The 2026 Tour de France classifications will shift across three weeks of racing, from the Grand Dpart in Barcelona on 4 July to the final stage in Paris on 26 July. Across time trials, sprint stages, breakaway opportunities and the high mountains, each day can alter the shape of the race for yellow...

Tadej Pogaar has claimed his fourth victory in this years Tour de France with another solo win at Le Markstein, in the Vosges. Approaching stage 14's finish line, he waved his finger in the air, glanced over his shoulder and raised both hands aloft in celebration. It is his 125th career stage win, and his 25th in the Tour, bringing him just 10 stage wins away from Mark Cavendishs record. Pogaar distanced his rivals on the final Col du Haag, which made its first appearance in the Tour de France this year. Towards the top of the 11.2-kilometre, 7.3% climb, the road narrowed, becoming a bike path. The crowds were thick, lining the sides of the road, standing on the verge and some even climbing trees to get a glimpse of the race.Decathlon CMA CGM and Visma-Lease a Bike had set a high pace on the climb, but with 1.6 kilometres to the top 7.5 kilometres to the finish line Pogaar launched his attack. Like on the Tourmalet on stage six, or at Le Lioran on stage 10, it was Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) who was first to follow. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) clearly had good legs, shaking off the other GC contenders to catch Vingegaard just before the summit. But in the end, it was Pogaars teammate, Isaac del Toro, who would snatch second place ahead of Seixas, in third, and Vingegaard, in fourth. Seixas moves up two places in GC and takes the young riders jersey from Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek).I must say thanks to all the fans that came to the side of the road it was something unforgettable, said Pogaar after the stage. To see all the cars on the hills and on top of the mountain. Ive never seen something like this.It was a perfect day. We marked this stage since the beginning, he continued. I knew that Isaac [del Toro] is maybe not 100%, so I was waiting for the last two kilometres to see if there was going to be any movement. Actually, Decathlon and then Jonas did a really hard pace on the climb, and one by one there were guys dropping. "I felt good, so I said I would try the last two kilometres, [which] I know very well. Also, there was so much crowd that it just gives you an additional boost to go to the topI had good feelings, so I grabbed it and took the opportunity.More to follow

Tadej Pogacar again showed why he remains the benchmark of world cycling. The Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates XRG took stage 14 of the 2026 Tour de France with a decisive attack in the final two kilometres of the climb to Le Markstein, sealing his fourth win of this edition and the 25th of his care...

