The 2026 Tour de France kicked off on Saturday with an explosive team time trial stage that saw Jonas Vingegaard seize an early advantage over defending champion Tadej Pogačar in the fight for the yellow jersey.
Barcelona welcomed 184 riders from 23 teams for this year’s battle of the giants, a lot of whom were keen to find an edge ahead of what could be three weeks of gruelling racing in the heat.
And living up to its name as the biggest Grand Tour in the world, the first stage of the Tour de France provided an unforeseen twist as Team Visma–Lease a Bike stormed to a dominating time-trial performance that put Vingegaard on top.
Vingegaard sends early warning in TTT
Blistering speed and tactical pace took centre stage as teams duked it out to try and register the fastest time trial on a 19.6-kilometre course that overlooked Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Família basilica.
Netcompany INEOS and Lidl–Trek posted impressive intermediate times early on, with INEOS’ Filippo Ganna storming to the top of the sheet.
But the closing kilometres saw Visma gradually extending its advantage, and in a powerful surge, Vingegaard attacked on the steep final climb to pip Ganna by eight seconds.
The battle was not over, though, as UAE Team Emirates XRG were still fighting through the time sheets with Pogačar and team-mate Isaac del Toro leading the charge.
However, Pogačar’s efforts were in vain, and he finished a surprising third with a 12-second gap to Visma and Vingegaard.
Vingegaard labelled his team’s performance the “perfect start to this Tour” in a post-stage interview.
“My team-mates did a perfect job today. They were so strong!” he said.
“I didn’t have to do much, to be honest. They just brought me all the way to the finish to take the stage win for us and the yellow jersey for me after a few hard years without it.”
On the other hand, Pogačar refused to be disappointed, saying: “I’m actually super happy. You always want victory, but we had super good performance.
“I enjoyed today. It was a long time since I last raced a TTT. I can be happy about today and motivated for next days.”
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Isaac del Toro seizes stage two
The battle for the GC lead ignited once more on the 168.5km stage two on Sunday, during which the UAE team showed they are still the team to beat after an enigmatic one-two finish for debutant Del Toro and Pogačar.
UAE were in control throughout, upping the ante in the peloton to chase down the breakaway riders and reel them in with 32km to go.
They eventually increased the pace to thin out the peloton in the last two laps of the stage, with Del Toro and Pogačar speeding up on the final summit to allow the young Mexican rider to take his first Tour de France stage.
It was an emotional win for Del Toro, who dropped to the floor in sobs before being carried by his mentor Pogačar.
Del Toro is riding his first Tour de France this year and has been steadfast in his desire to help Pogačar win a fifth title.
“It means everything to me. I’m very privileged,” Del Toro told the media.
“You can’t believe how much we work to get here and I have full confidence in the team.”
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Pogačar closes in on leader Vingegaard
Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull–BORA–Hansgrohe finished third, skyrocketing him to third overall as well.
Vingegaard limited the damage and finished fourth.
Despite not winning stage two, Pogačar’s control managed to chip off a few seconds from the gap he has with Vingegaard, which is now at just six.
Coupled with Vingegaard’s victory at the Giro d’Italia in May and Pogačar’s own dominance in the Spring Classics, their initial performances in the Tour de France have placed them directly on a collision course.
While it’s too early to tell, one thing is already clear: they’re reigniting their rivalry once again for the Tour de France crown.
The battle continues on Monday through the Pyrenees in stage three but under an ‘adapted’ form amid the threat of forest fires.
Organisers announced in a statement the caravan “will not pass on the race route” within France and that “it will be limited to the passage of only the riders and vehicles essential to the organisation of the race”.
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