Samwise Cycle Racing Newsletter
Saturday, June 27, 2026
Pogacar Wins Tour de Suisse Overall After Dominant Stage 5 Alpine Attack
Tadej Pogacar capped a dominant Tour de Suisse campaign on June 21 by winning Stage 5 from Villars-sur-Ollon, hunting down breakaway rider Lenny Martinez on the final Alpine climb to seal the overall title by 6 minutes 32 seconds over Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost. Mathias Vacek of Lidl-Trek finished third overall, nearly seven minutes back. Pogacar also won Stages 1 and 4 of the five-stage Swiss race. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader called the race an ideal Tour de France rehearsal, noting conditions were intense, fast and hot — closely mirroring what he expects in July in Barcelona.
Sources: Cyclingnews, CyclingUpToDate
Oscar Onley Ruled Out of Tour de France With Significant Shoulder Injury
Netcompany-INEOS confirmed on June 25 that Oscar Onley, 23, has been ruled out of the Tour de France after sustaining a significant shoulder dislocation in a crash at Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes earlier this month. The Scotsman, who finished fourth overall at last year’s Tour, hit a barrier on a rapid descent and was stopped from falling into a ravine by tree branches. He completed that stage but withdrew the following day. Medical examinations confirmed the injury severity. Onley has begun shoulder rehabilitation and is making encouraging progress, the team said, but lacked sufficient recovery time before the July 4 Grand Départ in Barcelona.
Sources: Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly
Tour de France 2026 Opens in Barcelona on July 4 With Team Time Trial
The 113th Tour de France begins Saturday, July 4 in Barcelona with a 19.7-kilometer team time trial around the Catalan capital. Three of the opening stages will be contested on Catalan soil before the race heads into the Pyrenees. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG leads the startlist, with Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike, Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and Isaac del Toro among the key contenders. UAE Team Emirates-XRG leads the 2026 UCI WorldTour team rankings with 17,144 points ahead of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe on 14,694 and Visma-Lease a Bike on 13,798.
Sources: CyclingStage, Velo
Teen Prodigy Paul Seixas Confirmed for Tour de France Despite Team Illness Scare
Decathlon CMA CGM delayed announcing their Tour de France squad this week due to illness uncertainties within the team but confirmed that 19-year-old French prodigy Paul Seixas will start the race in Barcelona on July 4. Seixas, who had also crashed at Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in June, received MRI clearance showing no injuries that would compromise his participation. If he starts as expected, Seixas would become the youngest rider at the Tour de France since 1937. Alberto Contador has said he does not consider it impossible for the teenager to challenge for the overall classification.
Sources: Cyclingnews
Quinn Simmons Wins Third US Road National Title With Solo Attack in Charleston
Quinn Simmons of Lidl-Trek claimed his third elite men’s US road race national title on June 21 in Charleston, West Virginia, attacking solo 29 kilometers from the finish in the 193-kilometer race to win by more than two minutes. Kevin Vermaerke of UAE Team Emirates-XRG placed second and Lawrence Warbasse of Tudor Pro Cycling Team third. Simmons, 25, previously won the Stars and Stripes jersey in 2023 and 2025. He confirmed he will wear the national champion’s jersey at the Tour de France beginning July 4 in Barcelona, where winning a stage in the iconic kit remains his primary season goal.
Sources: Cyclingnews, USA Cycling
Kate Courtney Takes US Women’s Road Title in MTB-to-Road Crossover Triumph
Mountain bike star Kate Courtney won the 2026 elite women’s US road race national title on June 21 in Charleston, West Virginia, outsprinting Lauren Stephens in the final 700 meters to claim her first elite road national championship. The former UCI XCO world champion and reigning mountain bike marathon world champion, racing on the road as part of her self-described year of radical experimentation, earlier this season took a stage win at the Tour de Féminin in May. Courtney edged Stephens at the line, completing a remarkable dual-discipline season that has drawn widespread attention from the road cycling community.
Sources: Cyclingnews, Velo
Pogacar Cancels Final TdF Altitude Camp After Fiancee Zigart’s Tour de Suisse Crash
UAE Team Emirates-XRG canceled Tadej Pogacar’s planned final altitude training camp at Isola 2000 ahead of the Tour de France after his partner, Slovenian rider Urska Zigart, suffered a fractured jaw in a crash during Stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse Women in Locarno on June 17. Team sports manager Jose Luis Matxin said Pogacar needed to be at home with Zigart. The CPA Women’s commission used the incident to call for a substantial review of the UCI’s SafeR road safety initiative, noting serious incidents continue to occur at high speeds near inadequately marked traffic-calming features.
Sources: Cyclingnews, Cyclingnews
Jerome Gauthier Upsets Field at Canadian Road Championships in Saint-Georges
Jerome Gauthier of Project Echelon Racing won the elite and under-23 men’s Canadian Road Championships in Saint-Georges, Quebec on June 27 in a surprise result. The 21-year-old was briefly dropped from the lead group of eight riders on the final climb but reconnected and outsprinted his rivals for victory. Luke Valenti of Club Ciclista Padrones-Cortizo placed second and Leo Roy of Team Vittel N’side finished third. The race was contested in wet conditions that significantly reduced the leading breakaway group over the final kilometers of the 180-kilometer course through the Beauce region south of Quebec City.
Sources: Cyclingnews
Transfer Window Opens: 200-Plus WorldTour Riders Enter Contract Year, Women’s Market Hits Milestone
The 2026-27 professional cycling transfer window opened quietly this week as more than 200 WorldTour riders entered the final year of their current contracts. Among the biggest names available at season’s end are Primoz Roglic of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Egan Bernal of Netcompany-INEOS, and Thibau Nys of Lidl-Trek. Jai Hindley has been identified as a key Visma-Lease a Bike target to fill squad depth, while Australian sprinter Kaden Groves is linked to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Movistar. Women’s cycling reached a milestone as the first rider contract exceeding one million US dollars was reported in the peloton.
2026 UCI WorldTour Team Rankings
Top Teams (Season Points)
1. UAE Team Emirates-XRG — 17,144 pts
2. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe — 14,694 pts
3. Visma-Lease a Bike — 13,798 pts
4. Lidl-Trek — leading classics squad
5. EF Education-EasyPost — strong GT contender
Tour de France 2026 Key Contenders
Grand Départ: July 4, Barcelona
Favourite: Tadej Pogačar — UAE Team Emirates-XRG
Jonas Vingegaard — Visma-Lease a Bike
Remco Evenepoel — Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
Isaac del Toro — UAE Team Emirates-XRG
Paul Seixas — Decathlon CMA CGM
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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