Remco Evenepoel may not exactly have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on stage 10 of the Tour de France, but his second place behind Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and the seconds he eked out over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), certainly felt like a win. The Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe looked headed for disaster on the lumpy road into Le Lioran. Dropped on the penultimate climb, with 6km to go, he slipped 10 seconds off the back of the chase group, in what he later described as a really hard moment. But, as Evenepoel proved, a lot can change in six kilometres. He hurled himself down the descent, caught his GC podium rivals Vingegaard, Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), and then distanced them all with a vicious sprint across the line. The result took the Belgian from fourth to third in the GC, leapfrogging Ayuso. It also brought him 18 seconds closer to Vingegaards second place, now just 30 seconds in arrears. I fought like I always do, Evenepoel told reporters outside his team bus in Le Lioran. There were some guys who were accelerating in their turns [in the chase group]. It was a bit annoying. We wanted to keep the same rhythm, but there were some who were accelerating and that did a bit of damage to me. But I fought and I kept my rhythm, because I thought it would be better to keep my rhythm than explode. In my head, I was also thinking about the sprint. I knew the last 500m were really hard, so I kept some strength for the sprint. Evenepoels demeanour after the stage showed this was a result to savour. Returning to his team bus, he turned his turbo trainer to face the reporters, so he could address them while he warmed down. He then spoke for 10 minutes, first in Dutch, then English, and finally French, making sure everyone had heard a snippet of his success. Im just happy with how it went, he said. Its good to take some time back, especially with what the weekend is bringing. Its going to be very important to stay calm over the next few days, survive well. From Friday on, but especially Saturday and Sunday, it will be a big fight for the GC. Well see how it goes. But yeah, I feel that Im getting better every day.It is, however, hard to ignore that Evenepoel faltered on a climb a 3.1km category-three kicker. When the race enters the Vosges mountains this weekend, he will face longer, tougher tests, namely the 11.2km to Le Markstein on Saturdays stage 14, and the hors catgorie summit finish of the Plateau de Solaison on stage 15. Does Evenepoels team have any concerns about his ability to keep pace uphill? For the moment, Im not worried, Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe sports director Patxi Vila told Cycling Weekly. Today he was the second strongest in the race thats what I see.If this morning you told me that [Evenepoel] will be second here, and he will just be a couple of seconds behind Tadej and in front of Jonas, who is dropped, [Isaac] del Toro dropped by one minute, I think I will sign it. I take that. You can always look to things that you are worried about, but for the moment, Ill enjoy this moment. I congratulate him and the team in general. Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe now have one rider on the podium, and another bearing down on it in Florian Lipowitz, currently in sixth overall, 38 seconds behind Evenepoel. [Pogaar] already has like four minutes, so I think there isnt much to play [for the yellow jersey], said Lipowitz. Its quite open for second place, and if we work together we can for sure race for second place here. Buoyed by the confidence of his stage 10 comeback, Evenepoel left the French press with a clichd but ominous line: The Tour isnt over yet. Roll on the high mountains.

The 2026 Tour de France will take place from the 4th to the 26th of July. Throughout the21 stages, the peloton will be racing through the mountains, sprint stages, cobblestones, individual and team time trials, and even. We take a look at all stages, their official profiles, and preview the days -...

Tadej Pogacar again showed why he is the dominant force at the Tour de France 2026. The Slovenian took stage 10 with a blistering attack on the Col de Prtus to further consolidate his overall lead, capping a day in which UAE Team Emirates-XRG turned a moment of apparent weakness into another show of...

