Key events<\/p>\n
Caja Rural get the Tour de France rolling<\/p>\n
The 2026 Tour de France<\/a> is under way.<\/p>\n First team Caja Rural-Seguros RGA are out on the course, carefully negotiating the glut of corners in the first few kilometres. Picnic PostNL roll down the ramp next.<\/p>\n Five minutes separate each squad, so no danger of catching a rival and torpedoing their morale.<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.16 EDT<\/p>\n Speaking of Camp Nou, Visma-Lease a Bike are making the most of their renowned sportswear collection supplier at this grand d\u00e9part.<\/p>\n Wonder how these lot would do in a kickabout. Vingegaard to put it top bins?<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The team time-trial route wends around Barcelona, taking in several landmarks.<\/p>\n The Sagrada Familia, Gaudi\u2019s Parc Guell, the Camp Nou footballl stadium, La Rambla and the Tour Glories. Who knows, maybe some punters will be tempted to visit this charming, off-the-tourist-trail place\u2026<\/p>\n Movistar Team at the team presentation in front of Gaudi\u2019s Sagrada Familia masterpiece. Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Emailing in, James Beardon does not think much of this new-fangled format:<\/p>\n \u201cNot sure about this TTT. I\u2019m not a fan of the ITT but TTTs are usually pretty entertaining just watching teams trying to stay together. The use of individual times just makes it an ITT, not a TTT \u2013 they just happen to go off at the same time. Seems a bit pointless to me (but it\u2019s the Tour so of course I\u2019m watching it!) Any thoughts or am I just being grumpy?\u201d<\/p>\n Thanks James. My take: on the contrary, I think it is essentially a normal TTT aside from the last 4km. I fully expect most teams to stay together for the flat, first 15km and treat it in the manner we are accustomed to.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.00 EDT<\/p>\n David Powell writes in remarking that it is hot in Barcelona, offering a charming selfie of an Englishman in the afternoon sun.<\/p>\n It is 30 degrees Celsius in the Catalan city, a bit like riding in an oven. One more factor to make this TTT even more unpleasant for the Tour\u2019s riders.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n One champion who is not at this year\u2019s Tour de France<\/a>? Four-time winner Chris Froome. Jeremy Whittle with the story from Barcelona:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe longest retirement saga in the sport finally ended on Friday when the 41-year-old, speaking in Barcelona at the Grand D\u00e9part of this year\u2019s Tour, said: \u201cUnfortunately, there was that fall last summer. That wasn\u2019t the way I wanted it to end. But even then, I knew it was over.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The favourites<\/p>\n Predictions for today? Send them, questions, wonderings and any anticipatory thoughts to andy.mcgrath.casual@guardian.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n I reckon the winning margin will be less than five seconds. Netcompany Ineos won the Paris-Nice TTT, Visma-Lease a Bike did the business at the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes, expect those two to be up there.<\/p>\n My money is on Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe to shade it, with ex-Ineos sports science boffin Dan Bigham in their backroom staff and world time-trial champion Remco Evenepoel leading their effort.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.38 EDT<\/p>\n Before the Tour has even started, it is possible that Lotto Intermarch\u00e9 will be a man down when they roll down the start ramp.<\/p>\n Their strongman sprinter Arnaud De Lie has been suffering with stomach problems and was pictured climbing into his team car during a pre-race tune-up.<\/p>\n Let us see if \u201cthe Bull of Lescheret\u201d takes the start.<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Seixas is probably the hottest teenager property that pro cycling has ever seen.<\/p>\n He\u2019s winning top-tier stage races, beating world-class rivals, attacking Tadej Pogacar<\/a>, all the while sometimes absent-mindedly forgetting his cycling shoes in his hotel room.<\/p>\n Seixas looking every inch the schoolboy at his pre-Tour press conference. Photograph: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images<\/p>\n What was I doing when I was 19 years old? Eating thirty-six Jaffa Cakes in one sitting while at university. Impressive, I would contend, but in a less athletic way. William Fotheringham has the lowdown on Decathlon\u2019s wonder boy. If he ends 41 years of home country Tour hurt on his debut, he really is the new cycling messiah:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.29 EDT<\/p>\n Who are the Tour de France<\/a> favourites?<\/p>\n Look no further than Tadej Pogacar<\/a>. He seems to find a way to improve every single year, challenging for every Monument one-day race going, a testament to his versatility, hunger and power.