Life After The Tour de France
Sure, history was made at this year’s Tour De France, but where does the average cycling fan stand now that La Grande Boucle has come to an end? The heat, the rise of Del Toro, the disappointment of the Vingegaard DNF…was it all so satisfying that we’re left wanting more now that this year’s event is done? Well, maybe not for the stage 6 naysayers who shouted “It’s Over!” as soon as Tadej Pogačar crested the top of Tourmalet. But for those who were thrilled by Carapaz’s KOM campaign, or who were riding the panic coaster of Sepp Kuss’s spills en route to the stage 20 finish, 2026 made for a fairly compelling race. But what now?
First up is the Tour de France Femmes - kicking off in less than a week’s time. Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will tee up against FDJ’s Demi Vollering who sprouted that set of 11th hour wings at the Giro to capture the Maglia Rosa. The first of nine stages kicks off on the 1st of August with a 137km run around Lausanne with a kicker in the final couple of kilometers. Tons of climbing follow on in stage 2 over the 149km run into Geneva, and a potentially chaotic follow-on stage with a tough opening climb that could ruin any sprint hopes for the finish in Poligny. There’s a 21km time trial that features a considerable 6.9% climb in the middle of the test into Dijon. Stage 5 is a break-tastic affair with seven climbs that precedes the strenuous ascent up the Mount Brouilly, which is only 10 km from the finish. But most of the attention in this year’s race is going to be on the stage 7 ride to Mont Ventoux. Both fans and the riders have been waiting for this day since the organizers announced its inclusion and the drama of the final 42km could be the highlight of the pro women’s calendar. Hashtag tune in.
Let’s also not forget that there are only 26 days from here to the start of the Vuelta a España, which some say isn’t an awful lot of time to transition from a scorching route across France to an equally broiling ride around (mostly Southern) Spain. Rumors have been swirling that Pogačar will be there when the peloton rolls off the time trial ramp in his secondary hometown of Monaco, but that’s yet to be confirmed. With Jonas Vingegaard still nursing his broken collarbone, there will be no reigning champion looking to repeat this year – making this probably the Slovenian’s race to lose if he lines up to ride stage 1 on the 22nd of August. After all, it’s the last of the three Grand Tours that he needs to tick off the imaginary list he carries around in his jersey pocket. Other provisionally confirmed riders include Primož Roglič, the podium-worthy Remco Evenepoel, along with Mattias Skjelmose carrying the banner for Lidl-Trek. With a first-time finish in Granada, the big tactical issue this time around may be how the GC contenders deal with the Pyrenees so early on in this year’s race.
Beyond the flagship Spanish event, Tour Tracker will once again be covering all facets of the World Championship, along with the Giro di Lombardia (where Tadej could look to surpass his five-victory tie with Fausto Coppi…), and the season-ending Paris-Tours come the 11th of October. So there’s clearly plenty of post-TDF racing to look forward to, but perhaps the unspoken issue is how exciting any of these events will be if Tadej is in the mix? Will the cycling world still marvel as the UAE rider continues to knock down race after race? Or is there some GOAT fatigue down the road?
