it all up – every interview, every media request. And I ended up with no energy, totally overcooked from the racing and the stress outside of it, and then I got sick. My advice to the young guys would be: enjoy the circus, but also – once the race is done and we're racing again the next day, don't mess around and do stupid things. The Tour is just different.

If you do well, it can change your life, change your career. If you do badly, it's doubly bad – if you underperform at some other race, no one really cares, you write it off as building for the future. The Tour is where you have to deliver.

I think that with my experience, I can bring a lot of calm within the group. I wouldn't say I teach my teammates, but I can be there for them in hard moments – and there are going to be hard moments, because things are going to go wrong. And that's OK. The difference is that in the Tour, when things go wrong, 10 times more people see it. That doesn't make you a bad bike rider. They call me daddy in the team – this big brother figure they can come to with anything, not just cycling stuff. Keeping morale high around the dinner table, when things go well and when they don't – I think I can be really useful there.

And then in those big breakaway situations, I have a good sense of who's going well, who you should follow, who's always going to make it through in a large group. Knowing when there's a good moment to make a move – I think that's something I can contribute with.

I would love to get out there and do well in a stage – be in the fight for the win. That's always special at the Tour. Last year I came close. It's nice to be able to taste that, because then you know you're still good enough, you still have the level. That's basically what I'm hoping to get out of it.

Alex Baudin
Last year was my first Tour and I really got a sense of how big it is. That's why I can't imagine not doing it every summer now. I am really excited to go again. Last year was a good learning experience – I made a lot of mistakes in my preparation and in the race itself, in terms of managing the stress over the three weeks. This year I think I'm more ready to arrive with a better level already, and with a bit more experience behind me.

I could feel the work paying off this spring. I could really perform at the start of the season, so I'm super happy. The team gave me a lot of opportunities this year and I was able to take them and be present. Having the role of leader – in Basque Country, in the Ardennes, and then at the Dauphiné – that's a lot of experience. And I'm really grateful to the team for everything they did at the Dauphiné when we had the yellow jersey. That was really, really special.

I think we can have great ambitions as a team. We're going to chase stages, and I think a few of them suit me well personally. We'll try to take the opportunities as they come, see which stages fit which riders, and help each other out.

It'll depend a bit on how the earlier racing goes with the GC leaders and everything, but stage 6, and then maybe stages 9 and 10 are the ones I am most excited about. And then a few others in the third week – the final week of the Tour is always really open and a bit unpredictable.

The crowd on the road and just the sheer level of attention is insane. When you're actually doing it, you realize how many people are watching – it's one of the biggest sporting events in the world. As a French guy, it's even more of an honor to be at the start again. And I always think back to some of the days we had last year. When I look at the pictures, I remember it being just crazy every single day – incredibly hard, but you want to go back. You just want to go again.

Georg Steinhauser
I'm super excited. It's going to be my first Tour. I'm really looking forward to it.

My dad was a racer and I just grew up with the Tour, because I grew up with cycling generally, and the Tour is the biggest race of the year. So I was always aware of it and always enjoyed watching it the most. It is in the summer and all the biggest names are competing. I think that's why it's always the most exciting racing.

For me personally, my ambition is just to be part of the race – to actually be there competing, getting in breaks, maybe even racing for a stage win. If I won a stage, that would be the ultimate dream scenario. But it would already mean a lot just to be there competing. At the same time, Richie seems very strong, and we have Ben Healy.

Stage 14 – the one to Le Markstein is the one I am most excited about. It's a nice profile for me, and it's close to home. A lot of friends and family have already told me they're going to be on the roadside for that one. Just to do that stage with everyone supporting, maybe even be in the break and competing for it – yeah, that's what I'm really looking forward to.

Sean Quinn
How does it feel to be going back to the Tour? I can't really give you a proper answer until I get to the start line and it sinks in. But the initial reaction is just – I'm pretty proud to be there. The last two years have been extremely rocky, due to a lot of stuff out of my control. After my second knee surgery this winter, I sat down and told myself: I'm going to do everything I possibly can, one hundred percent, to get back to the Tour. I kind of manifested it. There were times when it looked unlikely, but I'm just proud I was able to stay the course and keep my head down in the hard moments. I turned a corner physically at some point in May and it was like, OK, I'm good enough to be there – now I just have to earn my spot by being a good teammate. This is a group I'm super happy to do a grand tour with. I am just super proud and happy.