One of the steepest roads in France, this is a selective climb for the Tour de France. If its not as fierce as the Angliru or Zoncolan, it still sits in a category of particularly steep climbs deserves to be explored in this series and ought to be raced more. So far its played a greater part in art history than the Tour de France.The RouteThe D45 road climbs out of the village of Le Coin in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is 4.7km with an average gradient of 11.2%. At the top is the Col de la Croisette, a crossing point in a dip along the ridge.The FeelThis is one of those climbs you can see from afar. Photos dont do the vertical gain justice. It looms with a cliff face some 800 metres tall. Apparently the name is derived from the Latin salire, to rise up or jump. Today in French it sounds like a lve or it rises. You scan the mountain and know theres road up but cant figure out how it will work, just a vertical wall to scale.The official climb might be only 4.7km long but to get there theres a three kilometre ride mostly uphill too, it averages 5% but its irregular with flat passages and 12% ramps, climbing past the suburban villas and chalets of Archamps and Vovray. This is France but Switzerland is nearby, freshly-washed cars with Swiss plates sit on driveways.A ramp into Le Coin has your reaching for low gears and here you start the climb proper, passing the last few houses to reach a farm building at the first hairpin, the switch for town to countryside. This is where the forest begins and if you struggled to spot the road from afar its because it climbs up inside the woodland. And boy does it climb. Youre onto 12% ramps right away.There are signs every kilometre for cyclists, a nice touch to value the road and warn of the constant double-digit gradients to come. It snakes up and the hairpins are even steeper. Its the opposite of Alpe dHuez, with its wide and flat bends in between each ramp. Here the corners are the steepest part of the road.Climbing this on a late afternoon in June it had been freshly resurfaced for the Tour. But it was already scored by vehicles grounding their chassis on the inside of the bend because of the slope. There was some commuter traffic, people hurrying home. One van came past just before a bend and as it cornered clockwise around a hairpin its rear wheel on the inside was briefly hanging in the air before the van finished the bend and got all four wheels lined up on the slope.It wasnt busy or crowded but clearly used by some people in a hurry to get home, a daily rally that cant be easy, or even an option, if it is dark and icy in winter.Its steep but inconsistently so with 11% here, 14% there. Only theres not a moments rest, it rarely eases below 9% and so makes for a constant winching effort. The changes in slope are never abrupt either.Its punishing going up but barriers along the road have extra panelling to stop cyclists sliding out beneath so perhaps ascending is the better idea? Being in the woods means there are few views but occasionally you get a view and can appreciate how much youve climbed in a short distance.Clear the final hairpin and theres still a way to go. Eventually the woodland gives way to grass pastures a small ski lift dangles in the wind but the slope still pins you back with double-digit gradients. Once at the top there are some buildings at the crossroads but look straight ahead beyond the railings for views of the Alps including Mont Blanc. This is one of those climbs with a payoff at the end, this time the panorama.The VerdictA climb just to get to the start. Once you climb out of Le Coin its harder still. Is it as hard as as Monte Zoncolan or the Mortirolo and other climbs we cite as references? No, but it does belong with them in a bracket of persistently steep climbs, the kind where it pays to think about your gearing because whatever works for normal Alpine climbs of 7-9% may not be sufficient.Its strictly a rural climb with woodland but does havea big population nearby. Its a gateway climb, the city of Geneva and its surrounding suburbs extending in France sit on one side so locals can climb and find a new landscape beyond.Ride MoreHaving scaled the cliff face there are some cafes and bars, plus a water fountain. You can turn left or right to ride along the crest top of the mountain to enjoy the views more before descending and being able to ride around to the start.If you do go straight on, and down, you can find a way towards Annecy for more Alpine roads. Or try a hipster version of the 2026 Tour de France stage by going via the climb to the Plateau de Glires to take its grave road before tackling the Plateau de Solaison summit finish.HistoryIn terms of geology this is part of the Jura mountains. The cliffs of Mont Salve have long inspired artists. In 1444 Konrad Witz depicted biblical scenes in The Miraculous Draft of Fishes but each painting has a backdrop with recognisable landscapes, including the Salve whose striated cliffs are on the top right of the painting here. This is regularly cited by art historians as the first work to accurately depict recognisable landscapes.The image at the top of this post is by landscape artist Thodore Rousseau, who features in a recent Substack post of Edward Pickering, the former Cycle Sport and Rouleur editor.In 1815 Mount Tamboura erupted in what is Indonesia today and this is said to be the most powerful in recorded human history. It propelled so much rock, dust and gas into the atmosphere that the following year the debris reduced the sunlight around the world, causing temperatures to plunge and what was since branded a year without summer. Crops failed, people rioted. Amid this a 19 year old Mary Shelley was staying in Lord Byrons villa near Geneva and she complained of the incessant rain. To pass the time indoors they told scary stories and from this Victor Frankenstein was born and two years later her story was published. Part of the story sees Frankstein pursue the hideous monster he created across treacherous terrain:I thought of pursuing the devil; but it would have been in vain, for another flash discovered him to me hanging among the rocks of the nearly perpendicular ascent of Mont SalveTour de France HistoryThe Tour de France first climbed this mountain in 1973 and via the same steep road too. It was a crucial stage as Luis Ocaa won and took the yellow jersey which hed keep to Paris.The stage finish was in Aspro-Gaillard. Dont look for it on a map because Aspro was a brand of aspirin. Its factory was in Gaillard, one of the first to mass-produce aspirin pills in France. The company sponsored the Tour de France, funding ambulances and medics at the race and quid pro quo it got a stage finish and start outside the HQ. A few other stages have had place names altered for sponsors but mercifully its rare.The last time it featured in the Tour was in 1992. The Critrium du Dauphin Libr, in its pre-ASO ownership days, used it in 2008. The surprise is that it isnt used more often by bike races. The Tour organisers have been trying to hunt out steep roads for a long time and this is the first time that its tackled during Christian Prudhommes time as race director.Travel and AccessGeneva in Switzerland is the nearest city with good rail, road and air connections. Its not a climb to travel a long way just to try by itself but sits at a transport crossroads with traffic from France, Switzerland and Italy passing by so worth stopping to enjoy the views at the top.More roads to ride at inrng.com/roadsThe post Roads to Ride: Mont Salve first appeared on The Inner Ring.

