Tour de France 2026 Preview: Can Anyone Challenge Tadej Pogačar?

The Tour de France is the biggest race on the calendar, so my co-host, Andrew Vontz, and I called in reinforcements by sitting down with Jonathan Kaplan of the Riding With newsletter to break down the route, storylines, and the race's dynamics. Even if it is looking like yet another race where everyone will be hopelessly chasing Tadej Pogačar and UAE, we think there is plenty going on outside the race for the overall win to keep things interesting.

We dig into what his rivals’ strategies should be and whether Lidl-Trek is cruising toward a too-many-cooks disaster or using a clever chaos-theory approach, which may be the only viable option against Pogačar and the UAE juggernaut.

Follow Andrew’s path to beating cancer here

BTP Newsletter: Get Daily Tour de France Breakdowns

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Andrew’s Choose the Hard Way Podcast

Read Jonathan’s Riding With Newsletter

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe