Good morning and welcome to the liveblog of the Tour de France! Although there is a new rider in the yellow jersey, the spotlight at the end of Stage 5 will be firmly on the sprint trains, as they battle to deliver their leaders into the perfect position for the final dash to the line. Join us throu...

Anyone can stand by the roadside and watch the Tour de France, making it the event with the largest number of spectators in the world. The organisers estimate there are more than 12 million roadside visitors to the Tour each year.Thats a lot of people who are passed by the riders and, because theyre often waiting for several hours for the race to pass, also a golden opportunity for brands to publicise their wares.So, around one to two hours ahead of the riders, the publicity caravan follows the same route as the race. Your chance to see an extra-large pack of Haribo and maybe catch a smaller sample pack. A.S.O. In the caravan are cars and floats decked out in advertisers colours, many in the shape of their product. So if youve ever wanted to see a giant bag of Haribo or an oversized chicken leg, the caravan is for you. Participants return year after year to work in the caravan. A.S.O. Official figures show that the publicity caravan for the 2025 Tour de France comprised 150 vehicles, with 37 different brands represented. There are more than 600 drivers and other participants representing the advertisers, many of whom come back year after year to take part.The caravan stretches to around 10 kilometres in length and takes around 35 minutes to pass. The caravan is 10km in length and takes over half an hour to pass. Better yet, as well as the spectacle, the caravan scatters free products as it passes, so you can expect to be fed, watered and maybe pick up a king of the mountains T-shirt or a cap as the caravan passes, although there can be stampedes for the choice items.Advertising represents around 40% of the Tours revenues, with much of this coming from the caravan and its been a feature of the Tour since 1930.Its reckoned by the Tour's organisers that almost 40% of the spectators turn out just to see the caravan pass so much for being there to watch the cycle race, which can pass in a shot. More on the 2026 Tour de France Who is Isaac del Toro? 4 things you need to know about the Mexican who could be a future Tour de France winner Why are Pogaar and Del Toro riding different bikes? Isaac del Toro's stage-winning Colnago V5Rs may sit exactly on the UCI weight limit Fans told to avoid Tour de France stage 3 due to major wildfires A Tour de France breakaway only has a 2% chance of winning, so why join one? Every team bike at the 2026 Tour de France

The 2026 Tour de France started on Saturday 4 July, with 184 riders grouped into 23 teams setting off from Barcelona to contest the greatest bike race on the globe. Over the next three weeks, these riders will race along a route thats 3,320km (2,063.4 miles) long, tackling almost 50,000 metres of ascent in the process. But not everyone will make it to the streets of Paris to ride around the Montmartre circuit. We might not have seen the almost Hunger Games-rate of attrition that was on show at the Giro dItalia this year, but there havent been any significant crashes so far, despite .And, as the Tour goes on, and the mercury keeps creeping north in the south of France, to the point where spectators were told to stay away from certain sections due to the strain being placed on emergency services dealing with wildfires some riders are beginning to fail and bail, before they can be caught by the broomwagon. Clment Berthet from Groupama-FDJ United was the first to fall, with the climber failing to start stage two, withdrawing from the race after sustaining an injury in a crash with teammate Guillaume Martin halfway through the 19.6km time trial on day one.Lotto-Intermarchs Arnaud De Lie was the next to throw the towel in. While young Mexican sensation Isaac del Toro nailed a near-perfect ride to take victory on stage two, De Lie visibly struggled with illness throughout the day and finished last. As the route passed from Spain into France on long-and-lumpy stage three, amid a heatwave, it was no surprise to see the 24-year-old Belgian sprinter withdrawing from the race, although he soldiered on to within 10km of the finish line. On stage four, when Mads Pedersen from Lidl-Trek sprinted to victory and fellow Scandinavian Torstein Tren (Uno-X Mobility) grabbed the yellow jersey, Kelland O'Brien from Jayco AlUla was unable to cope with the heat, and crossed the line a few minutes after the imposed cut-off, meaning he is out of the race. How to watch stage five of the 2026 Tour de FranceWho is currently leading the 2026 Tour de France?Riders who have abandoned the 2026 Tour de FranceClment Berthet (Groupama-FDJ United) DNS stage 2 after crashing on stage 1Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarch) Abandoned during stage 3 with illnessKelland O'Brien (Jayco AlUla) Missed cut-off on stage 4

A sports doctor has opened up about his surprise to hear Cian Uijtdebroeks and Movistar's explanation of the Belgian rider's fever at the Tour de France. The young general classification hopeful has started La Grand Boucle on the backfoot right from the off. During the opening team time trial, he dr...