The Tour de France is often shaped as much by survival as by strength. Across three weeks of racing from the Grand Dpart in Barcelona on 4 July to the final stage in Paris on 26 July, crashes, illness, heat, fatigue and withdrawals can quickly reshape the peloton, from nervous sprint stages and exp...

Paul Seixas continues to exceed expectations in his first Tour de France. The 19-year-old French sensation delivered another outstanding ride on stage 14, climbing to fourth overall and taking over the white jersey after finishing third behind Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro. Seixas is now just 15...

Three years ago, Tadej Pogaar won atop Le Markstein at the end of a brutal Tour de France for him. The stage 20 win, sprinting to the line ahead of yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard, was an act of defiance, two fingers up to those who thought the age of Pogaar was already over, a reminder of his power. He lost that Tour by well over seven minutes, but his 11th stage win set the scene for what to come.Three years on, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider won atop Le Markstein again, this time at the end of stage 14. This time, there was no loss of face to make up for, or scores to be settled. No, this time in the Vosges, Pogaar proved again that he will win this race, without misfortune getting in the way. For the third year running, it looks like the Slovenian will vanquish Vingegaard by minutes.This was Pogaar's 25th Tour stage win, a number no other active rider will even get close to, his fourth of this race, and his 125th career victory on his 500th day of racing as a pro. That's a win every four days.He now leads the race by 4:30 over Vingegaard, with seven stages still to go. His margin of victory last year was 4:24. He appeared to enjoy stage 14, which he described in his TV interview as a "perfect day", partly because of the hordes of enthusiastic fans that were on the Col du Haag, creating a one rider-wide corridor, perfect for the world champion. His decisive attack came 1.6km from the top of the bike path climb, 7.5km to the finish on top of Le Markstein, but had been set up by his team controlling the day, pulling the break back in order for the Pogaar attack to happen. It might feel predictable, but the power is still impressive.(Image credit: Getty Images)"We knew that today was one of the hardest mountain stages, but I think we benefit in these stages with the team that we have," Pogaar said in his post-race press conference. "We grabbed the opportunity, we grabbed the chance, we made it hard. Also the breakaway made it hard for us in the front. A lot of guys felt good and showed a big fight, that's how I saw it. Big respect to all the rivals, they did a really strong fight. "I couldn't waste good legs today, I wanted to finish it off and finish off the work of the team. Also I enjoyed the atmosphere of the Markstein. It was one of the craziest atmospheres of my career."The jeopardy does appear to have been sucked from this race at least in the battle for yellow, anyway. For a second day running, Pogaar was asked what he would say about his rivals who are now racing for second. Interestingly, he recalled the Tour where he last raced up Le Markstein."If you remember, in 2023, I lost two minutes to Jonas in the time trial [in Combloux on stage 16] and the next day I lost eight minutes [to Courchevel on stage 17, where he lost over five minutes to Vingegaard], I think it's quite obvious that anything can change in one day," he said.Of course, anything could happen, but a bad day does not feel around the corner, especially not after yet another dominant performance."I think for now I'm more confident," Pogaar said. "I must admit that yesterday and two days ago, when [Lidl-]Trek were going full gas, I was not feeling the greatest. Then yesterday I felt a bit better, and it was these kind of days you have to get through."Today in the morning I spoke with Urka [igart, his partner] and she gave me a moral boost also. I was feeling great today, after today, so far, this Tour has been amazing for me. Tomorrow's stage I will be confident, then it's rest day and a time trial, and I have to do it like a one-day race and do the best I can do because I've put a lot of effort into in. Then we'll see for Alpe d'Huez what is left in the tank."(Image credit: Getty Images)By then, it's plausible that Pogaar will have won another stage or two, so it won't particularly matter what he has left in the tank, although he will hope to have a better final week than last year, when he suffered through it, with a knee issue, and also seemingly close to burnout.I don't like to repeat myself too much, but last year the last week was not the greatest for me, he explained. "I managed it with my grinta to survive really good. With the knee pain, and also just... This year, we still haven't finished the second week. I'm in the same morale. Last year I had good morale until La Plagne when I was freezing in this room after the stage. My knee was painful, and I didn't know, I was just happy it was over more or less. Maybe I was a bit grumpy in the media zone. I would say that morale is good this year, and was good last year also.One reason Pogaar has been able to look so dominant is the lack of a concerted challenge from Vingegaard. Perhaps because of his efforts in winning the Giro dItalia, he is a level below, and was beaten to the line by both Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).I think honestly, he's missing a little bit compared to the last few Tours, but maybe the bigger, longer mountains like Alpe d'Huez he will get this extra boost, the yellow jersey said. Maybe he will drop me there, you never know. He's there, he's really strong, and he knows this, but he also knows that he misses a bit of a punch maybe. A bit more grinta. It's a small percentage, and he's there with me. I would not count him out for the next day, tomorrow is a good day for him also, and both Alpe d'Huez stages.Pogaar is winning comprehensively, but that doesnt mean hes not hurting. Asked why he was smiling on the Col du Haag, he replied: It's my suffer face. Some people might think I'm smiling. When you suffer, but in a good way. That's maybe why it seems a bit more like a smile.Unfortunately for his rivals, the Slovenian is rather good at suffering. Three years on from his last defeat at the Tour, the end of his victorious era feels further away from ever.