A sprint stage but the wind could gust.Baston day: Tadej Pogaar had decided to win the stage and later said hed targetted the win for some time, this was no breakfast decision. It wasnt visible at first and while Lidl-Trek raced for the intermediate sprint they split the field with Pogaar caught out and even closing the gap in person. Its notable how Lidl-Trek are all in for Pedersen, or at least the likes of Quinn Simmons and Mathias Vacek are parking their ambitions for now. Once Pedersen had won the sprint the breakaway attempts started again but UAE kept them on the proverbial tight leash.Movistars Javier Romo survived the longest but he was caught at the foot of the Puy Mary climb by the UAE combine harvester. Richard Carapaz attacked on this climb and began to pull out a lead, taking almost minute by the top of the climb.By now it felt like the only question left was where on the Col de Pertus would Tadej Pogaar attack? The answer was about 1,250m before the top. But a lot more was happening. It was noticeable that nobody tried to follow Pogaar, if he stands up on the pedals nobody else moves. But he went after the UAE team was used up including Isaac del Toro was being dropped and Davide Piganzoli was setting the pace instead, perhaps helpful for Pogaar but also to keep the UAE riders at bay.On the approach to Le Lioran Pogaar was away but nervously looking back a lot while Jonas Vingegaard did the most work. Remco Evenepoel started to wilt, paying he said for the irregular work in the group but he never gave up, clawed his way back and then won the sprint for second place with Paul Seixas coming in third and Vingegaard paid for his chase and lost a few seconds in the final metres.Seixas said that it was a day for the strongest, he meant a subtle difference to the Pyrenean stage which selected for the best climbers. It was also after the rest day so add a pinch of salt to any extrapolations, for example if you think Del Toro is in trouble it might just be a bad Tuesday.It was also day for revenge. If the stage had finished in a nearby ski resort like Superbesse or Laguiole theres every chance the breakaway would have won. But Pogaar was smarting from his defeat in Le Lioran in 2024. We know he is out to win as many different races as possible, now we also see he finds added motivation from avenging defeats and especially schooling Vingegaard.A footnote to say Christian Prudhomme stopped en route to take part in the naming of the Pailherols village square after him. He regularly holidays there in the summer. Its 98% anecdotal but notable that posterity is becoming a thing for him, and he doesnt downplay talk of retirement anymore. If you want a front seat at the Tour with unlimited wine, a vacancy for the top job could be open soon.The Route: 161.3km and 1,400m of vertical gain. There are a lot of open roads today past freshly harvested cereal fields. Theres not much else to describe. The last marked climb of the day is a straight wide road, the kind where a truck driver probably has to shift gears but thats it.The map matters because the defining feature could be the wind. The difficult thing is different models predict different situations.The Finish: Nevers has its cobbled streets, cathedral and quays alongside the Loire but the finish is on the edge of town along with few features to warn about. Theres a level-crossing at the flamme rouge but presumably the rail company knows better than to run services after 5pm and itll just rattle some wheels.The Contenders: Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) has two wins and the French saying of never two without three comes to mind, an easy headline if he wins. But he spent most of the previous day chasing, including alone for a while so thats a factor to think of.Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) doesnt have the legs and if youre thinking this, its what Mathieu van der Poel is saying, from his post-victory interview on Sunday but added he hopes things will turn around. Yes hes come up short but were talking fourth or fifth, not 45th.Olav Kooij (Decathlon-CMA CGM) and Biniam Girmay (NSN) are the two other obvious picks.Once again to cite more names for the win is hard as the likes of Max Kanter (XDS-Astana), Sren Wrenskjold (Uno-X) or Milan Fretin (Cofidis) have to find a way past these four, eminently possible but just not likely.MerlierGirmay, Kooij, PhilipsenWeather: 32C and a strong chance of thunderstorms later on. The wind should blow from the NW meaning a headwind for much of the stage but a crosswind in moments.Normally the wind will blow at 15-20km/h which is insufficient to split things but crucially it could gust to 40km/h or more. But pick your wind model as ECMWF, GFS and ICON differ for the gusts and even the direction with less than 24 hours to go.TV: KM0 is at 2.05pm and the finish is forecast for 5.30pm CEST.The post Tour de France Stage 11 Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.

Tadej Pogacar underlined his authority in the Tour de France by producing another dominant display in Stage 10. The UAE Emirates - XRG leader attacked with 14 kilometres remaining, dropped all of his GC rivals and crossed the line 32 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel to strengthen his grip on the yel...

