Samwise Cycle Racing Newsletter
Monday, July 6, 2026
Visma-Lease a Bike Win Opening TTT to Put Vingegaard in Yellow at Tour de France
Jonas Vingegaard returned to the Tour de France yellow jersey for the first time in three years as Visma-Lease a Bike claimed a dominant opening-stage team time trial victory in Barcelona on Friday. The Danish squad covered the 19.6-kilometre circuit in 21:47, beating Netcompany-Ineos by seven seconds and UAE Team Emirates-XRG by twelve. The result put Vingegaard at the top of the general classification with Tadej Pogačar immediately twelve seconds back and Remco Evenepoel nineteen seconds behind. It was a significant early blow for Pogačar, who had targeted the Barcelona TTT as a chance to take the lead from the outset of the three-week race.
Sources: Cyclingnews TNT Sports Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Del Toro Delivers UAE One-Two on Montjuïc as Pogačar Closes to Six Seconds
Isaac del Toro secured a first Tour de France stage victory at the Côte de Montjuïc on Saturday after teammate Tadej Pogačar controlled the final ascent before gifting the stage win to his young Mexican colleague. Del Toro, twenty-one, crossed the finish line ahead of Pogačar, Evenepoel and Vingegaard — all finishing in the same time — with del Toro's ten-second time bonus cutting Vingegaard's overall lead to just six seconds. Del Toro becomes the second Mexican rider to win a Tour de France stage, following Raúl Alcála, who won two stages in 1989 and 1990. Vingegaard retained the yellow jersey heading into Stage 3 on Monday.
Sources: CyclingUpToDate Cyclingnews Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Girmay, Van Gils and Godon Among Eight Riders Caught in Stage 2 Crashes
Stage 2 of the Tour de France was marred by crashes in the peloton, with Biniam Girmay, Maxim Van Gils and Dorian Godon among eight riders involved in falls on the route between Tarragona and Barcelona. NSN Cycling sprinter Girmay gave a thumbs-up from the ground after his crash and continued to the finish. Van Gils sustained abrasions to his knee, hip and palm, completing the stage despite his injuries. Godon was among those caught up in separate incidents on the day, though all three riders remained in the race heading into Monday's Stage 3, the first summit finish of the Tour at Les Angles in the Pyrenees.
Sources: CyclingUpToDate IDL Pro Cycling Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Wildfires Force Tour de France to Ban Spectators from Stage 3 Pyrenean Finish
Tour de France organisers announced on Monday that no spectators would be permitted along the final forty kilometres of Stage 3, from Granollers to Les Angles, due to a major wildfire burning in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of southern France. The blaze, approximately seventy kilometres from the Les Angles summit finish, has already burned around 1,500 hectares, with 700 firefighters and aerial assets deployed to control it. More than 10,000 local residents have been evacuated. The publicity caravan was also cancelled for the French portion of the stage. Race organisers described the measure as an exceptional decision taken to allow emergency services to remain fully focused on fighting the fires.
Sources: Cyclingnews BikeRadar Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Van Aert Completes 67km Charity Ride in First Attempt on Bike Since Tour de France Withdrawal
Wout van Aert rode in public for the first time since undergoing surgery on an infected elbow wound that forced him out of the 2026 Tour de France before it began. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider completed 67.6 kilometres at an average of 30.6kph at the Olivia Classic charity event in his hometown of Herentals on Sunday, sharing his Strava note: “First attempt to hold my bars again.” Van Aert missed the Tour after bacteria entered a training wound that developed into a serious infection requiring hospitalisation and intravenous antibiotics. He spent one night under observation and had the wound surgically cleaned before his withdrawal from the Tour was confirmed.
Sources: Cyclingnews CyclingUpToDate Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Teenage Seixas Becomes Youngest Tour de France Starter Since 1937 in Barcelona Debut
Paul Seixas, the nineteen-year-old French rider racing for Decathlon CMA CGM, became the youngest rider to start the Tour de France since 1937 when he lined up for the opening team time trial in Barcelona on Friday. Born in September 2006, Seixas was nineteen years and nine months old at the start, competing on cycling's biggest stage for the first time after a breakthrough 2026 season that included victories at the Flèche Wallonne and the Tour of the Basque Country. The debutant finished tenth in the Stage 1 general classification, while Decathlon's eight-rider roster placed sixth in the TTT. Seixas was confirmed for the Tour alongside fellow debutant Olav Kooij.
Sources: Cyclingnews IDL Pro Cycling Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
ITA Deploys 360 Pre-Race Tests and Power Data Passport Pilot at 2026 Tour de France
The International Testing Agency conducted more than 360 out-of-competition controls in the month before the Barcelona start and plans to collect over 600 in-competition samples during the 2026 Tour de France, marking the sixth consecutive year the agency has run the race's testing programme. More than forty ITA officials are present throughout the three-week event, working alongside Spanish and French police and customs authorities. For the first time, the ITA is also taking charge of results management procedures and whereabouts failures at the Tour. A two-year power data passport study involving approximately sixty WorldTour riders from five teams is also underway, monitoring power data as a supplementary anti-doping intelligence tool.
Sources: DomestiqueCycling ITA Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Tour de France GC — After Stage 2
General Classification Top 4
1. Vingegaard (Visma) — Yellow Jersey | Leader
2. Pogačar (UAE) — +0:06 | Second
3. Evenepoel — +0:15 | Third
4. Del Toro (UAE) — +0:16 | White Jersey
Other Classifications
Jersey Leaders
🟢 Points: Alex Molenaar — 25 pts
🟠 Mountains: Alex Molenaar — 5 pts
⚪ Stage 3: Les Angles (Pyrénées) — In Progress
Race: Stages 1–2 complete of 21
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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