<\/p>\n
It\u2019s almost go time!<\/p>\n
The 2026 Tour de France gets underway Saturday with something the race hasn\u2019t seen since 2019\u2014a team time trial. But this isn\u2019t the traditional version. Instead of every rider sharing the same time, each rider will receive their own finishing time, opening the door for late attacks and early gaps among the overall contenders. The new format has been used in other ASO races\u2013using the so-called \u201cParis-Nice format\u201d including the race formerly known as Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9, the Tour Auvergne \u2013 Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes.<\/a><\/p>\n The 19.7-km route through Barcelona starts at Parc del F\u00f2rum before sweeping past the city\u2019s waterfront. After a mostly fast opening, the finale heads up Montju\u00efc. That\u2019s a nasty little 800-metre drag averaging around seven per cent to the Olympic Stadium. It\u2019s most likely going to decide both the stage and the first yellow jersey.<\/p>\n The revised rules make the TTT much more interesting than previous ones at the Tour. Teams will still need to work together, but riders chasing the general classification may choose to leave teammates behind in the closing kilometres if they have the legs to gain a few extra seconds. It also means that you don\u2019t have five or eight guys on the same team crowding the top-10 after the first day.<\/p>\n Visma\u2013Lease a Bike arrives as one of the favourites thanks to a squad packed with proven engines, including Jonas Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgenson, Victor Campenaerts, Bruno Armirail and Edoardo Affini. Affini had a nasty crash at the Italian nationals, but thankfully he\u2019s good to go.<\/p>\n Defending champion Tadej Poga\u010dar also has a pretty damn good team cast at UAE Team Emirates XRG. Brandon McNulty, Nils Politt, Florian Vermeersch and Isaac Del Toro mean that they will be contenders for an early jersey\u2013but you may see them give it away if Pogi takes it.<\/p>\n Three weeks is a long time to defend. (But who knows anymore.)<\/p>\n Another team that must be mentioned is Lidl-Trek. The German WorldTour team is stacked\u2013being led by Spaniard Juan Ayuso who hopes to take his first podium at the Tour. If you just arrived back from a trip from Jupiter, you will be pleased to know that Osgoode, Ont.\u2019s Derek Gee-West<\/a> is doing the Tour.<\/p>\n The newly crowned national TT champ was a last minute addition to the Tour team. He\u2019ll be sporting a spiffy new maple leaf skinsuit, and will be an invaluable addition to the team. Mads Pedersen (who won the Danish ITT champs in 2025) is there, along with Mattias Skjelmose and Quinn Simmons, to mention a few. You never know, if Lidl-Trek wins the TT and Gee-West finishes with Ayuso\u2026he may go for yellow in the first week. That is, if he\u2019s allowed to, given that Ayuso\u2019s GC is the main goal.<\/p>\n You can tune into Stage 1 on Saturday on Flobikes.com<\/a> at 12:30 p.m EDT. Canadian Cycling Magazine will have a full report after with photos, too.<\/p>\nStage 1 of the Tour de France<\/h2>\n
Visma vs. UAE?<\/h2>\n
Derek Gee-West has entered the chat<\/h2>\n