The Tour de France is a bike race, but it is also a celebration of the country’s landscapes and the drama it hosts as the best cyclists in the world battle each other for three weeks.Tadej Pogačar won the race for the fifth time but there were myriad other stories as extreme heat, crashes, joy and exhaustion combined to create another unforgettable edition of the La Grande Boucle.Here, then, is the story of the 2026 race in 21 pictures.Stage 1 – Saturday, July 4: Barcelona to Barcelona TTT. Winner: Visma-Lease a Bike(Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike won the opening team time trial up Montjuic. It was the first time since 2019 that the discipline has featured in the Tour — and also saw the introduction of ‘Paris-Nice rules’ where each rider’s time individually counts. Vingegaard had not worn yellow since last winning the Tour in 2023 — or since his life-threatening crash at the following year’s Basque Itzulia — and later said this maillot jaune felt like closing that chapter of his career.Stage 2 – Sunday, July 5: Tarragone to Barcelona. Winner: Isaac del Toro(Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)Isaac del Toro almost won last year’s Giro d’Italia — but his podium finish at this year’s Tour felt like another step up again. He was gifted victory by Pogačar on stage two, but had already dropped Vingegaard on the climb of Montjuic. Pogačar would later call this the highlight of his Tour de France — better even than his five stage wins — draping himself in the Mexican flag back at his team bus.Stage 3 – Monday, July 6: Granollers to Les Angles. Winner: Tadej Pogacar(POUJOULAT / AFP via Getty Images)Calm with horses. Due to wildfires on the French-Spanish border, fans were encouraged not to attend the final 40km of stage three so that emergency services could utilize a key access road impacted by the race. The ascent to Les Angles was eerie and airy, Pogačar outkicking Vingegaard to take yellow and his first of five stages in this edition.Stage 4 – Tuesday, July 7: Carcassonne to Foix. Winner: Mads Pedersen(Loic VENANCE / AFP via Getty Images)The hottest day of racing at the Tour de France since records began. Oppressive, dry, and suffocating. British rider Tom Pidcock estimated he made it through “10,000 water bottles.”Stage 5 – Wednesday, July 8: Lannemezan to Pau. Winner: Olav Kooij(Jeff PACHOUD / AFP via Getty Images)