Tour de France 2026: Favourites
fotobureau Cor VosIn last year's Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar won the overall classification, underlining his supremacy with four stage victories. Thymen Arensman and Tim Merlier took two stages apiece, while the remaining victories were shared among different riders. What will we get this time?
Read about the main contenders for the yellow jersey.
Put your cycling knowledge to the test and play for a share of our €8,500 prize pool.
Please click the links below to access our previews of the stage favourites.
Tour de France 2026 - stage contenders
| # | date | favourites | km | type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4-7 | Looking for the best finisher | 19.6 | TTT |
| 2 | 5-7 | Puncher's Paradise | 168.5 | hills |
| 3 | 6-7 | Yellow for the taking | 195.9 | mountains |
| 4 | 7-7 | Half the peloton rolls the dice | 181.9 | hills |
| 5 | 8-7 | For fast men #1 | 158.3 | flat |
| 6 | 9-7 | Clash in the Pyrenees | 186.2 | mountains |
| 7 | 10-7 | For fast men #2 | 175.1 | flat |
| 8 | 11-7 | For fast men #3 | 180.4 | flat |
| 9 | 12-7 | Attackers in the Massif Central | 185.5 | hills |
| 13-7 | rest day | |||
| 10 | 14-7 | Spectacular run to Lioran | 166.6 | hills |
| 11 | 15-7 | For fast men #4 | 161.3 | flat |
| 12 | 16-7 | For fast men #5 | 179.1 | flat |
| 13 | 17-7 | For daredevil descenders | 205.8 | hills |
| 14 | 18-7 | GC showdown in the Vosges | 155.3 | mountains |
| 15 | 19-7 | All-out on final climb | 183.9 | mountains |
| 20-7 | rest day | |||
| 16 | 21-7 | Evenepoel versus Ganna | 26.1 | ITT |
| 17 | 22-7 | Sprinters or attackers | 174.7 | flat |
| 18 | 23-7 | Attackers in the Alps | 185.2 | mountains |
| 19 | 24-7 | Monster stage to Alpe d'Huez | 127.9 | mountains |
| 20 | 25-7 | Who conquers the toughest stage? | 170.9 | mountains |
| 21 | 26-7 | Heroes on the Elysian Fields | 133.0 | flat |
Looking for the best finisher
The yellow jersey awaits the rider who posts the fastest time on the team time trial course. Given the 7% gradient over the final 800 metres, the punchy climbers will almost certainly drop their team-mates in the finale in an attempt to ride into yellow.
Read more »
A puncher’s paradise
Stage 2 of the Tour comes to a head on a hilly circuit in Barcelona, tackled three times by the riders, each lap featuring two sharp, punchy climbs. The first is 1.6 kilometres at 9.3%, and the second, which doubles as the finish, is 600 metres at 7%.
Read more »
Yellow jersey for the taking
Assuming the overall favourites have already fought it out for the yellow jersey over the first two days, stage 3 offers an ideal opportunity to pass it on to a lesser light. The Tour is still long, and the Pyrenean stage is demanding, but not enough to turn it into a battle among the giants.
Read more »
GC Favourites
Tadej Pogacar is the best rider of his generation and possibly the greatest of all time. Yet Jonas Vingegaard has already got the better of him twice in the Tour de France. Who will come out on top this time?
Read more »
Half the peloton rolls the dice
Stage 4 of the Tour de France is one to watch. It is the sort of stage where half the peloton fancies its chances of the stage win, and that usually leads to a spectacle.
Read more »
More articles
Who conquers the toughest stage?Monster stage to Alpe d'Huez
Heroes of the Elysian Fields
Attackers in the Alps
Sprinters or attackers
Evenepoel versus Ganna
All-out on final climb
GC showdown in the Vosges
Attackers in the Massif Central
For daredevil descenders
For fast men #5
Spectacular run to Le Lioran
For fast men #4
For fast men #1
For fast men #2
For fast men #3
Clash in the Pyrenees