Visma produce the strongest TTT performance of the day, leading at two of the three time checks and delivering their captain to the Montjuïc climb with full gas. Vingegaard's individual attack caps a near-perfect team effort and puts Visma in yellow from day one.
Cycling Results · Post-Race Analysis · Édition 2026
Tour de France
2026
The 113th Tour de France opened in Barcelona with a history-making team time trial, with Visma | Lease a Bike claiming the stage and Jonas Vingegaard taking the first yellow jersey. The race continues for 20 more stages through July 26 in Paris.
Stages published so far
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S1Stage 1: Barcelona → Barcelona
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S2Stage 2: Tarragona → Barcelona
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S3Stage 3: Granollers → Les Angles
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S4Stage 4: Carcassonne → Foix
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S5Stage 5: Lannemezan → Pau
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S6Stage 6: Pau → Gavarnie-Gèdre
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S7Stage 7: Hagetmau → Bordeaux
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S8Stage 8: Périgueux → Bergerac
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S9Stage 9: Malemort → Ussel
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S10Stage 10: Aurillac → Le Lioran
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S11Stage 11: Vichy → Nevers
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S12Stage 12: Magny-Cours → Chalon-sur-Saône
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S13Stage 13: Dole → Belfort
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S14Stage 14: Mulhouse → Le Markstein
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S15Stage 15: Champagnole → Plateau de Solaison
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S16Stage 16: Évian-les-Bains → Thonon-les-Bains
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S17Stage 17: Chambéry → Voiron
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S18Stage 18: Voiron → Orcières-Merlette
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S19Stage 19: Gap → Alpe d'Huez
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S20Stage 20: Le Bourg-d'Oisans → Alpe d'Huez
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S21Stage 21: Thoiry → Paris
Tracked riders in this race
Vingegaard takes yellow from the first pedal stroke as Barcelona's Grand Départ electrifies the 113th Tour.
OPENINGThe 2026 Tour de France makes history with its first-ever opening team time trial since 1971 and first Spanish Grand Départ in decades. Barcelona's seafront, city centre, and the iconic Montjuïc hill form the 19.6 km course, where teams race as units but each rider earns their own GC time — a format borrowed from Paris-Nice. The Catalan crowds pack Montjuïc's slopes as 23 teams attempt to establish early GC advantages.
UNFOLDSCaja Rural-Seguros RGA set the early benchmark at 22'59'' as local heroes, quickly overhauled by French teams before the GC favourites arrive. Netcompany Ineos surge to provisional lead at 21'55'' — but a puncture for Kévin Vauquelin forces Filippo Ganna to carry the team alone over the Montjuïc finale. Lidl-Trek impress with Ayuso at 22'03'', Red Bull-Bora confirm strength with Evenepoel at +19'' on Ineos. Then Visma | Lease a Bike deliver the day's masterclass: Vingegaard rides clear of his own teammates on the final climb to record 21'47''. UAE complete the podium, with Pogačar fastest over the last 3.7 km but 12 seconds in arrears.
Where the race tilted
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Vingegaard solos away from Visma teammatesUsing the individual-timing format to maximum effect, Vingegaard attacks on the Montjuïc ascent, separating himself from his own teammates and clocking the fastest time of the day. The move immediately establishes a GC lead over all rivals.
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Vauquelin puncture disrupts Ineos's TTT planKévin Vauquelin suffers a puncture near the third time check, forcing a bike change and leaving Filippo Ganna to carry Netcompany Ineos alone over the finale. Despite the mechanical, Ganna holds the team in second place.
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Pogačar posts fastest finale split, earns polka dotTadej Pogačar attacks over the hilly final section and records the quickest time of any rider over the closing 3.7 km, earning the King of the Mountains jersey from the two Montjuïc climbs, though he finishes 12 seconds behind Vingegaard overall.
Who pressed, who missed
Ineos's TTT was disrupted by Vauquelin's puncture near the third checkpoint, yet Filippo Ganna held second place individually through sheer individual strength. The mechanical cost them any chance of the stage win but Ganna's 21'55'' remains a powerful statement of TT ability.
UAE execute a measured TTT with Isaac del Toro supporting Pogačar through the city sections before the Slovenian attacks the finale. Pogačar's fastest-last-split earns the polka-dot jersey but he leaves Barcelona 12 seconds behind Vingegaard — a gap that must be reversed in the mountains.
Red Bull-Bora set the third-best team time before Visma arrive, showing strong collective TTT work around Evenepoel and Lipowitz. Both GC leaders finish within 19–35 seconds of Vingegaard — a recoverable deficit in the context of 21 stages.
How each story played out
Vingegaard claims yellow at the first opportunity, attacking his own Visma teammates on the Montjuïc climb to record the day's fastest individual time of 21'47''. His first yellow jersey since the 2023 final podium is a statement that Visma have arrived in Barcelona to win.
- 16 kmSolos away from Visma on Montjuïc climb, fastest on the day
Pogačar minimises losses with the fastest finale split and takes the polka-dot jersey, but the 12-second deficit to Vingegaard is the headline. The defending champion's TTT pace is strong in relative terms, yet the gap illustrates how Visma have built their season around this moment.
- 16 kmPosts fastest split over last 3.7 km, takes polka-dot jersey
Evenepoel's +19'' gap is manageable but the Visma and Ineos TTT squads have shown they can deliver their leaders with superior support. Red Bull-Bora will need the mountains to claw back time.
Del Toro plays a disciplined supporting role for Pogačar, keeping UAE's second GC card within reach at +26''.
Last year's podium finisher starts the defence of his GC result at +35'', a manageable deficit for a climber with the mountain stages to come.
Van der Poel sets an interim best of 22'26'' for Alpecin-Premier Tech before the GC teams arrive, placing 11th individually. His Tour focus will be on stage wins in sprint and classics-style finishes rather than GC.
- 19.6 kmSets interim best for Alpecin-Premier Tech at 22'26''
Martinez sits 15th at +50'' after Bahrain's ninth-place TTT showing — a gap that places him outside the top GC contenders at this early stage.
Pidcock's smaller Pinarello-Q36.5 squad completes the TTT with the climber at +57''. A mountain-stage focus rather than GC challenge is likely from this starting position.
Race in progress — 20 stages remaining.
After Stage 1, Visma | Lease a Bike lead both the team classification and the GC through Vingegaard. The race now heads to Stage 2 (Tarragona → Barcelona, 168.5 km hilly) on Sunday July 5, where the TTT gaps will be tested in a different terrain.
Where this analysis comes from
- 🇬🇧 Tour de France Official — Montjuïc's magic smiles on Vingegaard
- 🇬🇧 Cycling Stage — Tour de France 2026: Visma wins TTT, Vingegaard takes yellow jersey
- 🇬🇧 The Guardian — Tour de France 2026 stage one: Vingegaard in yellow after team time trial success