Road to Barcelona: How the Tour de France contenders are building for July

• 2025 Tour result: 1st
• 2026 wins: 9

Fresh from winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the fourth time, Tadej Pogačar embarked on his first stage race of the season at the Tour de Romandie. As expected, it proved to be a resounding success for the world champion.

Pogačar won four of the six stages on offer, doing so in a variety of ways, from a reduced bunch sprint of 30 riders to a summit finish demonstration.

It was Pogačar’s debut in Romandie, and the world champion will continue that theme by making his first appearance at the Tour de Suisse, which begins on June 17. As was the case before Romandie, Pogačar is set to spend the build-up to Switzerland at altitude, before heading for another altitude camp after the race as he fine-tunes his form for the Tour.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG have won the past two editions of the Swiss stage race, through Adam Yates in 2024 and João Almeida in 2025. With Pogačar on the start list, the team will be expected to complete a hat-trick in the world champion’s final race before the Tour.

Then all eyes will turn to whether Pogačar can win a record-equalling fifth Tour this summer.

• 2025 Tour result: 2nd
• 2026 wins: 12

Jonas Vingegaard has secured the Giro d'Italia title, making him just the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours.

The 34-day gap between the end of the Giro and the Tour’s opening stage in Barcelona on July 4 demands a remarkably quick turnaround, with Vingegaard not scheduled to race again before La Grande Boucle and likely to spend part of that period fine-tuning his form at altitude.

Yet having three weeks of racing already in his legs could benefit the two-time Tour champion, who has previously noted that his absolute power output tends to be higher during his second Grand Tour of a season.

Riding two Grand Tours last season did the Dane no harm, as he won the Vuelta a España for the first time. This also means Vingegaard is on track to have started four consecutive Grand Tours.

Tadej Pogačar is the most recent rider to complete the Giro-Tour double, but before even thinking about that, Vingegaard will want to get the job done in Italy first.

• 2025 Tour result: 3rd
• 2026 wins: 0

Florian Lipowitz rose to the big stage last summer by finishing third at the Tour. The 25-year-old German has been hugely consistent so far this season, finishing third at the Volta a Catalunya and second at Itzulia Basque Country before heading to the Tour de Romandie.

There, Lipowitz was able to test himself against the barometer that is Tadej Pogačar. He gave a strong account of himself, following some of Pogačar’s attacks when nobody else could, and by the race’s end, he was the only rider in the same league as the world champion in the overall standings.

Following an altitude camp, Lipowitz will return to racing at the Tour of Slovenia, which will be his final race before the Tour. Lipowitz raced in Slovenia in 2023, but abandoned the race. He will be aiming to claim his first victory since the Sibiu Cycling Tour in 2024, as final confirmation that he is once again ready to target the Tour podium.

• 2025 Tour result: DNF
• 2026 wins: 7

Remco Evenepoel’s path to the Tour will look quite different from those already mentioned. The Olympic champion had originally been expected to ride the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where he finished fourth last year.

However, following his spring block of racing, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have decided that Evenepoel will not race again before the Tour kicks off in Barcelona on July 4.

That means Evenepoel’s final race before the Tour will have been Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he finished third.

Instead, Evenepoel’s preparation will include an altitude camp in May, with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe indicating that the Belgian’s build-up will be centred around recovery, route reconnaissance and targeted training.

• 2025 Tour result: n/a
• 2026 wins: 7

After months of speculation, Paul Seixas has confirmed that he will ride the Tour de France, becoming the youngest starter in 89 years.

With his Grand Tour debut on the horizon, Seixas and Decathlon CMA CGM have opted for the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes as his final preparation race before the big one.

Despite his young age, Seixas already has experience in the race, having finished eighth overall last year against a stacked start list.

It was difficult to place expectations on Seixas’ shoulders twelve months ago, but after his stellar rise in 2026, there will be little doubt that victory will be the ambition in June, as a final boost of confidence before the Tour begins.

• 2025 Tour result: n/a
• 2026 wins: 5

While Isaac del Toro will ride the Tour de France in support of Tadej Pogačar’s bid for a fifth victory, the Mexican could still feature towards the sharp end of the GC.

Adam Yates joined Pogačar on the podium in 2023, although both riders finished behind Jonas Vingegaard. Del Toro will want that to change, and he made a strong start to the season, winning his first two WorldTour stage races at the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico.

A crash at Itzulia Basque Country left the Mexican with a right thigh muscle tear, ruling him out of the Ardennes.

Del Toro is set to return to racing at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where he will make his debut against Paul Seixas and former teammate Juan Ayuso in his final race before the Tour.

• 2025 Tour result: n/a
• 2026 wins: 2

After a really positive start to life at Lidl-Trek, marked by overall victory at the Volta ao Algarve, things have become more complicated for Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard crashed out of Paris-Nice while wearing the yellow jersey and struggled with stomach problems on his return to racing at Itzulia Basque Country.

Ayuso has not raced since abandoning on stage 4 of Itzulia Basque Country, so it remains to be seen where his current level stands as he is pencilled in as Lidl-Trek’s GC leader for the Tour.

He is provisionally scheduled to ride the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes for the third time in his career, where he will face Paul Seixas and former teammate Isaac del Toro. There, we should get a clearer picture of how his form is progressing.

• 2025 Tour result: n/a
• 2026 wins: 3

Tom Pidcock proved his three-week credentials last September at the Vuelta a España, where he secured his first Grand Tour podium by finishing third. He will return to the Tour de France after a year’s absence with Pinarello-Q36.5.

After a flying start to 2026, coming within a bike throw of Monument glory at Milan-Sanremo, Pidcock looked to test his GC legs at the Volta a Catalunya. He was sitting second overall when he crashed down a ravine on stage 5, forcing him out of the race and derailing his Ardennes preparations.

Pidcock returned to action at the Tour of the Alps, albeit without a GC focus, and won a stage. The Briton is expected to line up at the Tour de Suisse alongside Tadej Pogačar, where he will hope for a setback-free run as he fine-tunes his climbing legs.

There are plenty of names who could be expected to feature in July, with whom there are more question marks. 

• João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): Slated to spearhead his team’s GC campaign at the Giro d’Italia, the Portuguese star was a late omission due to illness. While he is set to return at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, his competitive sharpness remains a question mark.
• Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): Tapped to replace Almeida as the Giro’s outright leader, the British climber was forced to abandon before the race reached Italy due to concussion symptoms. He is still expected to serve as a key mountain lieutenant in July, but there is no official confirmation yet on whether he will race before the Tour.
• Oscar Onley (Netcompany-Ineos): Following a breakthrough fourth-place finish last year, the young Briton’s season has stalled. He has not raced since abandoning the Tour de Romandie after the prologue due to illness.
• Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost): Carapaz was also pencilled in to ride the Giro d’Italia, but the Ecuadorian was forced to withdraw after failing to recover in time from perineal cyst surgery. It remains to be seen whether he will race again before the Tour.
• Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike): The American is set to be a key lieutenant for Jonas Vingegaard’s Giro-Tour double quest. Jorgenson has not raced since crashing out of the Amstel Gold Race, where he fractured his collarbone. He features on the provisional start list for the Tour de Suisse.