As the WorldTour season quickly approaches, the bricks are already being laid for the major GC narratives of 2026. Not only have the three Grand Tour routes been announced for 2026, but prospective leaders have begun to reveal their season-long schedules well ahead of those three-week targets.
Nowadays, riders rarely deviate from the programmes agreed ahead of the season. So whether Pogačar, Vingegaard or Remco Evenepoel start at the Mallorca Challenge, UAE Tour or the Classics, we’ll soon have our first glimpses of the key GC battles for 2026.
If you don’t have the dates of Itzulia Basque Country or the Tour de Romandie highlighted in your diaries already, we’re here to help you get an early jump on what to expect through the 2026 season. We’ve pulled out the schedules from ten of the main Grand Tour contenders for the upcoming season.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
Xavier Pereyron
Like in 2024, Tadej Pogačar will get his season underway at Strade Bianche, a race he has won on three occasions. From there, he’ll buckle up for a month of Monument chasing, with Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège all pencilled in.
Judging from his post-season interviews, however, Paris-Roubaix seems to be the biggest goal of the four, telling the press that he would ‘prefer to win Paris-Roubaix over a fifth Tour’. After a second place on debut in 2025, we can be near certain that he will be a fixture at the Hell of the North as he attempts to become the first Tour champion to win the race since 1981.
After the Classics, the Slovenian will attempt to fill in the gaps on his palmarès by tackling both the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse. He’s never taken part in these races before.
To top off his spring of box ticking, Pogačar will enter the Tour de France with the hope of equalling the record club of five-time Tour winners. With him in the UAE Team Emirates XRG team bus, we can expect Adam Yates, Marc Soler, Brandon McNulty, Tim Wellens and Isaac del Toro (more on him later).
Tadej Pogačar’s 2026 schedule
Strade Bianche (7th March)
Milan-San Remo (21st March)
Tour of Flanders (5th April)
Paris-Roubaix (12th April)
Liège-Bastogne-Liège (26th April)
Tour de Romandie (28th April-3rd May)
Tour de Suisse (17th-21st June)
Tour de France (4th-26th July)
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Visma-Lease a Bike
The reigning Vuelta a España winner will kick off his season in the Middle East at the UAE Tour, a race he last competed in during 2021. A month later, he will take to the start of the Volta a Catalunya, a race he has never started.
This will all act as a training ground for his grand Giro d’Italia debut in May, where he could become the first rider since Chris Froome to complete a trilogy of Grand Tour titles.
‘I have been thinking about riding the Giro for a while now,’ Vingegaard told the press this week. ‘It’s one of the biggest races on the calendar, and it’s also one I have never done before. I really want to experience it, and now feels like the perfect moment.’
‘We are convinced that racing the Giro will benefit his level in the Tour,’ Grischa Niermann, Visma’s head of racing concurred. ‘Of course, we are aiming to win the Giro, but the Tour remains our main objective.’
In that regard, there are no races on the Dane’s schedule between the Giro and Tour, much like Tadej Pogačar in 2024. On the other hand, the Vingegaard’s Giro-centric schedule means that we won’t get any Pogačar vs Vingegaard battles until the Tour de France. That also means we won’t get to see a battle of the mountain trains ahead of the Tour. In Visma’s case, that will include Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, Bruno Armirail, Christophe Laporte and Victor Campenaerts.
Jonas Vingegaard’s 2026 schedule
UAE Tour (16th-22nd February)
Volta Ciclista Catalunya (23rd-29th March)
Giro d’Italia (8th-31st May)
Tour de France (4th-26th July)
Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
After making his big bucks move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Remco Evenepoel will make a low-key start to life at the German team in Mallorca. As of present, he’s scheduled to race four of the one-day races on the island, known collectively as the Mallorca Challenge.
Once comfortable in Red Bull colours, the Olympic champion will build up to the Classics in Spain with the Volta Comunitat Valenciana and Volta a Catalunya. There have been rumours of a UAE Tour appearance in between the two races, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Regardless, he’ll switch over to the Ardennes for the three WorldTour Classics in Benelux, before a long pause – and training camp – to recalibrate in time for the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in June. This will be the third consecutive year that Evenepoel chooses the race formerly known as the Dauphiné for Tour practice, although he has failed to reach the podium on those previous attempts.
This leaves the big goal: the Tour de France. There, he will share leadership duties with Florian Lipowitz, last year’s white jersey winner. Evenepoel has reacted positively to this two-pronged approach, telling the press that ‘it’s the best way for us to do well. Whether it’s me or Florian, we just want to be on the first spot.’