From a personal standpoint – as I've grown up as a bike racer, I've learned that pinning an outcome-based goal on a race is a dangerous game. When things aren't going well you start questioning yourself, and so much is out of your control anyway. So my goal for this Tour is: every day, do what I need to do, to the best of my ability. Whether that's a teammate role or an individual performance, that's going to change a lot day to day. We could have a plan right now, but there's no way it'll look the same by the end. So basically – be spontaneous, give everything, and do it to the maximum. Because you never know when your last race is going to be.

To the casual fan, the Tour is the only bike race that matters. Even within the cycling world, there's just an extra emphasis on the Tour above everything else – the Giro, the world championships, the Tour always takes precedence. And you feel that when you're racing it.

It's the first bike race I ever watched. It's the reason I started racing, the reason I fell in love with riding a bike. I rode a bit as a kid, but what made me really love it was this idea of racing the Tour de France. It's what got me on a bike and what made me pursue cycling. So when you go to the Tour, a lot of your life in the sport flashes before your eyes, which is a really cool feeling. And yeah, you just feel it's the most important race, the biggest stage. It gives you an extra shot of adrenaline. It is a pretty cool feeling to be there – I'm looking forward to feeling it again.

The NSN Cycling Team will be there. Here's their Tour news:

Eritrean history maker Biniam Girmay will lead NSN Cycling Team’s search for stage wins at the Tour de France, a race that takes on added significance this year thanks to its Grand Départ in Barcelona.

The build-up to cycling’s biggest race and its first three stages – which begin on Saturday 4 July – will take place in and around the historic Catalan city, home to the team’s title sponsor.

Biniam will be joined on the start line at the Barcelona Fòrum by British pair Jake Stewart and Lewis Askey, Frenchman Matîs Louvel, and Tom Van Asbroeck, with the Belgian returning to the Tour after a six-year absence. This quartet makes up the core lead-out group for Biniam, who won three stages and the green jersey in the 2024 edition.

Biniam Girmay at the start of the 2026 Clasica Almeria. Sirotti photo

Italian Marco Frigo is the only debutant in the team’s roster, while fellow stage hunters George Bennett (the reigning New Zealand road champion) and Latvian Krists Neilands will both compete in their sixth Tour.

“We’ve got a good group of riders for the race, focused predominantly around Bini and the sprints,” says Head Sports Director Sam Bewley.

“But the race is 21 stages. We want to have a purpose and a goal across the entire race, so it’s important to have guys like George, Krists, and Marco in his first Tour there so we can keep NSN in the race across as much of the three weeks as possible.

“We feel confident with the guys we have to be able to deliver some good stage outcomes from breakaways, mountain stages, or how the Tour plays out, in addition to our primary focus of the sprints.”

Unfortunately for Biniam, he will have to wait until the race reaches the southern French city of Pau on stage five for his first shot at glory.

The Tour starts with a 19.6-kilometer team time trial in Barcelona, followed by two potential GC days before the race leaves Spain, however this year’s Grand Départ will be one for the whole team to remember.

Bewley adds: “It’s going to be great to start in Barcelona – selfishly, I wish the race started with a bunch sprint, but it’s going to be so cool beginning the Tour in the home city of NSN. We want to do the jersey proud there, but we know the stages aren’t ideally suited to our group of riders. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to race with great pride – it’s going to be a great occasion for everybody connected to the team.”

Biniam starts the race off the back of a strong performance at the recent Baloise Belgium Tour, where he won a stage and claimed two other top-10s across the five days.

His three victories so far this season are his best return in the first six months of a season since 2022, and also put him ahead of where he was going into his history-making 2024 Tour.

He says: “Everybody who knows me understands how special the Tour de France is to me – but I’m more interested in creating more special moments than looking back on what I’ve achieved in the past.

“I know my form is good, but it’s also great knowing that I have a really committed team around me. We have worked hard since the start of the season to discover the best ways to work together, to build trust in each other, and to score the best results possible.

“I’m going into this year’s race full of confidence and with a real sense of anticipation for the first sprint opportunities.”

While this will be Frigo’s first experience of the Tour, he has previously challenged for stage victories in both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.

“Any rider’s first Tour de France is special,” says the 26-year-old from Bassano del Grappa. “The 2010 Tour – and the big fight between Contador and Schleck on the Tourmalet – was one of the first races I remember watching on TV and knowing what was going on. To be part of this big event will be amazing.

