Rivals Impress But Tadej Pogacar Still The Boss Ahead of Tour de France 2026

A few weeks ago, Jonas Vingegaard and Paul Seixas were lighting up the cycling world and making fans dream of an epic Tour de France battle to come. Then Tadej Pogacar reminded everyone who is the boss.Vingegaard has been in the form of his life this year, taking part in three stage races and winning them all convincingly.

Watch Live2026 Tour de FranceFrench prodigy Seixas has been sensational all year, performing at a level never seen before by a teenager.But then Pogacar, 27, turned up at the Tour de Suisse and crushed the opposition, which included former Giro d'Italia winner Richard Carapaz, over five days in such emphatic fashion that he might also have killed off the faint hopes of his few genuine Tour de France challengers.Tour de France 2026 Schedule: Here's When Each Stage IsComment regarder le Tour de France 2026 au CanadaTour de France 2026 Entries: Who's CompetingHe then spoke about his form in training compared to last year, when he won the Tour de France, the world and European titles, and three Monument classics: "I'd say I'm stronger."

From a man who had just won the five-day Tour de Suisse by six-and-a-half minutes, that was a shuddering thought.He was talking about an altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada where he said he was "significantly faster" on a climb than he had been last year when he set "a really good time" which he thought he could not beat.But the Slovenian has been in astonishing form this year.

In five one-day classics and two stage races, he has won all but one, when he was pipped in a sprint finish at Paris-Roubaix by Wout Van Aert.He has 13 victories in 16 race days this year.By comparison, Vingegaard has 12 from 36 and Seixas seven from 23.

Of the seven races Pogacar has competed in this year, he has won six and finished second in the other one.In his two stage races combined, he won seven of the 11 stages and did not finish a single one lower than 12th.Tadej Pogacar Enters Tour de France In Dominant FormIt is no surprise that he