Tour de France 2026: Favorites, Participants and Predictions

Publication date: 17 July 2025

About the Tour de France

The Tour de France is a prestigious annual men’s cycling race with 21 stages. The Tour de France takes place over 23 days in July, run by the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO). There are usually 20 to 22 teams of 8 riders each in the men’s Tour. There’s also a similar race for the women – Tour de France Femmes, which starts on the last day of the men’s cycle race.

Official Tour de France website

2026 Tour de France

Tour de France 2026 will begin on July 4 in Barcelona and end on July 26 in France. This will be the 113th edition of the legendary multi‑day cycling race. For the first time, the Tour will open with a team time trial through the streets of Barcelona. Riders will start with three stages in Spain. The race will then continue with classic stages across France.

Favorites and participants of the Tour de France 2026

Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who continues to fight for another title, will once again be in the spotlight. His main rival remains the Dane Jonas Wingegaard, a two-time winner of the Tour de France. Primoz Roglich, Remko Evenpool and other stars of the peloton are also among the contenders.

Changes to the team rules will add intrigue at the start of the race: each rider’s individual time will be taken into account in the overall standings, which makes the first stage especially important.

As in previous years, the strongest cycling teams in the world will start. Among the favorites of the team competition are UAE Team Emirates, Jumbo‑Visma, Ineos Grenadiers and Soudal‑Quick Step. It is expected that young debutants will be able to create sensations and change the usual balance of power in the peloton.

Tour de France history

The first Tour de France took place in 1903. It took 5 stages and went through the towns of Lyon, Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseilles and finished in Paris. Almost 80 riders took part in the first cycle race.

The format of the Tour evolved over time:

The first races of the Tour took place at night;
Initially, the route of the bicycle race followed the perimeter of France;
Furthermore, the length of the distance and the number of stages also changed;
The first rounds were open to all comers.

The main competition of the Tour de France is the general classification, which decides the winner of the race, who receives a yellow victory jersey. There is also a team classification, a points classification, a mountain classification, a young rider classification and a fighting classification.

Previous Tour de France winners

The year	Venue	Results
2025	France	1st place – Tadej Pogačar Points classification – Jonathan Milan Mountain classification – Tadej Pogačar Youth classification – Florian Lipowitz Fighting classification – Ben Healy Team classification by time – Visma‑Lease a Bike
2024	France, Italy, San Marino, Monaco	1st place – Tadej Pogačar Points classification – Biniam Girmay Mountain classification – Richard Carapaz Youth classification – Remco Evenepoel Fighting classification – Richard Carapaz Team classification by time – UAE Team Emirates
2023	France, Spain	1st place – Tadej Pogačar Points classification – Mark Cavendish Mountain classification – Tadej Pogačar Youth classification – Tadej Pogačar Fighting classification – Frank Bonnamour Team classification by time – Bahrain Victorious