The ninth stage of last year's Tour de France, between Chinon and Chateauroux. Marco Bertorello / Getty ImagesJune 24, 2026 5:00 am EDT Updated A magnificent summer of sport continues with the Tour de France — which gets underway next Saturday (July 4) in Barcelona.And, as we were last year, The Athletic will be present for every pedal stroke as the race snakes its way up from Spain into France, over some of the sport’s most iconic mountains — including a two-day visit to Alpe d’Huez — all the way to Paris (featuring the Montmartre climb once again) on July 26.Can Tadej Pogačar join the hallowed ranks of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the only riders to win five Tour de France titles?
Can Jonas Vingegaard hit back and win the Tour for the first time since 2023, and in the process become the reigning champion in all three of cycling’s Grand Tours?Or will someone else end the race’s modern duopoly? Nineteen-year-old French wonderkid Paul Seixas, perhaps, or Pogačar’s hyper-talented lieutenant Isaac del Toro. Then there is Lidl–Trek’s big-money signing Juan Ayuso, and last year’s third-placed finisher Florian Lipowitz. Britain’s Oscar Onley and Tom Pidcock will also have designs on the podium.It’s a stacked field, an intriguing route and we can’t wait to see how it plays out.Between them, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar have won every Tour de France in the 2020s. (Jasper Jacobs / BELGA MAG / AFP via Getty Images)Starting tomorrow, we will have articles covering every aspect of the 2026 Tour de France, from race analysis to cycling politics to Tour history. Jacob Whitehead will, once again, be reporting from the roads, boulevards and cols of France, and The Athletic will be publishing daily takeaways after each stage.Make sure you don’t miss any of our Tour de France coverage by following The Athletic‘s cycling channel
