Tour de France
Review on restday: The first week of the Tour de France
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe completed the first crucial days of the Tour – the team time trial, the Pyrenees, and even a few quieter stages for the sprinters. A look back at the first nine stages.
The “first week” of the 2026 Tour de France, which – with no additional transfer rest day and distant Grand Départs – already accounts for almost half the race, is in the bag. From Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe’s perspective, it’s a positive one.
On the first days in Spain, on the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees, or most recently in the Massif Central – where the race continues after a day’s break – things certainly didn’t go perfectly. Yet the nine stages so far have not given cause for major dissatisfaction.
Stage 1: Barcelona – Barcelona (TTT)
The 2026 Tour de France begins with a team time trial in Barcelona. Remco Evenepoel clocked the time for Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, finishing fifth, 19 seconds behind the opening stage winner Jonas Vingegaard. Florian Lipowitz also finished in the top 10, 35 seconds behind the winner. A good start, but not a perfect one.
Stage 2: Tarragona – Barcelona
Barcelona remains in the focus on Day 2 as well. The final part of the stage features three laps over the city’s local mountain, Montjuïc. On the final climb up to the Olympic Stadium, Remco Evenepoel is not far behind Isaac Del Toro and Tadej Pogacar, finishing third in a close finish. Florian Lipowitz, who is less at home on short, steep climbs, loses just ten seconds and holds on to 8th place in the general classification. Remco Evenepoel climbs to third place.
Stage 3: Granollers – Les Angles
The third stage of the Tour takes the peloton from Spain across the border into France. The heat with up to 40 degrees puts the peloton under immense pressure, with 4,000 metres of climbing and a short mountain finish to tackle. Florian Lipowitz and Remco Evenepoel cross the finish line side by side, four seconds behind winner Pogacar. Without the long-awaited stage victory, the Grand Départ comes to an end for Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe. Nevertheless, everything is largely going according to plan.
Stage 4: Carcassonne – Foix
A large group dominates stage 4, which looks set from the outset to be won by a breakaway rider. Nico Denz and Jan Tratnik make the breakaway, with Tratnik taking the more aggressive role and attacking from within the group. However, neither is able to challenge for the stage win, as the final climb proves too difficult.
Stage 5: Lannemezan – Pau
The Tour’s first mass sprint awaits in Pau. With no sprinters in the team, the main priority is to get through without crashing and saving as much energy as possible. They succeed.
Stage 6: Pau – Gavarnie-Gèdre
Stage 6 features the Col du Tourmalet, the first major climb of the race. Early on the climb, the pace is so high that even the group of general classification contenders breaks apart. On the descent from the Tourmalet, however, the peloton comes back together again; only Pogacar is out of reach. Vingegaard is just 19 seconds infront of Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, who finish the day in fourth and sixth place. In the general classification, the gap between the two remains at 30 seconds. Remco is 4th, Florian 7th.
Stage 7: Hagetmau – Bordeaux
In the city of the sprinters, stage 7 concludes with the expected result. The route is almost entirely flat; no other mass-start stage in this Tour features fewer metres of elevation gain. With just one rider in the breakaway, the day passes without any notable incidents in the peloton.
Stage 8: Périgueux – Bergerac
The day unfolds much like the previous one: a sprint finish, no mountains. However, the final breakaway is only caught 1,400 metres from the finish, making the final stretch a touch more nerve-wracking than usual. Nevertheless, everyone makes it through without any crashes. Check.
Stage 9: Malemort - Ussel
It is so hot in the Massif Central that stage 9 is shortened by a few kilometres. However, this doesn’t really make it any easier. A large breakaway group dominates the day and ultimately secures victory, finishing just a few seconds ahead of the general classification favourites, Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz. So there are no changes in the GC ahead of the rest day. Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe finish the first week in fourth and seventh place.
