The story of the 2026 Tour de France in 21 photographs

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.

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Stage 1 – Saturday, July 4: Barcelona to Barcelona TTT. Winner: Visma-Lease a Bike

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.

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Stage 2 – Sunday, July 5: Tarragone to Barcelona. Winner: Isaac del Toro

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.

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Stage 3 – Monday, July 6: Granollers to Les Angles. Winner: Tadej Pogacar

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.

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Stage 4 – Tuesday, July 7: Carcassonne to Foix. Winner: Mads Pedersen

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.”

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Stage 5 – Wednesday, July 8: Lannemezan to Pau. Winner: Olav Kooij

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Stage 6 – Thursday, July 9: Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre. Winner: Tadej Pogacar

The stage that decided the Tour. Pogačar dropped Vingegaard on the ascent of the fearsome Tourmalet — but actually took more time on the descent. At its summit, Pogačar would describe himself as “a little bit scared”. “It’s a s*** downhill,” he said later. “Really dangerous if you miss a corner.”

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Stage 7 – Friday, July 10: Hagetmau to Bordeaux. Winner: Tim Merlier

In search of La France profonde. For many the Tour de France is about family tradition as much as bike racing; it is the memories of sitting on your grandfather’s knee, awed and open-mouthed, watching the peloton flash past in a blur of color.

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Stage 8 – Saturday, July 11 – Périgueux to Bergerac. Winner: Tim Merlier

Tim Merlier delivered one of the most remarkable sprints in Tour memory on the road to Bergerac — coming from almost 30 meters behind the leaders to take his second successive stage. On another boiling day, he staggered inside with second-place Biniam Girmay in search of air-conditioning, collapsing on the press centre floor.

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Stage 9 – Sunday, July 12: Malemort to Ussel. Winner: Mathieu van der Poel

This was a Tour for the big hitters. Stage nine was the most aggressively fought breakaway stage of the race, with just making it into the lead group a near impossibility. Once he made the final selection, Mathieu van der Poel was the biggest fish by far. Better still was to come.

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Stage 10 – Tuesday, July 14: Aurillac to Le Lioran. Winner: Tadej Pogacar

Tadej Pogačar lost to Vingegaard in Le Lioran two years ago. Defeats live in Pogačar’s mind, he is meticulous about correcting them. The revenge Tour gathered pace with his stage 10 triumph in the Massif Central.

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Stage 11 – Wednesday, July 15: Vichy to Nevers. Winner: Søren Wærenskjold

France’s empty interior can go years without seeing a Tour stage. Nevers received two bites at the cherry — the local authority paying organizers a fee to host both the finish of stage 11 and the start, at nearby Magny-Cours, the following day. Søren Wærenskjold was the most surprise stage winner of this year’s race.

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Stage 12 – Thursday, July 16: Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours to Chalon-Sur-Saône. Winner: Tim Merlier

The pain and the glory. Netcompany-INEOS’ Dorian Godon, lying down in grey, was dogged by the injuries he suffered in the final sprint at Chalon-Sur-Saône for the rest of the race. “Since the fall, I had trouble breathing through my diaphragm,” he said after narrowly avoiding the time cut a week later in the Alps. “I said yes in my mind, but then even my brain couldn’t force it anymore. I was on the verge of crying at the same time.”

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Stage 13 – Friday, July 17: Dole to Belfort. Winner: Mauro Schmid

Tom Pidcock rocketed up into the general classification reckoning in Belfort — but missed out on the stage win he craved to Mauro Schmid. This was a strange Tour for the UK’s top rider. He succeeded in securing his first ever top 10 Tour finish — but had he let that go, might he have been able to hunt stages.

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Stage 14 – Saturday, July 18: Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering. Winner: Tadej Pogacar

On his way to victory at Le Markstein, Pogačar had to clarify that he was not smiling but grimacing. “When I suffer, I feel this is my suffer face,” he said. “Some people might think I’m smiling, but how do I explain it’s when you suffer, but in a good way, when you’re not completely gone.”

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Stage 15 – Sunday, July 19: Champagnole to Plateau de Solaison Brison. Winner: Remco Evenepoel

Vingegaard descending in stage 15. He entered the Tour targeting the third week. He did not even receive the opportunity to attempt it. The Dane’s broken collarbone late on this day was a sad end to his run of five successive podium finishes — the hope is that the Tour sees him back.

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Stage 16 – Tuesday, July 21: Évian-Les-Bains to Thonon-Les-Bains TT. Winner: Remco Evenepoel

Teams described the 25km time trial route around Thonon-Les-Bains as a pure test of ability — featuring a steep ascent, technical descent, and a tricky flat run-in to the finish. Remco Evenepoel dominated the field to take the fourth Tour stage win of his career, but teammate Florian Lipowitz, another podium contender, crashed out.

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Stage 17 – Wednesday, July 22: Chambery to Voiron. Winner: Jasper Philipsen

The Redemption of Jasper. Philipsen had endured a brutal Tour — entering as the expected quickest man at the race, he repeatedly failed to finish after being well-placed by his teammates, tossing his helmet from the team bus after second-week disappointment. Stage 17 looked like a day for the breakaway, and it was, but one that contained Philipsen, who hit the front in the final metres to win — and shortly afterwards collapsed to the floor, overwhelmed.

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Stage 18 – Thursday, July 23: Voiron to Orcières-Merlette. Winner: Richard Carapaz

It is impossible to catch the essence of Carapaz in a still; the Ecuadorian a swaying pendulum as he climbs, hunched over the handlebars. His attacks — and pursuit of the polka dot jersey against the brave Valentin Paret-Peintre — animated the final days of the race.

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Stage 19 – Friday, July 24: Gap to Alpe d’Huez. Winner: Tadej Pogacar

Like Moses sweeping his hand, Pogacar parted the crowds to deliver one of his greatest victories on France’s iconic mountain of the people. He hauled back a gap of three minutes and 30 seconds at the bottom of Alpe d’Huez — shattering Marco Pantani’s 29-year-old climbing record. But after several spectator-related incidents over the course of the stage, what is the mountain’s race future?

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Stage 20 – Saturday, July 25: Le Bourg D’Oisans to Alpe d’Huez. Winner: Richard Carapaz

The Col de Sarenne is a protected nature reserve — with crowds banned from the final high mountain pass of this year’s race. After being surrounded by the eyes of the nation for three weeks, Paul Seixas, France’s 19-year-old phenom, finally found his limits as Del Toro secured third — but he is still the first teenager to finish in the top 10 in over a century.

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Stage 21 – Sunday, July 26: Paris. Winner: Mathieu van der Poel

Fini. Van der Poel delivered the superhuman and curled up like a baby, suffering coursing through every nerve end. Attacking on Montmartre with Pogacar, the duo rode through their limits as the Dutchman delivered one of the most beautiful finishes ever seen on the Champs-Elysées. Vive le Tour.