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Key events
Who are nan Tour de France favourites?
Look nary further than Tadej Pogacar. He seems to find a measurement to amended each azygous year, challenging for each Monument one-day title going, a testament to his versatility, hunger and power.
Unbeaten successful a shape title since nan 2023 Tour de France and comparatively untroubled by rivals successful caller years, it would beryllium a astonishment if he grounded to win. He has turned up to nan Tour looking for illustration highest Eminem, who incidentally is 1 of his favourite singers.
While regular rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) could astir apt not propulsion disconnected nan bleach blond look, he is afloat of assurance aft a ascendant Giro d’Italia triumph and says he is “better than ever”. Those 2 will apt duel again successful nan precocious mountains.
As for outsiders? Mexican super-talent Isaac Del Toro is making his debut, learning from nan champion – his squad leader Pogacar. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) has impressed this year, and Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe person podium imaginable successful Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, 3rd past year.
And then, oh la la, past but surely not east, location is Paul Seixas…
Team time-trial commencement times
This is nan moving bid for nan squad time-trial. Without a roadworthy shape beforehand to abstracted wheat from chaff and output immoderate clip differences, it has been done successful reverse bid of bib numbers.
Spanish chaotic paper squad Caja Rural (dossards 211 to 218) get nan title rolling astatine 5.05pm section time. The large hitters are connected nan people an hr later, pinch UAE Team Emirates-XRG past disconnected astatine 5.55pm BST, 6.55pm section time. Note: each times beneath are BST.
4.05 – Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
4.10 – Picnic PostNL
4.15 – TotalEnergies
4.20 – Tudor Pro Cycling Team
4.25 – Groupama-FDJ United
4.30 – Pinarello-Q36.5
4.35 – Cofidis
4.40 – Lotto Intermarché
4.45 – Movistar
4.50 – NSN
4.55 – Uno-X Mobility
5.00 – Jayco-Alula
5.05 – Alpecin-Premier Tech
5.10 – Soudal Quick-Step
5.15 – Netcompany Ineos
5.20 – Bahrain Victorious
5.25 – XDS Astana
5.30 – Decathlon CMA CGM
5.35 – EF Education-EasyPost
5.40 – Lidl-Trek
5.45 – Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
5.50 – Visma-Lease a Bike
5.55 – UAE Team Emirates-XRG
Preamble
Anyone attraction for immoderate TTT?
The 2026 Tour de France is here. It gets nether measurement successful Barcelona this day pinch a 19.6km squad time-trial astir nan streets of nan Spanish city.
The 21 squads will beryllium passing La Rambla connected nan route, but this will beryllium nary ramble. As nan discipline’s past connection alternatively suggests, this is simply a test, nan eventual 1 for cohesion, powerfulness and aerodynamics successful pro roadworthy racing.
Looking for illustration Tron players successful their wind-cheating helmets and skinsuits, 8 riders rotation down nan commencement ramp, taking 10-to-20 2nd turns connected nan beforehand to support nan velocity astatine 60 kilometres per hr earlier slotting backmost into nan slipstream, centimetres distant from a teammate’s backmost wheel. It is each astir going arsenic accelerated arsenic imaginable pinch optimal smoothness, ignoring their burning legs and lungs.
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The TTT is backmost connected nan Tour way aft a seven-year absence, but not arsenic galore fans mightiness cognize it. Rather than nan timepiece stopping connected nan 4th rider crossed nan decorativeness line, arsenic is traditional, this is individually timed. Therefore, galore teammates will springiness their each and driblet disconnected nan gait on nan route, leaving 1 aliases 2 frontmen from each squad accelerating for each they are worthy connected nan finishing incline to nan Olympic Stadium connected Montjuïc.
The people is level and accelerated until 2 short hills successful nan last 4 kilometres, meaning triumph will chiefly travel down to sheer power, pinch climbing finesse needed successful nan finale. Given nan tweaked rules, woe betide immoderate GC contender who has a puncture aliases a crash.
This is astir apt nan astir prized shape for immoderate squad to triumph – a byword for strength-in-depth and full cycling, putting 1 of their riders successful nan yellowish jersey correct away. More than that, it takes nan unit disconnected from nan get-go. Job done successful position of capacity and consequent media coverage: not bad for 20 minutes’ work.
We will get deeper into favourites for today’s appetiser and nan Tour de France later, but surefire contenders this day are Netcompany Ineos, Visma-Lease a Bike, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and past squad off, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, location of defending champion Tadej Pogačar.
Please do chime successful pinch your emails, thoughts, tangents, predictions, hopes and dreams. You tin find maine astatine [email protected] aliases @andymcgra..