Remco Evenepoel’s 2026 schedule
Trofeo Ses Salines (29th January)
Trofeo Serra Tramuntana (30th January)
Trofeo Andratx – Pollença (31st January)
Trofeo Palma (1st February)
Volta Comunitat Valenciana (4th-8th February)
Volta Ciclista Catalunya (23rd-29th March)
Amstel Gold Race (19th April)
La Fleche Wallonne (22nd April)
Liège-Bastogne-Liège (26th April)
Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (7th-14th June)
Tour de France (4th-26th July)
Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
UAE Team Emirates XRG
After a breakthrough season last year, Isaac del Toro will be handed more leadership opportunities in 2026. This begins at the UAE Tour in February, where he will anchor the roster at the team’s home race.
Some Classics appearances are interspersed between further stage race bids at Tirreno-Adriatico, where he finished in fourth in his neo-pro year, Itzulia Basque Country and the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in June. This prefaces the Mexican’s only Grand Tour for 2026, which will be the Tour de France. There, he’ll act as domestique de luxe for Pogačar.
‘Being with him (Pogačar) at the Tour is a dream,’ Del Toro told the media at a team camp in December. ‘It’s something I’ve always wanted, and now it’s about to happen. I want to try to take a step up to another level and see how I handle things. I’m going to learn from Tadej and get to know the race itself, maybe to learn how I could go to the Tour for myself one day in the future. No rush and no pressure.’
No pressure indeed, but there’s always the chance that Del Toro ends up in a fight for the podium, like Adam Yates in 2023.
Isaac del Toro’s 2026 schedule
UAE Tour (16th-22nd February)
Strade Bianche (7th March)
Tirreno-Adriatico (9th-15th March)
Milan-San Remo (21st March)
Itzulia Basque Country (6th-11th April)
Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (7th-14th June)
Tour de France (4th-26th July)
João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
UAE Team Emirates XRG
João Almeida dodges both Del Toro and Pogačar entirely in 2026. Instead, he gets his season underway on the Costa Blanca at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana, which often takes place on many pros’ winter training roads. Straight after, he’ll enjoy a hero’s welcome in Portugal, where he’ll come up against Juan Ayuso, Richard Carapaz and Paul Seixas in mid-February.
There are no Classics on Almeida’s schedule in the spring either. He’ll be focussing on stage races instead at both Paris-Nice, where he won a stage last year, and the Volta Ciclista Catalunya, where he has finished twice on the podium before. The latter will also give Almeida his first head-to-head with Vingegaard before the pair clash at the Giro d’Italia.
In conversation with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport this week, Almeida said, ‘The objective for the Giro will be to win it, and I’ll do everything I can to make that a reality. At the Vuelta a few months ago there wasn’t a big difference with Vingegaard. He was coming from the Tour, and he probably wasn’t at his best – but neither was I. I’ve improved every year, and I have the feeling that it can happen again in 2026.’
If he does continue to improve throughout 2026, Almeida will be in fit shape to lead his second Grand Tour come the Vuelta a España.
João Almeida’s 2026 schedule
Volta Comunitat Valenciana (4th-8th February)
Figueira Champions Classic (14th February)
Volta ao Algarve (18th-22nd February)
Paris-Nice (8th-15th March)
Volta Ciclista Catalunya (23rd-29th March)
Giro d’Italia (8th-31st May)
Vuelta a Burgos (4th-8th August)
Vuelta a España (22nd August-13th September)
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
George Marshall/Red Bull Content Pool
Florian Lipowitz emerged as one of the most consistent stage racers in 2025, with podium finishes at Paris-Nice, the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de France. This year, with extra company at Red Bull, the German’s schedule has been shaken up ahead of his Tour return.
In preparation for Lipowitz’s Tour double act with Evenepoel, the pair will both compete at the Mallorcan Challenge in January, then the Volta Ciclista Catalunya in March. The two will diverge after that. Lipowitz will miss the Classics completely, leaving a lengthy gap before he returns to racing at the Tour de Suisse in mid-June. Alongside Pogačar, the German will be one of the few riders to choose the Swiss race over the more popular choice, the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Two weeks later, he’s down to start the Tour de France in Barcelona. While it’s still a long way out to the Tour, rumours suggest that Red Bull’s Tour de France longlist includes Dani Martínez, Matteo Cattaneo, Maxim Van Gils and sprinter Jordi Meeus as well as co-leader Evenepoel.