“To be honest, I think I am yet to realize how big the race is – people around me keep telling me ‘Marco, be prepared, because it is going to be crazy’. I think I am still a bit innocent, but I know I am capable of managing this.

“I am super happy with my level right now – I have done everything I can ahead of the race. I think I can try to fight for a stage, and I want to take all the opportunities I can. A lot depends on the tactics, but already from the first week, there are some good stages that we will try to grab. Then, of course, I will give 100% for Bini on the sprint stages, so I think it’s true to say that there is a lot of food in the dish for us.”

NSN Cycling Team at the Tour de France (Saturday 4 – Sunday 26 July)

Riders: Lewis Askey (GBR), George Bennett (NZL), Marco Frigo (ITA), Biniam Girmay (ERI), Matîs Louvel (FRA), Krists Neilands (LAT), Jake Stewart (GBR), Tom Van Asbroeck (BEL)

Sports Directors: Sam Bewley (NZL), Dror Pekatch (ISR), Rene Mandri (EST)

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Here’s the Tour news from Team Decathlon CMA CGM:

Tour France: Paul Seixas and Olav Kooij, their first Tours

Dominique Serieys:
“We’re approaching the Tour ambition but also humility, determined to build on the progress we’ve made over the past few seasons. We’ve put together a very well-rounded and united team, made up of riders profiles are well-suited to achieving our goals. Paul Seixas will be making his Tour de France debut as part of this team, with the goal of achieving the best possible result while focusing on learning. Olav Kooij, who will also be competing in his first Tour France, will have several opportunities to showcase his speed in sprint finishes. With this lineup, the team led by Luke Rowe—who will be making his Grand tour debut tour a sports director—will aim for the general classification and will try to secure at least one stage victory whenever the opportunity arises.”

Paul Seixas:
“After my crash and withdrawal from the Tour , I was able to resume my training for the Tour France almost as usual, adjusting a few sessions due to my injuries. With five days to go before the Grand Départ, I feel ready to give it my all to complete these three weeks and achieve the best possible finish. I’m not setting a more specific goal because I’m heading into the unknown—I’ve never competed in a race this long and demanding before. I hope to be a key player, continue to improve, and also enjoy myself. This is the race I’ve always dreamed of, and I realize how lucky I am to be able to compete in it so early in my career.”

Pual Seixas winning the 2026 Flèche Wallonne. Sirotti photo

Olav Kooij:
“My start to the season wasn’t what I’d hoped for, but we managed to stay patient and keep working. The victories I’ve earned in recent weeks, since returning to competition, have really boosted my confidence. I know the competition will be fierce since we’ll be racing in the world’s biggest cycling race, but our goals are clear—both for the team and for me: for Paul to finish as high as possible in the overall standings and win at least one sprint stage. I want to thank the team for the trust they’ve placed in me.”

The news
A first for our two leaders
In their first appearance at Tour France, Paul Seixas and Olav Kooij will take on leadership roles. They’ll be able to rely on a team well-versed in the demands of three-week races. Tiesj Benoot, who is set to compete in his 11th Grand tour, will bring all his experience alongside Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Nicolas Prodhomme, and Cees Bol, all three of whom are competing in their eighth Grand tour. Daan Hoole (6th Grand tour) and Matthew Riccitello (4th Grand tour first Tour France) round out a well-balanced squad, capable of supporting its two young leaders on all types of terrain.

Key number: 1937
Paul Seixas will start the 2026 Tour France at the age of 19 years, 9 months, and 10 days, making him the youngest participant since 1937.

Our Tour roster:
Tiesj Benoot
Ceel Bol
Daan Hoole
Olav Kooij
Aurélian Paret-Peintre
Nicolas Prodhomme
Matthew Riccitello
Paul Seixas

Team Lotto-Intermarché sent me this Tour de France update:

Intermarché-Lotto heads to the Tour de France with powerful engines

Intermarché-Lotto has finalised its selection for the Tour de France. With Arnaud De Lie, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Jenno Berckmoes, Georg Zimmermann and debutants Baptiste Veistroffer, Liam Slock, Huub Artz and Lars Craps, the team boasts a strong line-up in the battle for stage victories.

