An Electric First Nine Days at the Tour

by Sean Mackinnon

After nine days of racing at the 2026 Tour de France fans of the sport have been treated to an electric first bout of racing – everything from the opening team time trial won by outside favorites Visma Lease a Bike to a dramatic breakaway stage 4 that saw Norwegian Torstein Træen move into the leaders jersey, taking a time gap of almost eight minutes over Tadej Pogacar who started that day in yellow.

A dominant performance by Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates – XRG saw the Slovenian win two of the first nine stages, with teammate Isaac Del Toro winning the second stage in dominant fashion ahead of Pogacar. The tour so far has been the Pogacar show, with a dominant lead on those behind him. While it appears that everyone else will be racing for second place, anything can happen in the remaining 12 stages and we should be treated to some exciting breakaway stages and general classification battles, even if the top step of the podium is secured. Heat has been a factor during the first  stages, riders have been going through endless bottles, forcing teams to shuffle logistic plans for the stages to ensure athletes are staying hydrated.

Here is what happened in the first nine stages of the prestigious race around France.

Stage 1 Barcelona – Barcelona Team Time Trial – 19.6 km 

The Grand Depart kicked off in Barcelona, Spain, for a late afternoon TTT. The day was won by Visma Lease a Bike and Jonas Vingegaard took the overall lead. Second place went to Ineos who set one of the early time standards of the day, but were kicked out of the hot seat by the Giro winner and his team. The team of Pogacar and UAE were last off the start ramp, and conceded 12 seconds coming in third place behind Ineos. The stage and TTT discipline took on a new format that was sampled at earlier races this year, where the first rider across the line stops the clock. In past formats more than one rider was needed to stop the team time. This new format made for an exciting finale to the race, with a 700 m steep climb to the finish.

Stage 2 Taragone – Barcelona 168.5 km – Del Toro win 

Stage 2 started in the outskirts of Barcelona and saw a 1-2 UAE win with del Toro and Pogacar taking the top two steps of the podium. Vingegaard kept the leader’s jersey, while the world’s best cycling team (UAE, in case you needed a prompt) stomped their authority on the race. It was Del Toro’s first Tour win and it was impressive to see his team leader gift him the win after an impressive leadout.

Stage 3, from Granollers to Les Angles, was the first opportunity for Pogacar to assert his authority on the race and he did not disappoint. The course for the day featured 3,940 meters of climbing over 195.9 kilometers. Pogacar won the stage ahead of Jonas Vingegaard, and moved into the leader’s jersey on equal time.

Stage 4 Carcassonne – Foix – 181.9 km [Pederson win]

Stage 4 was the first opportunity for the breakaway with a massive group of 29 riders gaining some substantial time on the peloton that included all the race favourites. The 181.9 km route from Carcassonne to Foix saw Pogacar roll across the finish line 12:59 behind the day’s winner, Mads Pederson, who put on a clinic, reminding everyone that he is at the race to not only win stages, but also compete for the coveted sprinters Green jersey. Pogacar would concede the race lead to Norwegian Torstein Træen. It was a dream scenario for the Uno-X Mobility team as this was their first time in the yellow jersey at the race. Træen was a fan favourite at the end of the day – the rising Norwegian star was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2022 after a doping test revealed abnormalities, but after a successful surgery he was able to race the latter half that season. 

Stage 5, from Lannemezan to Pau was the first day for the pure sprinters to show their cards. The 158.3 km route saw Olav Kooij across the finish line first ahead of Max Kanter and Time Merllier. Kooij took the first stage win for his French Decathlon CMA CGM outfit since 2023.  

Stage 6, from Pau to Gavarine-Gedre was a 186.2 km mountainous route that saw Pogacar not only take back the Yellow jersey, but also assert his authority on the race. The parcours featured over 4000 meters of climbing and the race really kicked off on the Col de Tourmalet. UAE tee’d up Pogacar perfectly in the closing kilometers of the second last climb of the day. The Slovenian would go on to the finish alone,  winning by 2:38 ahead of Vingegaard. Del Toro would round out the podium at 2:57 behind his winning teammate. 

Sir Bradley Wiggins’ prediction that Vingegaard might not even finish the race after the stage was a bit of a surprise, but maybe not that far off. The Dane had no response to the move put in by Pogacar and should he not find his legs in the mountains, this could be the fourth time that Vingegaard stands on the second step of the podium behind Pogacar. Vingegaard sits in a difficult situation, unlike Pogacar who excels at prestigious one day races all season long, he focuses solely on stage races and grand tours. Having already won the Giro earlier this year and cementing his name in the history books with wins at the Giro, Tour and Vuelta, it would be shocking to see the Dane not fight for a podium position all the way to Paris. 

Stage 7 Hagetmau – Bordeaux – 175.1km

Stage 7 was a classic sprint stage to Bordeaux, won by Tim Merlier as he took his third win at the race across his three starts at the race. The sprint was the first full bunch kick where the last 200 meters looked more like a race around a velodrome than a street in the heart of Bordeaux. To call the finish sketchy would be understatement, with  the sprinters out in full force.

Stage 9 was a lumpy course from Malemort to Ussel and was the first stage to be shortened due to the heat. UAE Team Emirates – XRG controlled the race for most of the day as the majority of the sprinters ended up losing touch of the peloton early on. It looked to be touch and go for the last four survivors of the day’s breakaway as Mathieu Van Der Poel dominated the sprint ahead of a closing peloton that crossed the line just six seconds after the four front riders. 

As the race prepares to restart for stage 10 on Tuesday, the standings are as follows.

Tadej Pogacar wears the Yellow general classification jersey leading Jonas Vingegaard by 2:42 and his teammate Isaac Del Toro by 3:27. This is the largest lead Pogacar has ever held in the GC battle going into the first rest day. Pogacar also leads the Polka Dot King of the Mountains jersey with a 9 point lead. This battle will heat up on stages 14 and 15, where some of the pure climbers will hope to get in the breakaway to collect the maximum points ahead of the GC contenders.

The sprinter’s Green jersey battle is heating up with Mads Pedersen leading Biniam Girmay and Tim Merlier. The Lidl – Trek rider Pedersen has ridden some impressive stages already, taking a win on stage 4 and has managed to hold his own in the bunch kicks. This year “flat” sprint stages give the winner 70 points, an increase from years past. This jersey battle is far from over and will likely be an exciting battle all the way to Paris.

The White young rider classification is currently led by Isaac Del Toro of UAE Team Emirates – XRG. The Mexican national champion leads Juan Ayuso by only 7 seconds and young French superstar Paul Seixas by 28 seconds. This battle will be an interesting one as Del Toro may need to make some sacrifices for his team leader as Tadej chases a fifth win at the race. In a perfect world Del Toro will win this classification and finish on the podium for the GC, but there is still a lot of racing left.