Florian Lipowitz’s 2026 schedule
Trofeo Calvià (28th January)
Trofeo Ses Salines (29th January)
Trofeo Serra Tramuntana (30th January)
Trofeo Andratx – Pollença (31st January)
Trofeo Palma (1st February)
Volta Ciclista Catalunya (23rd-29th March)
Tour de Suisse (17th-21st June)
Tour de France (4th-26th July)
Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek)
Lidl-Trek
Now top of the pecking order at Lidl-Trek, Ayuso has been given priority in the team’s 2026 scheduling. This means he’ll not only diversify his programme, but he’ll start as a leader at more of them.
Notably, this will see him blend one-day races with stage races during the spring. This comes in the form of Paris-Nice and Itzulia Basque Country before a quick turnaround to race La Fleche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a pair of races he has never participated in before. Like Evenepoel and Del Toro, Ayuso will then make his final pre-Tour appearance at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Even with seven months left until the Tour de France gets underway, Ayuso has played down his role, accepting that the goal is ‘aiming for the podium’. At a pre-season camp in Spain, he also shook off some leadership duties as Mads Pedersen returns to the Tour de France as the team’s primary sprinter.
‘Going to the Tour with Mads is really going to help me, sharing a bit of that leadership role,’ the former UAE Team Emirates rider said. ‘For me, Mads is the leader of the team, and I think we’re going to really understand each other, help each other, and I’m looking forward to it.’
Juan Ayuso’s 2026 schedule
Volta ao Algarve (18th-22nd February)
Paris-Nice (8th-15th March)
Itzulia Basque Country (6th-11th April)
La Fleche Wallonne (22nd April)
Liège-Bastogne-Liège (26th April)
Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (7th-14th June)
Tour de France (4th-26th July)
Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
Primož Roglič is almost performing a victory lap in 2026 as he’s set to compete in four races he has won on several occasions in the past.
By the sounds of it, the Slovenian will start his 2026 season at Tirreno-Adriatico, a race he won in both 2019 and 2023. At that race, the likes of Carapaz, Jorgenson and Del Toro will stand in the way of a third title, although Roglič will have Jai Hindley for support.
Likewise, a third yellow jersey awaits at both Itzulia Basque Country and the Tour de Romandie, which both take place in April. This makes it almost certain that the Slovenian won’t return to the Ardennes despite having a Monument win on his palmarès. This saves Roglič from crossing wires with Evenepoel as he eyes up those one-day competitions.
Sidelined for both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, Roglič returns to the Vuelta after skipping the race in 2025. On paper, he is expected to be Red Bull’s sole leader there and will be motivated by the goal of a record-breaking fifth GC win. This would set him apart from Roberto Heras, who won four Vueltas in the early 2000s.
Primož Roglič’s 2026 schedule
Tirreno-Adriatico (9th-15th March)
Itzulia Basque Country (6th-11th April)
Tour de Romandie (28th April-3rd May)
Vuelta a España (22nd August-13th September)
Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)
EF Education-EasyPost
A podium finisher at last year’s Giro d’Italia, Richard Carapaz takes a whole new approach to 2026. In that vein, he starts it all off in Mallorca, where he will be dropped into a flurry of one-day races in the Balearics, much like Evenepoel and Lipowitz.
From there, he joins Almedia in Portugal to conclude a busy winter period with both the Figueira Champions Classic and the Volta ao Algarve. Unlike any of the riders on this list though, the Ecuadorian will opt for Trofeo Laigueglia in March, a race he has never competed in before. Conveniently, this keeps him in Italy for Tirreno-Adriatico, which features in his programme for a second consecutive year.
There’s a long break thereafter, allowing Carapaz to get in gear for the Giro d’Italia. Currently, this is the former Olympic champion’s only Grand Tour in 2026. While there are no Classics to contend with, Carapaz will enter the Giro with around 20 race days in his legs – six more than Vingegaard and five less than Almeida.
Richard Carapaz’s 2026 schedule
Trofeo Calvià (28th January)
Trofeo Ses Salines (29th January)
Trofeo Serra Tramuntana (30th January)
Trofeo Andratx – Pollença (31st January)
Trofeo Palma (1st February)
Figueira Champions Classic (14th February)
Volta ao Algarve (18th-22nd February)
Trofeo Laigueglia (4th March)
Tirreno-Adriatico (9th-15th March)
Giro d’Italia (8th-31st May)
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Visma-Lease a Bike
It’s all change for Matteo Jorgenson coming into 2026. He’s moved up Visma’s hierarchy following some high-profile exits, namely Simon Yates and Tiesj Benoot, so his leadership roles are now more frequent.