While all eyes are on the Tour as it travels through France in real life, its apparently a popular time to introduce new virtual ways to explore the roads in France. Shortly after Zwift announced their Paris map expansion, MyWhoosh just unlocked its new France World, which brings eight new routes to the platform. And its open for all users, right now. The launch was timed to coincide with Bastille Day on 14 July 2026. After a month of early access for Season Pass holders, the new MyWhoosh France World destination is now open to anyone on the platform at no extra cost, which is consistent with MyWhooshs free-to-ride model.(Photos / MyWhoosh)The eight new routes cover a range of terrain that reflects the variety of French cycling landscapes. Riders can ride flat, wind-exposed southern plains as well as steep mountain climbs, including the Col de Galibier. The routes are rendered in MyWhooshs visual style, which is more realistic than Zwifts cartoon-y worlds. Once you complete each route, they feed into a new in-game challenge system designed to reward exploration.For riders who want a more structured experience, MyWhoosh is also launching Vive la France, a two-stage mission running from 14 July through 2 August. The first stage, Paris to the Provinces (July 1424), takes riders through rolling terrain on the Paris Classic route.The second stage, The Summit (July 25August 2), focuses on the Galibier climb. Completing both stages unlocks the Colnago Master Retro Frame, Colnago Master Retro Wheels, and a Vive la France Mission Badge. All the gear and collectables are drawn from European cycling heritage.Whether youre working through the mission or just want to spin through a new digital landscape, France World is available now with no paywall or sign-up required.New Routes:Camargue PlainsToulouse PlainsTour de CorseParis ClassicCobbled ClassicCol de GalibierHautacam SummitLes Deux GantsThe MyWhoosh Esports Championships: Two Continents, One Yellow JerseyIn other MyWhoosh news, the UCI and MyWhoosh have announced the qualification structure and key dates for the 2026 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. The grand finale is set for December 12 across two live venues. The first one is in North America, and the other is in Europe.The format carries over from 2025, combining National Federation selections with open-access racing on the MyWhoosh platform. This gives cyclists from across the globe a realistic path to compete. Around 100 riders per gender will earn semi-final spots through their National Federations. The Federations receive quotas of three to ten riders based on recent championship results. Federations without a quota can still nominate up to two riders, as long as those athletes meet MyWhooshs performance verification requirements. Federations handle their own selection process, so athletes with eligibility questions should check in with their home federation directly.Outside the Federation PathwaySitting at home with no idea what a Federation pathway is? Dont worry, there are roughly 30 spots per gender available through the MyWhoosh Sunday Race Club Elite series. That series runs the first two Sundays of September. These open races are available to any rider not already selected by their federation. And those who qualify this way can be added to their national team on top of the existing quota.The virtual semi-final on October 2nd will bring together around 260 athletes. The top finishers advance to the live December final. A few additional spots may open up through UCI wild card selections (up to three per gender). And the 2025 World Champions earn automatic entry. Federations have until August 31st to confirm their rosters, with the final semi-final participant list locked in by September 4th.Key DatesJuly August: National Federation nomination windowAugust 31st: federations confirm selected athletesFirst two Sundays of September: open qualification races (MyWhoosh Sunday Race Club Elite)September 4th: final semi-final entry list confirmedOctober 2nd: virtual semi-final, c.260 athletesDecember 12th: grand final, live across North America and EuropeFor additional details, check the link below. MyWhoosh.com

Paul Seixas' first Tour de France is underway and thus far, without any major issues. The Frenchman is deep in the fight for the overall classification and the final podium; and his participation has been a topic of discussion with none other than four-time winner of the Tour Chris Froome. Froome i...

It was not a ground-breaking performance, but Paul Seixas was certainly among the happier riders at the finish of the tenth stage. The serious fears of what would the first rest day do to the young Frenchman's legs remained unproven as Seixas climbed towards a third place in ski center Le Lioran. "I...

Tadej Pogacar blasted the nightmares of his defeat in Le Lioran from two years ago with (yet another) dominant showcase of raw power during the tenth stage of 2026 Tour de France. His rivals were unable to keep up, but the same can be said about his - on paper bullet-proof - team. Far out of GC cont...