Le Tour 2026

[Baz]

Last year's thread

****** SPOILER WARNING - RESULTS CAN AND WILL BE DISCUSSED AT WILL ---- so DO NOT open this thread if that will be a problem for you - THANK YOU! ***********

The 2026 Tour de France is the upcoming 113th edition of the Tour de France.

The race will take place from 4 to 26 July 2026, starting in Barcelona.

The race will feature 5 summit finishes, including Plateau de Solaison for the first time and two finishes at Alpe d'Huez.

The race will feature just 26 km (16 mi) of individual time trial, with a team time trial starting the Tour for the first time since 1971.

Some stages in the race will feature multiple intermediate sprints, for the first time since the 2010 edition of the race.

Reacting to the route, Cyclist noted that the route was "ripe for breakaways" and Rouleur considered that the route would suit four-time winner Tadej Pogačar stating "the Slovenian superstar can do everything".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Tour_de_France

https://www.letour.fr/en/

https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route

[Baz]

[Baz]

[flatbutt]

Looking forward to it as always.

[sc_rufctr]

Thanks Baz!

[Baz]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Looking forward to it as always.

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Thanks Baz!

Thanks, guys.

I started a little earlier this year. Excited!

I look forward to seeing everyone's take on things!

[Baz]

I really don't know yet who the broadcast team will be for Peacock.

I think Phil is gone though......

[rwest]

Thanks Baz,

I love a team time trial, should be fun to watch!

[herr_oberst]

Jonas just finished winning the Giro; he's now just the 8th man to win all three Grands, and the last was Froome. (I'm pretty sure that suddenly Poggy is going to try and accomplish the triple before he retires. Tadej seems to be chasing records right now). Speaking of Pogacar, he's had an incredible classics season. He's won almost everything he's entered, and now he's rested and most likely licking his chops to try and win back to back to back. But he's got the hot new kid to think about, 19 year old Paul Seixas, who many say has the talent to overshadow Poggy in the coming years. Time will tell. He's incredibly young to be entering the tour at 19, and his team isn't anywhere near as mighty as UAE, so probably a couple-few stage wins in the mountains will be the best Paul Seixas can hope for. Then there's Rrrrrrrremco, who still fancies himself a GC contender. Who knows, maybe this might be the year, but his own teammate Florian Liepowitz is rightfully gunning for top spot in Bora Hansgrohe and frankly, I think he's got better discipline and might be just as if not more talented as Rrrrrrrremco. Plus, Primoz can't be counted out; a tough choice for Red Bull. Who will be coronated team leader and what will that do to the egos of the other two who will be asked to support him?

So 'first page' contenders would be

Jonas
Pog
Remco/Florian (really this pair should be second page, but I frankly will be questioning Jonas' legs after his Giro win, and I don't want to put Tadej alone here as the only first pager and if I leave these two off, I have to leave Jonas off)

'Second page' would be the likes of

Matteo Jorgensen (My sentimental favorite; he's from my hometown)
Paul Seixas
Maybe Simon Yates or Isaac Del Torro if something happens to Tadej
Primoz Roglic

As for announcers, look for Bobke and Christian Vande Velde; they're currently calling the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly known as the Dauphine) on Peacock, so unless viewers revolt, that's probably who will be sitting in tbe booth in July. I thing Vande Velde did a great job reporting on the motorcycle in years past, but now that PL has retired, I'm sure he thinks he deserves a chance to come in out of the weather...

[zakthor]

Caaan't wait!!!!

[Baz]

Thanks for posting your thoughts, Herr O!

So it might be another Visma vs UAE repeat? With Bora Hansgrohe also a possibility on the back of Rrrrrrrremco?

Preliminary startlist:
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/2026/startlist

[CurtEgerer]

What about Issac del Torro as a 2nd page contender??

Also, what's wrong with Bob and Christian? I know, there're are people who don't care for them. I find them entertaining and humorous. The Euro-feed is incredibly boring with the very, very dry, overly serious British-accent commentary. That gets old over the course of 5-6 hours a day!

[herr_oberst]

I'm fine with Bob and Christian, personally.
I think they do a good job.
I'll let others find fault.
(I do have a problem with the VAST amount of ads that Peacock - a paid streaming subscription channel - frontloads the broadcasts with.

I think Del Toro's win Sunday at the Dauphene probably cemented his place as a first page rider. UAE is the new Sky.

[CurtEgerer]

Also, did we all see Mark Cavendish as Starter at Le Mans last week?!

[Baz]

Just posted on social media......

Phil Liggett, Bob Roll, Lance Armstrong's The Move, and the full NBC booth are back to call another Tour de France for US audiences.

[look 171]

I really like Phil Legget. Before the internet or utube, I rented Videos from a bike shop and watched hours and hours of all the classics and grand tours with only Phil Legget's voice. This was in the early to mid 90s. I always remember his saying, "Oh, dear me". I like Bob Roll and Christian. I remember Eric Hiden did it for a bit. he was OK and got the message across. Anyone remember John Tesh? He did it for years for ABC, I think.

Pog will win it again, no question about it. Its a fight for second again this year. SEcond place will be the excitement, the real TDF if you ask me. Deep down, I like to see Jorgensen get second but I just don't think he has the legs or the support needed to win. Del Torro is a bit young but this Mexican Kid, is what we call him on our ride, will shine in the up coming years. I hope teams don't burn him out and really develop him into a stage race rider

[Baz]

You could be correct, Jeff. We'll see!

NBC is starting to release these. I will post as available......

[CurtEgerer]

^^^ That is a 110% guaranteed winning lineup!! Except for one small fly in the ointment ... Pogacar Oh well, I always enjoy rooting for the underdogs. You never know.

[CurtEgerer]

Realistically, if we can just get one or two riders/teams (Seixas, del Torro, Remco, Roglic, ???) to step up and challenge UAE-Pogacar consistently for stage wins, maybe they can wear him down a bit and force UAE to change tactics. As opposed to years past where it's basically been the Visma vs UAE show. I've got nothing against Tadej, just hoping for a more unpredictable tour.

[Baz]

Ok - I hear ya.

But.

It's a 3 week long race.

A lot CAN happen.

And WILL happen.

We've seen it year after year.

So let's wait and see what happens.....OK?