For the first time in team history, Tudor Pro Cycling won't have to look left or right with uncertainty about whether they'll get selected for the 2026 Tour de France. As the best of ProTeams on the 2025 UCI ranking (only behind Uno-X Mobility, but the Norewgian team will be promoted to WorldTour), they're guaranteed wildcards for any WorldTour event of their taste and so Tour de France is a natural choice with riders like Julian Alaphilippe in their ranks.
"I think it's a typical Tour de France route," road captain Matteo Trentin analyzes the route for Cyclism'Actu. "There are a lot of sprinter stages, a lot of mountains. This year, the (team) time trial is back on the Tour de France in the first stage. That means it'll be a general classification rider who will take the first yellow jersey or someone who is a good rouleur. It's something good to watch on the first day."
Trentin himself has won three Tour stages, but the latest victory dates back to 2019 while the other two are over a decade old. Looking forward to the 2026 edition, are there any stages that pique the Italian's interest? "There are two or three stages that might be good for me," he analyzes. But there's still one or two climb too many on most days, he feels like. "It's still a pretty mountainous tour."
In recent years, we can note the general trend to make stages as entertaining as the parcours allow. That often means many extra climbing meters which is not something that favors Trentin. But he still doesn't give up on his chances: "It will all depend on what all the climbers do. Each time, they go faster. For us, we can go faster, but not much faster."
Fabian Cancellara
The owner of Trentin's team Tudor Pro Cycling, Fabian Cancellara, has been even more successful at the Grande Boucle during his era, winning eight stages and wearing yellow jersey on multiple occasions. That was over a decade ago now and the legendary Swissman will re-live some of those emotions again as his team is guaranteed an invitation for the 2026 edition.
"I think this route is very good," begins the Swissman at Cyclism'Actu microphone. "It's good to be on the other side, because this Tour de France is really tough, but in the end, it's the Tour, long live the Tour! I'm proud that it often passes close to Switzerland. It means even more that our team will be 100% present next year, it's a great opportunity for us."
"With the classification we saw at the end, the general team classification, the points and everything else, it's nice to now have a fixed calendar for next year. As for Pogacar, yes, he will still be terribly difficult to beat, but in the end, it's 21 days of racing, and it's the same for everyone," concludes Cancellara.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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