Juan Auyso looks set to lead the line for Lidl-Trek at the Tour de France in 2026. Photo courtesy of Unipublic / Cxcling / Antonio Baixauli.
The 2026 Tour de France feels like itās crying out for something new – a fresh set of faces, new storylines, and a few surprises along the way. Weāve had six years of PogaÄar and Vingegaard trading blows, and while that will almost certainly continue next season, we might also see a new wave of riders making headlines or the return of riders who either missed the Tour in 2025 or simply didnāt show their true standard.
Riders like Mads Pedersen, Remco Evenepoel, Derek Gee, and Juan Ayuso are all ready to shake things up, while young names like Matthew Brennan and Paul Seixas could make their mark too. Here are ten riders who could light up next yearās Tour with not a PogaÄar or Vingegaard in sight.
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2025 saw Pedersen win the points jerseys at the Giro dāItalia and La Vuelta a EspaƱa, but after a Tour hiatus, itās time for Lidl-Trek to bring back the Dane. Whether that explicitly means Jonathan Milan has to refocus on the Giro remains to be seen [it probably does], but Pedersen certainly deserves a spot on the flight to Barcelona after arguably enjoying his best season ever in the professional ranks.
Fourteen wins, a string of podium finishes in the Classics, and those two points jerseys cannot be ignored. When he walks into the meeting with the teamās directors this winter, he can legitimately point to his achievements and request a Tour spot. Thatās not to say that Milan didnāt have a superb season, with eleven wins of his own and, of course, a green jersey at the Tour, but if Lidl-Trek are to manage two leading sprinters with competing aims, then opportunities need to be shared.
Pedersen is also better against the clock, so the team might consider him a stronger choice for the opening Team Time Trial now that they have enhanced their GC bid. Regarding the route, both riders would have several opportunities. If youāre Pedersen, though, and you miss the Tour for a second consecutive season, you might be well within your rights to be concerned, especially after signing that ālifetimeā contract. He has to be at the in 2026, and itāll be a better race for it.
I donāt think thereās a rider going into the Tour de France next season with more pressure on his shoulders than Remco Evenepoel. The defending champion, PogaÄar and his shadow, Vingegaard, know the drill by now and have shared the spoils for the last six years. A Tour win for either rider would obviously be a massive result, but Evenepoel is still looking for his maiden title and remains well behind the curve, given what weāve seen in the last 24 months. Add to that the fact that heās finally got his big money move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and that Florian Lipowitzās third place could necessitate a co-leadership situation as Zak Dempster alluded to in an exclusive interview with us earlier this week, and suddenly, Evenepoel finds himself layered with questions and different forms of pressure to deal with.
But itās for all those reasons that he remains a box office rider, and on a level that Lipowitz hasnāt reached yet. When heās on form and in contention, Evenepoel remains the most fascinating to watch from a trio of PogaÄar and Vingegaard. Thatās not because heās the best; itās because heās the most unpredictable and the hardest to align with eventual outcomes. His Grand Tour record is DNF, 1st, DNF, 12th, 3rd, DNF. He remains a fascinating candidate, and his vulnerabilities make him captivating in ways that PogaÄar and Vingegaard canāt attain. His pre- and post-race comments are always more in-depth, too. PogaÄar, at times, looks bored, and Vingegaard keeps his cards much closer to his chest, while Evenepoel wears his heart on his sleeve.