Speedy Arnaud De Lie will be on the 2026 Tour de France start line. Here he is before the start of the 2026 Clasica Almeria. Sirotti photo

Experience mixed with a handful of firsts. A combination of powerful riders and agile climbers. Five Belgians, one Dutchman, one Frenchman and one German. That is the recipe with which Intermarché-Lotto heads to the Grand Départ in Barcelona. This year, the team brings a particularly versatile squad in excellent form and hungry for stage wins.

The countdown can begin; everyone knows what needs to be done between Barcelona and Paris. With Arnaud De Lie, Intermarché-Lotto naturally has its sprinter in the ranks. De Lie impressed last month at the Tour de Wallonie and, after his Giro d’Italia was cut short due to illness, put in many valuable training kilometres over the past few weeks. The team leader will be supported by Jenno Berckmoes and Huub Artz in his lead-out train. Road captain Berckmoes demonstrated his outstanding form and sprinting abilities at the Baloise Belgium Tour, but will also have opportunities of his own in this Tour de France. Stage two, in particular, from Tarragona to Barcelona, suits him perfectly. Newly crowned Dutch time trial champion Huub Artz will make his Tour debut after building towards top form at the Tour de Suisse two weeks ago.

The 2026 Tour de France promises to be an extremely demanding edition, and so Intermarché-Lotto naturally brings its climbers to Spain as well. Team leader Lennert Van Eetvelt can get to work almost immediately after the opening team time trial, with stage two already offering an opportunity, while stage six, from Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre, is also tailor-made for him. Like De Lie, Van Eetvelt had to abandon the Giro after breaking a finger in a crash. He is eager for redemption. He will be supported by, among others, Lars Craps. After finishing an impressive fourteenth overall in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, he is determined to make the most of a season that only began in mid-May due to a knee injury. Craps is still fresh and can play an important role in the mountain stages. While Craps will make his debut, Georg Zimmermann is preparing for his sixth Tour de France. ‘Gigi’ has already collected several top-ten finishes from breakaways, and his victory in Frankfurt proves he would love to add a few more.

Finally, with Liam Slock and Baptiste Veistroffer, the team has two more powerful riders in its ranks. Veistroffer is gradually becoming the French version of breakaway king Thomas De Gendt. This season, he travelled from Down Under to Oman, the UAE, Belgium, the Basque Country, Hainan and France, and besides accumulating the most travel kilometres, he has also spent more time in breakaways than anyone else. Among other things, it earned him a stage victory in the Tour of Oman. Veistroffer is a true entertainer. The same can be said of Liam Slock, who introduced himself to the cycling world at the finish line of the GP Gippingen. His crash there was certainly memorable, but even more remarkable was his victory against such renowned names. Slock missed the Giro due to illness following Famenne and will seize his opportunity whenever it presents itself.

Kurt Van de Wouwer, Sports manager: “Where previous editions traditionally started in a nervous and chaotic way, this year things will be different, with climbing on the menu right from the start. That is good news for riders like Lennert Van Eetvelt. De Lie’s first real opportunity only comes in stage five. He has strong riders around him, and we believe in our chances. We are fielding a very young team, with every rider under thirty years of age. At the same time, someone like Zimmermann is already starting his sixth Tour. This is an interesting squad, with strong engines such as Baptiste, Lars and Liam. They are riders who can handle the demands of a Tour that is becoming faster and tougher every year, where even seemingly straightforward transition stages produce spectacular racing. We won’t be sitting on the fence this year. We have no ambitions for the general classification; our focus is entirely on stage victories and strong results.”

Jean-François Bourlart, General manager: “I am delighted with the team we are sending to this 113th Tour de France. It is the most important race of the year, not only for our main partner, the National Lottery, but especially for our French title sponsor, Intermarché. We are therefore very pleased to see our riders once again wearing the Intermarché-Lotto jersey. Selecting the team is never easy, and every year difficult decisions have to be made, but we believe we are sending the riders in the best possible form to Barcelona. Liam Slock has made tremendous progress over the past few weeks, Lars Craps rode an excellent Dauphiné, and while Baptiste Veistroffer may seem like a surprise inclusion, the Frenchman will be a key asset for us. We are fully prepared.”