At the Tour de France, the racing does not always end at the finish line. Sprint deviations, sticky bottles, feeding breaches, littering fines, time penalties, yellow cards and relegations can all become part of the daily story, especially in a race where every stage result and jersey position is wa...

The more Tadej Pogaar wins, the further Jonas Vingegaard slips back. On stage 14 of the Tour de France, the defending champion increased his lead to 4:30 over Vingegaard, and theres still a whole week of racing to go. The destination of the yellow jersey seems all but certain.Vingegaard finished fourth on the stage to Le Markstein, 44 seconds adrift of Pogaar, but lost six seconds to his fellow podium contenders Isaac Del Toro and Paul Seixas. Four stages earlier, at Le Lioran, Vingegaard lost by the same amount of time to Pogaar, and also ceded time to five of his podium rivals.In the past five editions of the Tour, with the exception of Pogaar in 2021 and the last two years, Vingegaard has always been a cut above the rest of the field; Not this Tour hes not, though.The Dane is no longer in a battle for yellow, but instead in a fight to remain in the top-three. After two-thirds of racing, he has 34 seconds on Remco Evenepoel in third, with Seixas a further 15 seconds back.Yet rather than change tact and concentrate on securing a sixth successive top-two spot, Vingegaard and his Visma-Lease a Bike teammates are still adamant that the 29-year-old can challenge runaway leader Pogaar.It was not a bad stage, Vingegaard said. I got some answers about myself. My legs are where they want them to be, so Im happy with what the team did today.His chief mountain domestique, Sepp Kuss, equally refused to be defeated. Jonas did his best to hang on and limit the damage, but Pogaar was super strong today, the American said.Were still going with the mindset that we want to win. It may seem further and further away the more time he puts into us, but I think thats the best mindset to have when it gets hard.When you start doubting yourself you have to have the mindset of trying to win. For the team and for Jonas himself, having won the Tour twice, thats the mindset he needs to have. It was a hard day, but we gave it our best. We will keep fighting until the end.Vingegaard went into the Tour on the back of cruising to a convincing victory at the Giro dItalia. He said in Italy and before the Tour started that he was in career-best shape, but in the Tours four mountain stages so far he has been unable to stick to Pogaars wheel when he has attacked. Rather than the gap between the pair closing, it has only increased.Still, though, Visma are projecting optimism. I think Jonas would have preferred to be with Pogaar, Kuss recognised. Hes riding super solid and not showing any weakness. But Jonas is super consistent, and will only get better.Stage 15 finishes up an even harder climb the HC ascent of Plateau de Solaison. Rationality dictates that Pogaar will only add to his advantage. It's a brutal last climb [tomorrow], Kuss said. And after the efforts of today, it'll be even more decisive I think.Maybe then Vingegaard will accept that he needs to focus on defending second.

Jonas Vingegaard is a pure climber and his specialty lies in the longer efforts. Hence, today on the Col du Haag the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider didn't wait for his rivals to attack or make the race, he instead hit the front and rode his own tempo, dropping his rivals all one by one... Except fo...