Barcelona (AFP) – First yellow jersey of the Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard achieved "a perfect start" by winning the team time trial with Visma on Saturday on the Montjuïc hill in Barcelona, where Tadej Pogacar also left a good feeling despite the twelve seconds lost.
First modification: 07/04/2026 - 21:07
As the Dane recalled, "the road to Paris is still very long." But the duel between the two superstars, winners of the last six editions, is already beginning to make cycling fans salivate.
The Dutch team won the time trial, 8 seconds ahead of the Netcompany Ineos formation, led by Filippo Ganna, and 12 seconds ahead of Tadej Pogacar's UAE.
The overall times were taken on an individual rider-by-runner basis, rather than taking into account each team's records.
And Seixas, the 19-year-old Frenchman who dreams of being a referee this year, has not compromised his chances at all, after having made a great debut in the Tour under the warm sun of the Catalan capital, with 6th place with the Decathlon CMA CGM.
"Difficult years"
Sharp as a razor blade, Vingegaard finished off the excellent work of his swarm of "wasps" on the last climb that led to the finish line installed in front of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic stadium.
"I have had some difficult years for obvious reasons, but returning to the Tour, the biggest race in the world, and wearing the yellow jersey is something special and I am going to enjoy it to the fullest," insisted the Dane, widely surpassed by Pogacar in the last two editions and who suffered a terrible fall in the Basque Country in 2024.
"When I was lying on the ground, I saw myself dying. It was no longer a question of cycling, but simply of survival. By recovering the yellow jersey, I feel that now I can close this chapter," he explained on Saturday, on the verge of tears, at a press conference.
Pogacar shines on the rise
If Vingegaard made the best start, on a strictly individual level, it was Pogacar who was the fastest on the last climb - three seconds better than the Dane - where he easily left behind his Mexican lieutenant Isaac del Toro.
"It's good news, the legs respond well on the climbs. Isaac did an excellent job to carry me. Obviously, we always aim to win, but I think we did a fantastic time trial," reacted the leader of the UAE, who, by achieving the best finish, endorsed the points jersey to the best climber.
The Lidl-Trek of Spaniard Juan Ayuso finished fourth, 16 seconds behind, just ahead of the Red Bull Bora team, 19 seconds behind, with Remco Evenepoel, who finished alone, ahead of Florian Lipowitz.
The second stage of the Tour de France, which will be held on Sunday between Tarragona and Barcelona, will be decided like the first in front of the Olympic stadium, at the top of Montjuïc hill.
The finish line will be exactly the same as the one used on Saturday during the team time trial, although the path to get there will be different and much more difficult.
After the start in Tarragona, the runners will pedal along the sea before entering an urban circuit in Barcelona, in which they will have to overcome the steep slope of Montjuïc Castle three times (1.6 km at 9.3%).
© 2026 AFP
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