"A huge disappointment" - First rider to abandon 2026 Tour de France confirmed as Groupama-FDJ United lose climber after crash
Cycling
The first rider to abandon the Tour de France and withdraw from the 2026 race has been confirmed. Following a full-gas 19.6 kilometer team time trial along the streets of Barcelona, Groupama-FDJ United are down to seven riders.
Romain Gregoire set the fifth fastest time up the final 800 meters with a blistering climb, but it looks like he will be down one key lieutenants in the mountains after Clément Berthet was forced to leave the race ahead of stage 2.
Berthet was involved in a crash that also brought down Guillaume Martin roughly halfway into the time trial, costing the team valuable seconds and seeing them lose two riders in the process.
"Clément lost his balance, Guillaume couldn't avoid him, and Quentin's chain came off and he was split ," explained team coach Anthony Bouillod in a statement.
Groupama find themselves down to five riders after crash
"We quickly found ourselves down to five riders. That said, we had agreed that if any rider had a mechanical issue, we wouldn't wait, because the goal was to deliver the best possible performance. Everyone agreed with that. It was disappointing, but we stuck to our plan and it remained fairly clear to the riders."
The duo finished the stage roughly three minutes down, but the after-effects of the crash mean that Berthet will not be able to start Sunday's first road stage - a punchy finish in Barcelona targeted by Gregoire.
"We showed the commitment we wanted, and the result is pretty good considering the context," confirmed Bouilod. "On the other hand, Clément and Guillaume's crash is obviously a huge disappointment. We could have hoped for sixth place if we'd had them with us, but above all, there are the after-effects of that crash."
Read also
Groupama weren't the only team to suffer woes during the team trial, with high speeds on time trial bikes through an urban circuit, the danger was higher than usual on an individual team time trial.
XDS Astana suffered a crash in the middle of their effort as three riders crashed, Harold Tejada, Ivan Velasco and Nicolas Vinokurov hit the ground as the team finished in last place as a result of the disruption.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- LOL...it's a predetermined finish ! N one is 'clashing' at these exhibition crits!frieders307-11-2026
- Surely the UCI and the race organisers have a responsibility to ensure the best medical care is available to riders when incidents like this happen. All very well pushing for global expansion but not so good if riders lives are put at risk because medical support is not up to scratch.Andy12306-11-2026
- Well it clearly helps that this was Pidcock's own car, no?Occam06-11-2026
- The American performance at the World's road race was a masterclass in cycling tactics. If it wasn't McNulty, it might well have been Jorgensen or Simmons to take off and win in a solo break.Occam06-11-2026
- What a gimmick
Rafionain-Glas06-11-2026 - Thats only cause he rides for UAE. In any other team he would be captain in many races atleast. UAE is just to crazymiguel06-11-2026
- He seems to be the rare athlete whose passion and curiosity about life beyond his sport equals his extraordinary achievements in it. It would be great for him to risk less of that life. He seems very grateful and joyful for what he has already attained.
MarkFour06-11-2026 - As much as I admire and even revere Wout, the less I know about his backside the better.MidnightRider06-11-2026
- Ok, Walt 🤣... Vingegaard would be lucky to get on the poduim. He would not beat Seixas or Del Toro, let alone TP. Then there are the Americans...BD06-11-2026
- So, for starters. Cycling is a saturated, static/dying sport in traditional lands, it will not have resurgences like eg running occasionally does because of several obstacular (yes, I know that’s not a word but don’t make me point out the obvious at your expense) factors. Obviously, like almost everything involving money, there is a desire/need/advantage to growth and that can only come from (developing or just testing) new markets. For me, the WC is the obvious and best choice for several reasons, it comes at the end of the season so is less critical season risk wise, it is not a “pro” team race but nation based which makes integration of uncommon participation more natural. It is a vehicle for redistribution (one of a very limited number of available mechanisms to develop new markers fairly) that the fixed calendar doesn’t allow and it helps make budgets fairer over the long run (moving the whole circus to everywhere evens out everyone’s budget as opposed to having everyone always come to the same location.Jumpyjohn06-11-2026
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