Will it be Tadej Pogačar or Jonas Vingegaard? There's more to this year's Tour de France than these two, of course, but it's undeniable that the race for the maillot jaune will focus on the sport's two heavyweights (or should that be lightweights?)

The 2026 Tour de France starts here. There are just a few days to go until the Grand Départ in Barcelona and The Cycling Podcast kicks off a three-part preview of the greatest race in the world by weighing up the two outstanding riders – the champion, Tadej Pogačar and the challenger Jonas Vingegaard.

Join Lionel Birnie and Graham Willgoss as they find out about the two men who have dominated the Tour de France since 2020. Graham speaks to journalist Andy McGrath, author of Unstoppable, a biography of the Slovenian, about the man aiming to join the five-time winner's club. And Lionel talks to a man our listeners will be very familiar with, Brian Nygaard, who has followed Vingegaard's career from the beginning.

Part two and three of The XL Preview series will cover the route, and all the other contenders to look out for, and will be released soon.

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The 113th Tour de France starts in Barcelona on Saturday, and makes its way to Paris via the Pyrenees, Massif Central, Vosges, Jura and Alps.

In this episode, Lionel Birnie and Graham Willgoss take an in-depth look at the route, picking out some highlights along the way. There's also some French flavour from François Thomazeau, who has covered the Tour for the past four decades and writes the official tourist's guide for the race.

Join us for the journey when our daily episodes get underway after the opening team time trial on Saturday.

Part one of The XL Preview series is online now. Part three, covering all the other contenders to look out for, will be released soon.

TITLE SPONSOR
Our Tour de France preview series is sponsored by MyWhoosh.

MyWhoosh is a serious indoor training and racing platform, built for riders who love cycling, and it’s free. It’s built for anyone who wants to ride indoors with purpose, whether that’s staying fit, following a training plan, joining a community ride, racing hard, or exploring virtual roads and it’s free to ride, just like outdoors.

Follow us on social media:
Twitter @cycling_podcast
Instagram @thecyclingpodcast

Friends of the Podcast
Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.

The 11.01 Cappuccino
Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am).

The Cannibal & Badger
Friends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.

The Cycling Podcast is on Strava

The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.

Donkeys beware, there’s enough chat about recent racing from Rose Manley and Lizzy Banks that they’re at risk of losing their hind legs.

Rose and Lizzy tackle some major talking points from the Tour de Suisse and beyond. Like how might Zoe Backstedt shape up against Lorena Wiebes in future? What might Kasia Niewiadoma’s rumoured transfer to Lidl-Trek mean for the Polish champion and for Canyon-SRAM? And who should Team UAE-ADQ pick for the Tour de France Femmes considering their huge roster of climbing talent?

Plus there’s a message for our listeners from co-host Rebecca Charlton after she made her cancer treatment public last week.

Also on the agenda: legless donkeys, Lizzy the richest-woman-that-never-was and how a poo could disrupt the Canyon-SRAM team camp.