Good afternoon and welcome to the Tour de France liveblog. The Grand Dpart of the Grand Boucle takes place today in Barcelona, where the riders will test themselves in a team time trial through the city of Barcelona. So join us and follow all the action from the first day of competition live and mi...

The 2026 Tour de France has not even begun, and Jonas Vingegaard has already taken a playful hit from an unexpected corner of the sporting world. Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid joined the pre-race conversation on X with a very clear favourite for yellow, backing Tadej Pogacar and joking ab...

After announcing his resignation in January, Jon Duttons tenure as British Cycling CEO has now come to an end, with an interim CEO put in place until a permanent replacement can be appointed. Dutton joined British Cycling in 2023 after a five-year period as chief executive of the Rugby League World Cup. He has been appointed to one of the most prominent roles in British sport as the new CEO of the British Olympic Association. British Cycling board member Lee Gibbons has been drafted in as interim CEO, beginning the role on the 13th of July. Gibbons brings a wealth of experience from the sports agency sector, other sports rights holders and commercial brands, including nine years at adidas where he ran the sports marketing division, read a British Cycling statement. British Cycling say that recruitment for a new CEO is now in its final stages and Gibbons will remain in post until a new CEO is able to join the organisation. These changes come at a time when the organisations board is without a chair, following Frank Slevins decision to step down from the position in March due to a bowel cancer diagnosis. Slevin held the role for eight years.Andy Cook and James Davies have shared the role of acting chair in Slevins absence. British Cycling say that a new chair of the board will be announced soon. Dutton came on board with British Cycling at a turbulent point in its history, during which the organisation lost around 200,000 members shortly after petrochemical company Shell made an agreement to become a major sponsor - a deal which was struck before Duttons stint in charge. British Cycling has also faced recent criticism for its policy that stopped transgender women from competing in female racing categories. Dutton led a period of strategic change within British Cycling, seeking to boost its social impact and instilling a new mission statement to bring the joy of cycling to everyone, while working to grow the sport as one that is more accessible and inclusive. He told Cycling Weekly last year that he hopes to see Great Britain & Northern Ireland's Olympic selection over the coming cycles to be truly representative of society.We want cycling across Great Britain to represent society, and it is clear in some areas that is not the case, he added.Under his tenure, British Cycling played a key role in bringing the 2027 Tour de France grand dpartes to British soil and also stepped in as the organisers of the Tours of Britain.The finish line has arrived far sooner than I had anticipated, Dutton wrote in a post on LinkedIn signalling the end of his time with BC.This journey has been a rollercoaster of challenge, joy, and everything in-between. Im eternally grateful for the humbling opportunity to lead such a magnificent organisation.Its been a privilege, an honour and a pleasure, he added. Ive made mistakes, some will cheer my time on while others will jeer, but I leave knowing Ive given it my all.

The heat will be falling on the shoulders of the Tour de France peloton over the coming weeks, as Europe suffers through consecutive heat waves. On episode 2 of the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rben Silva and Kieran Wood have discussed its potential effects on the race; as well as discussing the points...

Team Visma | Lease a Bike do not need all eight riders to survive together in the opening team time trial of the 2026 Tour de France. On a Barcelona course that ends with two sharp rises and a format that gives every rider their own finishing time, the Dutch team can burn through riders in pursuit o...

Putting my hands in the air is much better than finishing eighth or ninth. That adrenaline of racing out front and winning, thats what I love doing, the Irish star said ahead of this years Tour

Tadej Pogacar begins the 2026 Tour de France in Barcelona today, chasing another yellow jersey with UAE Team Emirates XRG. Before the Grand Depart, his partner Urska Zigart posted a personal message on Instagram, telling him to enjoy the race, make memories with his teammates and most importantly...

Jos Flix Parra gave a positive assessment to CyclingUpToDates microphones of Caja Rural Seguros - RGAs Tour de France debut after the opening team time trial. The Caja Rural rider highlighted the experience of racing the French Grand Tour, analysed a route shaped by wind and heat, and explained...

