<\/p>\n
The biggest race in cycling is back, and Canadian fans can expect another blockbuster showdown as Tadej Poga\u010dar and Jonas Vingegaard renew their rivalry at the 2026 Tour de France.<\/p>\n
The score stands 4-2 in Poga\u010dar\u2019s favour after six editions, but Vingegaard arrives fresh off his Giro d\u2019Italia victory, completing the set of Grand Tour titles. Poga\u010dar, meanwhile, dominated the Tour de Suisse, winning three stages, including the time trial, and enters July as the favourite to claim a fifth yellow jersey, joining Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re far from alone. Remco Evenepoel<\/a> enjoyed a sensational spring before taking a break from racing, while Red Bull teammate Florian Lipowitz continued his breakthrough with podiums at Volta a Catalunya, Itzulia Basque Country and Tour de Romandie before winning the Tour of Slovenia. And the good news for us Canadians (and Ayuso, tbh) is that the newly crowned national TT champion, Derek Gee-West<\/a>, will be there to serve as a lieutenant for the Spaniard. He was just in Saint-Georges, Que., where he took his third time trial crown\u2014although he didn\u2019t quite defend his road race title. Under-23 J\u00e9r\u00f4me Gauthier, however, took a huge win, claiming both the espoir and elite titles. But we will<\/em> get to see the maple leaf kit in action\u2014right off the bat, in fact, since the Tour begins on in Barcelona with a TTT.<\/p>\n The final stage will be in Paris on July 26, and yes, once again it will skip the traditional parade stage onto the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es. Once again the peloton will tackle the Olympic circuit with the tough little kicker on Montmartre. It was a pretty exciting stage last year, won by Visma \u2013 Lease a Bike\u2019s Wout van Aert, who unfortunately won\u2019t be there due to the infection after his crash in training.<\/p>\n
French fans are pinning their hopes on 19-year-old Paul Seixas, who makes his Tour debut after a remarkable spring campaign, while Mexican sensation Isaac del Toro has already captured three WorldTour stage race titles this season. Juan Ayuso also lines up after an impressive first campaign with Lidl-Trek.<\/p>\nThe Canadian in France<\/h2>\n