Tour 2026 opening weekend: Vingegaard in yellow, Del Toro surprises

Visma wins the team time trial, Vingegaard takes yellow

The 2026 Tour de France could not have started better for Jonas Vingegaard. Visma–Lease a Bike set the fastest time in the opening team time trial through Barcelona (19.6 km): 21'47", eight seconds quicker than a surprising NSN squad led by Filippo Ganna and twelve up on UAE Team Emirates XRG. Under the new rules — every rider gets his own finish time — Vingegaard emerged as the race's first leader, with Tadej Pogačar already twelve seconds down.

Quirk of the day: with no regular points on offer in the team time trial, the first green jersey went to Egan Bernal (fastest over the opening 5.1 km) and the first polka dot jersey to Pogačar, quickest over the closing climb of Montjuïc.

Del Toro strikes on Montjuïc

On stage two from Tarragona to Barcelona, with three ascents of the steep Côte du Château de Montjuïc in the finale, it was UAE who lit up the race. Not team leader Pogačar but Isaac del Toro finished it off: the young Mexican won the stage ahead of Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, who crossed the line in the same time as yellow jersey Vingegaard. A show of force from UAE — but with no time gained among the four big names.

Del Toro's win did hand him both the green and white jerseys. Since he wears green, Juan Ayuso rides in white this week.

The standings: six seconds between the two favourites

After two days Vingegaard leads the GC by six seconds over Pogačar, fifteen over Evenepoel and sixteen over Del Toro. Juan Ayuso sits nineteen seconds back, 19-year-old prodigy Paul Seixas at 42. The gaps are small, but the hierarchy is clear: all the favourites have come through the explosive Catalan opening weekend unscathed.

What's next: Les Angles and the Pyrenees

Today the peloton heads into the Pyrenees on stage 3: 195.9 km from Granollers to Les Angles, over the first-category Col de Toses and up to a summit finish. The first real GC test — this is where the gaps could grow beyond mere seconds for the first time.

After that comes a varied week: a hilly stage to Foix on Tuesday that has breakaway written all over it, the first genuine sprint chance of this Tour in Pau on Wednesday, and Thursday's big mountain stage over the Col d'Aspin and the mythical Tourmalet to Gavarnie-Gèdre. Anyone who wants to wear yellow in Paris cannot afford a weak moment this week.