Saying that, Jorgenson has decided to park Paris-Nice to one side despite his two consecutive titles in 2024 and 2025. Instead, he will make his stage racing debut at Tirreno-Adriatico right after his first Strade Bianche in Visma colours. Surprisingly, Milan-San Remo finds a place on the American’s schedule while the cobbled Classics remain absent. These have been exchanged for a slew of Ardennes Classics, where he will be pitted against Evenepoel and Pogačar.
Jorgenson has been bullish in his 2026 ambitions, stating that he wants to win a Grand Tour stage. Currently, the only chance of that will be at the Tour de France, where he will reprise his role as domestique for Vingegaard. Although without Simon Yates for support, Jorgenson may play a more influential role in the mountains for his Danish leader.
The American shared that he’d like to lead a Grand Tour one day too. That day may come at the Vuelta, but he’d have to unseat Visma’s current strategy, headed by sprinters Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan.
Matteo Jorgenson’s 2026 schedule
Faun-Ardèche Classic (28th February)
Faun Drome Classic (1st March)
Strade Bianche (7th March)
Tirreno-Adriatico (9th-15th March)
Milano-San Remo (21st March)
Amstel Gold Race (19th April)
La Flèche Wallonne (22nd April)
Liège-Bastogne-Liège (26th April)
Tour de Suisse (17th-21st June)
Tour de France (4th-26th July)
Il Lombardia (10th October)
Where does everyone clash?
Xavier Pereyron
With many of the pros certain of their race schedules for 2026, there are a few key battleground events ahead of the Grand Tours.
The Volta a Catalunya has the most stacked start list in the spring period, with Vingegaard set to face Red Bull’s GC duo of Evenepoel and Lipowitz alongside Giro contenders Hindley and Carapaz. This should give some indication of the potential Giro dynamic, while offering our first real insight into the two-pronged strategy at the helm of Red Bull. Brace yourself for fireworks there, that’s for sure.
Elsewhwere in the spring, there will be a battle of the youngsters at Itzulia Basque Country when Del Toro, Ayuso and Seixas go head to head. While Roglič will be in attendance there, there’s a chance for a 2020 flashback at the Tour de Romandie when he reunites with Pogačar.
Attention will quickly turn to the Tour de France in June with the Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, which looks set to be a stellar battle. Many of the third place contenders for the Tour have this down on their schedules, including Evenepoel, Lipowitz and Ayuso. The race has often been a crucial litmus test on form, so make sure to have that one in your diary.
Xavier Pereyron
Below, we’ve collated the favourites for every major WorldTour stage race on the run-up to the Tour de France. To help you jog your memory, we’ve also rounded up the top favourites for each Grand Tour, even if they are almost half a year down the line.
Please note that several teams have yet to share their year-long schedules. Notably, this includes Ineos Grenadiers, who now boast Oscar Onley. Similarly, Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla) are yet to confirm their plans.
Grand Tours
Giro d’Italia: Jonas Vingegaard, João Almeida, Richard Carapaz, Jai Hindley, Adam Yates, Mikel Landa, Felix Gall, Ben O’Connor
Tour de France: Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Isaac del Toro, Florian Lipowitz, Juan Ayuso, Mikel Landa, Matteo Jorgenson, Antonio Tiberi
Vuelta a España: Primož Roglič, João Almeida, Felix Gall, Matthew Riccitello
UCI WorldTour stage races
UAE Tour: Jonas Vingegaard, Isaac del Toro, Antonio Tiberi, David Gaudu
Paris-Nice: João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, Cian Uijtdebroeks
Tirreno-Adriatico: Isaac del Toro, Primož Roglič, Matteo Jorgenson, Richard Carapaz, Jai Hindley, Felix Gall, Antonio Tiberi
Volta Ciclista Catalunya: Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, João Almeida, Florian Lipowitz, Felix Gall, David Gaudu, Mikel Landa
Itzulia Basque Country: Isaac del Toro, Juan Ayuso, Primož Roglič, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Paul Seixas, Antonio Tiberi, Mikel Landa
Tour de Romandie: Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič, Florian Lipowitz, Antonio Tiberi
Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes: Remco Evenepoel, Isaac del Toro, Juan Ayuso, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Antonio Tiberi
Tour de Suisse: Tadej Pogačar, Florian Lipowitz, Matteo Jorgenson