You know things are serious when the spectators of the Tour de France are asked not to attend the 40km finale of a stage. Even during the Covid 19-hit Tour of 2020, it was only the starts and finishes that were really impacted by restrictions. However, as the peloton heads for its first proper sprint, the now well-known technical run into Pauthe conversation isnt just about who has the best legs after a tough start to the Tour amongst the fastmen - its about who can survive this historic early-summer heatwave, where we are seeing near 45C temperatures, and raging wildfires become the talking points of the first week. The Peloton being hosed at the Vuelta a Espaa 2024 in similar conditions (Image credit: Getty Images)To battle these brutal conditions, Tour de France riders need to adapt to the heat, with teams deploying a range of low- and high-tech solutions. The high-tech ones are ever-evolving, with teams now being offered complete kits designed specifically to handle these extremes. The Rapha Pro Team Ghost Air jersey uses internal 3D-fabric channelling to maximise airflow against the skin. Meanwhile, Tom Pidcock's Pinarello Q36.5 squad utilises their title sponsor's advanced yarn engineered to manage and lower core body temperatures.Not all teams have access to these high-tech solutions, and many still use tried-and-tested, simple, low-tech solutions to keep cool. Just this week, the beautifully simple "ice sock" has officially been clamped down on and banned due to potential violations of strict aerodynamic rules. We also saw NetCompany Ineos bizarrely sitting with their arms in ice baths ahead of the stage one TTT, employing the interesting 'wrist-cooling hack'. While even the smallest World Tour teams can rely on a fleet of team cars packed with ice and domestics to ferry them back and forth, we mere mortals dont have that luxury as solo, unsupported riders out on our Sunday morning rides. So, here is my ultimate gear guide to beat the heat on your own summer rides. Rapha Pro Team Ghost Air Jersey Castelli A/C Bibshorts VeloToze Cooling Vest Velocio Concept Radiator Jersey GripGrab Summer Lightweight Cap Bivo Trio Insulated Water Bottle Restrap Race Hydration vest Muc-Off Cool Bag Pelotan Roll On SPF30 VogVog 80 Pack Reusable Ice Cubes Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Drink Mix Everything I have featured in this piece comes highly rated and fully reviewed by a member of the Cycling Weekly team, or is a personal recommendation based on our years of experience suffering in the saddle.All the products above are intended largely for our US readers; however, check the widget below for all the products featured above and the best deals on them in your region.

Dylan Groenewegen has become one of the hottest names on the transfer market after a start to the season that has put him back among the pelotons elite sprinters. The Dutch rider has attracted interest from several WorldTour teams, and Movistar is one of the strongest suitors. The Spanish outfit ha...

Special Thanks to Mitchell Connell and Two Bikes Chattanooga Starting in central Chattanooga near the Walnut Street Bridge, the River to Clouds Overnighter was originally created by Patrick Kelly, the []The post River To Clouds Overnighter appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Alpecin-Premier Tech see the Tour de France stage 5 as tailor-made for them. After a sweltering and brutal few days, the heat might stay high but a bunch sprint is exactly what is needed for a suffering peleton. That's at least what team manager Gianni Meersman thinks. With already four stages down...

Netcompany INEOS are going for stage wins at the Tour de France but not fully. Geraint Thomas has revealed that one of its riders is actually going for the overall classification, whilst the team has thus far prioritized stage wins. Not bad. If youre going for the win, you can be satisfied. I don...

Launched yesterday, the Whisp XC wheels from Industry Nine feature 605 points of engagement, carbon rims from their sister company We Are One, and their Solix hub system. Explore all the details of this new wheel system below...The post New Industry Nine Whisp XC Wheels appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.