<\/p>\n Unbeaten in a stage race since the 2023 Tour de France and relatively untroubled by rivals in recent years, it would be a surprise if he failed to win. He has turned up to the Tour looking like peak Eminem, who incidentally is one of his favourite singers.<\/p>\n Blond ambition: Pogacar waves to the crowds at the team presentation Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo\/EPA<\/p>\n While regular rival Jonas Vingegaard<\/a> (Visma-Lease a Bike) could probably not pull off the bleach blond look, he is full of confidence after a dominant Giro d\u2019Italia triumph and says he is \u201cbetter than ever\u201d. Those two will likely duel again in the high mountains.<\/p>\n As for outsiders? Mexican super-talent Isaac Del Toro is making his debut, learning from the best \u2013 his team leader Pogacar. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) has impressed this year, and Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe have podium potential in Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, third last year.<\/p>\n And then, oh la la, last but certainly not least, there is Paul Seixas\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.23 EDT<\/p>\n Team time-trial start times<\/p>\n This is the running order for the team time-trial. Without a road stage beforehand to separate wheat from chaff and yield any time differences, it has been done in reverse order of bib numbers.<\/p>\n Spanish wild card team Caja Rural (dossards 211 to 218) get the race rolling at 5.05pm local time. The big hitters are on the course an hour later, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG last off at 5.55pm BST, 6.55pm local time. Note: all times below are BST.<\/p>\n 4.05 \u2013 Caja Rural-Seguros RGA The man to beat: four-time winner Tadej Pogacar and his formidable UAE Team Emirates-XRG helpers doing some TTT practise on Thursday. Photograph: Dario Belingheri\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.05 EDT<\/p>\n Preamble<\/p>\n Anyone care for some TTT?<\/p>\n The 2026 Tour de France<\/a> is here. It gets under way in Barcelona this afternoon with a 19.6km team time-trial around the streets of the Spanish city.<\/p>\n The 21 squads will be passing La Rambla on the route, but this will be no ramble. As the discipline\u2019s last word rather suggests, this is a test, the ultimate one for cohesion, power and aerodynamics in pro road racing.<\/p>\n Looking like Tron players in their wind-cheating helmets and skinsuits, eight riders roll down the start ramp, taking 10-to-20 second turns on the front to keep the speed at 60 kilometres per hour before slotting back into the slipstream, centimetres away from a teammate\u2019s back wheel. It is all about going as fast as possible with optimal smoothness, ignoring their burning legs and lungs.<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n The TTT is back on the Tour route after a seven-year absence, but not as many fans might know it. Rather than the clock stopping on the fourth rider across the finish line, as is traditional, this is individually timed. Therefore, many teammates will give their all and drop off the pace along the route, leaving one or two frontmen from each team accelerating for all they are worth on the finishing incline to the Olympic Stadium on Montju\u00efc.<\/p>\n The course is flat and fast until two short hills in the final four kilometres, meaning victory will mainly come down to sheer power, with climbing finesse needed in the finale. Given the tweaked rules, woe betide any GC contender who has a puncture or a crash.<\/p>\n This is probably the most prized stage for any team to win \u2013 a byword for strength-in-depth and total cycling, putting one of their riders in the yellow jersey right away. More than that, it takes the pressure off from the get-go. Job done in terms of performance and subsequent media coverage: not bad for 20 minutes\u2019 work.<\/p>\n We will get deeper into favourites for today\u2019s appetiser and the Tour de France<\/a> later, but surefire contenders this afternoon are Netcompany Ineos, Visma-Lease a Bike, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and last team off, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, home of defending champion Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n Please do chime in with your emails, thoughts, tangents, predictions, hopes and dreams. You can find me at andy.mcgrath.casual@guardian.co.uk<\/a> or @andymcgra<\/a>..<\/p>\n
4.10 \u2013 Picnic PostNL
4.15 \u2013 TotalEnergies
4.20 \u2013 Tudor Pro Cycling<\/a> Team
4.25 \u2013 Groupama-FDJ United
4.30 \u2013 Pinarello-Q36.5
4.35 \u2013 Cofidis
4.40 \u2013 Lotto Intermarch\u00e9
4.45 \u2013 Movistar
4.50 \u2013 NSN
4.55 \u2013 Uno-X Mobility
5.00 \u2013 Jayco-Alula
5.05 \u2013 Alpecin-Premier Tech
5.10 \u2013 Soudal Quick-Step
5.15 \u2013 Netcompany Ineos
5.20 \u2013 Bahrain Victorious
5.25 \u2013 XDS Astana
5.30 \u2013 Decathlon CMA CGM
5.35 \u2013 EF Education-EasyPost
5.40 \u2013 Lidl-Trek
5.45 \u2013 Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
5.50 \u2013 Visma-Lease a Bike
5.55 \u2013 UAE Team Emirates-XRG<\/p>\n