Tour de France: Vingegaard Is Already in the Yellow Jersey. Ganna Ahead of Pogacar
Barcelona hosted one of the most spectacular stages of the Tour de France in recent years, kicking off the 2026 edition with a 19.6-kilometer team time trial featuring a varied and technical course that included flat sections, a descent, and a final climb. The winner was an extraordinary Visma | Lease a Bike team, which delivered a dominant performance, finishing in 21’47”87 with an average speed of 53.95 km/h. The Dutch team made the difference thanks in part to impeccable teamwork, with a significant contribution from Italian Davide Piganzoli in supporting Jonas Vingegaard.
It was the Dane himself who crossed the finish line first among his teammates, thus claiming the Yellow Jersey and immediately sending a strong message to his rivals in the general classification. Behind the winning team, Filippo Ganna’s INEOS Grenadiers finished in a bitter second place, hampered by a flat tire suffered by Kévin Vauquelin that compromised their final result: they finished just 7 seconds behind the winner.
Third place went to Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates – XRG, which wasn’t perfect on the flat section but managed to make up ground in the final stretch thanks to an excellent surge by the Slovenian, finishing 11 seconds behind the winners. The other top riders were further behind: Remco Evenepoel finished fifth, 18 seconds back, while Juan Ayuso of Lidl-Trek lost 15 seconds. The gaps were even wider for the other teams, with Paul Seixas 39 seconds back and Antonio Tiberi 47 seconds back.