Intermarché-Lotto selection:
Arnaud De Lie
Lennert Van Eetvelt
Jenno Berckmoes
Baptiste Veistroffer
Huub Artz
Liam Slock
Georg Zimmermann
Lars Craps

Sports Directors:
Mario Aerts
Pieter Vanspeybrouck
Kurt Van de Wouwer

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Team Lidl-Trek will ride the Tour. Here's their news:

Lidl-Trek comes to La Grande Boucle with a balanced line-up, combining general classification ambitions with a wealth of stage-winning firepower

Barcelona sets the stage for the Grand Départ. The biggest bike race in the world is around the corner – a sleeping lion, soon to roar. Preparation complete, plans written, strategies decided, riders primed to their physical peak. It all leads to the Tour de France. We’re ready, and we hope you are too.

Fresh off his third place finish at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Juan Ayuso will lead the team’s yellow jersey campaign. The Spaniard has long been regarded as one of cycling’s brightest talents, and after a promising first half of the season, arrives at the Tour with realistic aspirations of competing against the race favourites. He has big ambitions for the next three weeks:

Juan Ayuso on the podium in yellow after Paris-Nice stage three. Sirotti photo

"The goal is obviously to be on one step on the podium of Paris. It's still going to be three weeks of hard work, and we will see what we can achieve.

"Everything can change in the Tour on any day. It's important to just not lose time and save energy in the first stages. We have some hard days in the first week but it shouldn't be too crazy until the weekend of the second week. There and throughout the last week the GC will be decided.

"I need to pass until the first rest day trying to save as much energy as possible, not having any crashes, getting sick and then arriving to the last week with a chance to be in play." - Juan Ayuso

Mattias Skjelmose is the squad’s second protected GC rider and there is an impressive mountain support unit around both him and Ayuso. After a successful Giro d’Italia, Derek Gee continues to be one of the sport’s strongest all-round stage racers and will be crucial in the mountains, while Carlos Verona adds vital experience and climbing prowess.

The team’s strength, however, extends well beyond the mountains. Mathias Vacek is equally capable of controlling the race on rolling terrain or delivering huge turns on flatter stages. Toms Skujiņš and Quinn Simmons provide aggression and horsepower, allowing them options to chase stage victories from breakaways while also protecting Ayuso and Skjelmose through the often-chaotic opening week.

Finally, two-time Tour stage winner Mads Pedersen remains one of the race’s biggest stage-winning threats. The Dane has consistently demonstrated his ability to survive difficult terrain before outsprinting reduced groups, making him a contender on several of the Tour’s punchier stages and for the green jersey competition. His presence also ensures Lidl-Trek are not solely dependent on the general classification, giving the team multiple objectives throughout the race.

"The feeling is pretty good, especially now after Nationals. It was nice to pin the numbers again and be back racing. It's been a long time, so it's always nice to see to see how it feels when other guys are in the peloton and pushing the limits as well.

"The main goal for the Tour is is winning a stage, and then we're trying to aim for the for the green jersey as well, even though new points system is not in our favor. But nothing is impossible, and we have seen other riders do it before where we didn't expect it so we offer the challenge and believe we can do it." - Mads Pedersen

Stage one’s team time trial to is expected to shake the general classification up early. Lidl-Trek has invested heavily in preparing for the stage through extensive aerodynamic testing in the windtunnel, optimising equipment choices and pacing strategies.

Sports director Steven de Jongh explains the choice to select a well-balanced and varied team of talent for the race:

"The main big goals for the team are finishing up high in the general classification with Juan and of course with Mads trying to win the green jersey, plus we would like to win stages. Juan is our GC leader and we also have Skjelmose in a protected role. Derek Gee is a very important rider in the climbs and can be a satellite rider in mountain stages and crucial help for Juan and Skjelly.

"Of course, we have Mads. He will go for green and almost doesn’t need an introduction. He is so strong and competitive in the sprints and even on days when sprinters will normally get dropped he can survive. He is crazy good at going in the breakaway, so is Vacek who can join him there. Same for Quinn, he is also in good shape and just won the Nationals so he can give support when he needs, like riding in the valleys, and go in the break if there is a chance. Carlos can give support and protection to the riders, while Toms has a similar role to Vacek to help position Mads and give protection to Juan and Skjelly on the days where they need it. We’ve had great preparation for the TTT and have high expectations of being competitive." - Steven de Jongh

Overall, Lidl-Trek heads into the Tour with riders capable of challenging for the overall podium, while retaining the depth to animate breakaways, contest sprints and target multiple stage victories throughout the three weeks.

Full line-up: Juan Ayuso, Derek Gee-West, Mads Pedersen, Quinn Simmons, Mattias Skjelmose, Mathias Vacek, Carlos Verona, Toms Skujiņš

Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

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