When Tadej Pogaar and UAE Team Emirates-XRG take to the Tour de France start line in Barcelona, theyll be riding Colnagos brand new TT2 time trial bike. The Colnago TT2 has been designed specifically around the needs of riders on modern grand tour time trial courses. It has a frameset weight thats 550g less than Colnagos TT1, which the team had used previously, more agile handling and greater crosswind stability, while bettering the TT1s aerodynamic performance, says Colnago. At over 8kg, Pogaar's Colnago TT2 is heavier than expected. Ashley Quinlan / Our Media We weighed Pogaars bike at 8.14kg, maybe a little heavier than expected, given Colnagos claim that the TT2 can be built to the UCIs 6.8kg weight limit. Swap-out parts from Carbon-Ti abound on the bike, including the chainring, the UDH and even the jockey wheel bolts. Simon von Bromley / Our Media Even the bolts for the computer mount get the Carbon-Ti treatment. Simon von Bromley / Our Media Pogaar's second bike gets gold Carbon-Ti parts or is that yellow in anticipation of a fifth Tour victory in three weeks' time? Simon von Bromley / Our Media UAE Team Emirates-XRG swaps out many standard components on both its road and time trial bikes for lighter-weight parts. The Dura-Ace rear derailleur is anchored to a Carbon-Ti Universal Derailleur Hanger and even the standard jockey wheel bolts and the bolts between his extensions for his computer mount are swapped out for Carbon-Ti numbers. Pogaar runs 160mm Dura-Ace cranks. Simon von Bromley / Our Media Dura-Ace pedals on Pogaar's Colnago TT2. Pogaar is also running a Carbon-Ti single carbon chainring on his Dura-Ace crankset, which we reckon is a 64-tooth. His 160mm crank length follows the trend for shorter cranks and theres a K-Edge chain catcher, again with Carbon-Ti branding. Pogaar runs the 77g aero BSA bottom bracket from Bikone on both his time trial and road bikes. Simon von Bromley / Our Media Along with his teammates, Pogaar has a 77g aero BSA bottom bracket specifically developed by Spanish brand Bikone for UAE Team Emirates, while he and Isaac del Toro will use the same bottom bracket on their road bikes for the Tour. The ENVE SES Pro wheels turn on silver ENVE Innerdrive Pro hubs. Simon von Bromley / Our Media The disc rear wheel has a 1,030g claimed weight. Simon von Bromley / Our Media Pogacars bike is fitted with a deep-section ENVE SES 100 Pro front wheel and ENVE SES Disc Pro rear wheel. They roll on ENVEs premium silver Innerdrive Pro hubs with ceramic bearings. ENVE claims an 815g weight for the front wheel and 1,030g for the rear. The Conti TT tyres measure exactly their nominal 28mm width on the 22mm internal-width rims. Ashley Quinlan / Our Media Both are equipped with Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TR tubeless tyres in a 28mm width. On the 22mm internal width mini-hooked rim, these measure almost exactly 28mm wide 27.94mm at the rear and 28.20mm at the front to be precise, despite the TT2 frames 30mm tyre clearance. In contrast, the 28mm nominal-width tyres on Pogaars Colnago Y1Rs aero road bike measure over 30mm wide on the 23.5mm internal-width SES 4.5 Pro wheels fitted to that bike. The TT2's head tube measures only 32mm across at its waist. Simon von Bromley / Our Media The TT2s base bar has been slimmed down and measures 360mm centre to centre. Theres a low-profile grip surface applied to the bar ends and the time trial extensions are ENVE-branded, although ENVE doesnt show extensions on its site. Pogaar's bar extensions bear the logo of the spendy Richard Mille watch brand. Simon von Bromley / Our Media They also come with the logo of team sponsor Richard Mille, which makes extremely expensive watches, including the $1,000,000 Colnago special edition, which has recently been announced. His team says Pogaar wont wear the watch during the race for personal security reasons. Its probably not very aero either. Pogaar has the Fizik Airis Long Distance saddle fitted to his bike for the 19.6km team time trial. Simon von Bromley / Our Media Pogaar has the zero-setback TT2 seatpost fitted to his bike; theres a 22.5mm-setback post also available. He sits on a custom 3D-printed Fizik One-to-One Aeris Long Distance Adaptive time trial saddle, despite the Stage 1 team time trial's 19.6mm length and the Stage 16 individual time trial only stretching to 26.1km. Although there's a Fidlock bottle designed specifically for the TT2, sponsor commitments mean UAE fits the Elite Kit Crono CX bottle system. Simon von Bromley / Our Media Pogaar has Elites Kit Crono CX time trial bottle fitted. Its probably not as aero as the Fidlock bottle developed by Colnago specifically for the TT2, which completely fills the space between the down tube and seat tube, but sponsorship commitments mean UAE Team Emirates-XRG cannot use this. More on the 2026 Tour de France We weighed Tadej Pogaars 2026 Tour de France bike and its heavier than you might think Jonas Vingegaards Cervlo S5 for the 2026 Tour de France is bang on the UCIs 6.8kg weight limit Spotted! Remco Evenepoel will ride this prototype Specialized Shiv time trial bike at the Tour de France Can the Tour de France ever be Pogaar-proof? The race organisers face a near-impossible task From a rare team time trial to a brutal Alpe dHuez finale: 8 questions answered about the 2026 Tour de France route Live Tour de France coverage to be broadcast on S4C and BBC iPlayer