ANALSYS - The 5 best riders of the 2026 Tour de France that don't get enough credit
CyclingFriday, 31 July 2026 at 19:18
The Tour de France is the best showcase for professional cycling in the world and shows the very best. Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel and several others got their time in the spotlight. Who are some of the riders who didn't spend time in the spotlight, but certainly put in impressive performances to earn a spot on an under-the-radar list.
The 21 stages were all highly competitive, with only Richard Carapaz being able to win mountain stages from the breakaways; whilst Tadej Pogacar and the GC men dominated the rest of the difficult days on the bike. The team and individual time trials saw major stars win; the bunch sprints were mostly dominated by Tim Merlier; and even the breakaway stages were some of the most tactical and interesting battles between world-class riders who often weren't adapted to the sprints or the high mountains at the pace that the Tour is ridden.
Some men have impressed over the domestique work they have done for their teammates; some have impressed over the results they achieved that few would've expected; and more...
Yannis Voisard
One always wonders on who will be the surprise of the fight for the overall classification at a Grand Tour. Every year new faces show up and prove their worth, but few would've expected Yannis Voisard to be that rider this year. Every single rider in the Top10 had proved their credentials; with Richard Carapaz and Tom Pidcock as eighth and ninth despite not spending the entire race towards the front; and Jordan Jegat finishing 10th for a second year in a row due to his breakaway antics.
And in 11th place was Yannis Voisard, less than 5 minutes off Jegat's position, and with 18 minutes over 12th place Tobias Johannessen. Many riders cracked, some got ill, some crashes out of the race. The Tour is a race of consistency, and as the race moved by, the Tudor rider moved up the GC and began aiming for a Top10.
He was only 21st after the Tourmalet stage; and 17th after the stage to Le Markstein. As the race entered the Alps, the 28-year old showed a level he had never shown previously.
He moved up to 11th in the brutal stage to the Plateau de Solaison, following the GC group for a surprisingly long amount of time in the steep ascent; and then moved up to 10th position in the races time trial. All the way to the final Alpe d'Huez ascent, Voisard looked to climb back into the Top10 he lost due to Jegat's successful breakaways, but did not manage to do so.
However the level he showed was a true surprise and he was Tudor's headliner in a lineup including Michael Storer, Julian Alaphilippe, Marc Hirschi and Arvid de Kleijn. Before this, the only result that would've hinted at a potential talent as a climber was his 13th place at the Tour de Romandie.
Yannis Voisard finished just outside the Top10 at the Tour de France
Nicolas Prodhomme
Decathlon CMA CGM Team started the Tour with Paul Seixas aiming for the overall classification, aiming for the final podium and white jersey. Matthew Riccitello and Aurélien Paret-Peintre did not often look at their best during the French Grand Tour, and this was in addition to a debate on whether Seixas has enough support at Decathlon to convince him to stay when his contract is up.
However Prodhomme featured as the true domestique of Decathlon. A race truly under the radar, as the 29-year old only once featured in the breakaway, that was stage 3 before the overall classification truly opened up. Throughout every single mountain stage, the French team launched satellite riders into the breakaways so as to have strategical options and support for Seixas.
However Prodhomme did not. This is because his climbing legs were impressive and the Frenchman was actually able to follow the intense work of UAE throughout the Alpine stages. In the second half of the race, Prodhomme on more than one occasion led the GC group himself in support of Seixas' aggressive ambitions.
But even when that wasn't the case, he always showed a very high level, finishing Top15 on Orcières-Merlette and the queen stage to the Alpe d'Huez, on a domestique role. He made sure Seixas was never isolated before the key moments of the race, providing the team with a safety piece in key moments.
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Anders Halland Johannessen
Roommate of Torstein Traeen at the Tour de France, the Norwegian rider caught the spotlight early on with his humurous posts on Instagram related to Traeen's pursuit of a relationship. This gained a whole other dimension as on stage 4, Traeen rode into the Tour's yellow jersey.
Johannessen was suddenly rooming up with the leader of the race, and on stage 6, after Tadej Pogacar launched an attack on the Col du Tourmalet, Traeen was dropped. But he was not alone, despite the strong climbing performance he was putting on. The 26-year old guided him up the Tourmalet, and on the descent disaster struck as Traeen crashed after hitting Johannessen's wheel.
Throughout the last hour of racing, the injuried Traeen made it up the final climb much due to Johannessen's personal support and assistance in the difficult situation.
Johannessen's work was also very notable on stage 14 as despite having great legs and featuring in a favourable race situation, he sacrificed himself in the Vosges stage towards the chances of his twin brother Tobias who was aiming for the stage win.
Anders Johannessen aiding Torstein Traeen to the finish line on stage 6
George Bennett
George Bennett illustrated very well the role of being a teammate during the 2026 Tour de France, and the meaning behind being a professional cyclist. The 36-year old had a season that was better than most previous years, not replicating his past results, but racing to a few modest results such as 14th at the Tour de Romandie, 16th at the Volta a Catalunya and 11th at the queen stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
The New Zealander started the Tour as a possibility for the mountain stages, chasing a win through a breakaway. Instead, due to Biniam Girmay's chances and responsibilities on the flat stages, he has had a different role.
Soudal - Quick-Step and Alpecin - Premier Tech criticized the lack of work from rival teams that did not contribute into reaching bunch sprints. NSN Cycling Team had Girmay fighting for the wins and green jersey, and they did not want to burn anyone in their leadout.
The lightweight pure climber Bennett was then attributed the role of breakaway hunter. On flat roads. Despite his 58Kgs of weight - according to ProCyclingStats - he spent large hours working at the head of the peloton over flat roads.
In the second half of the race he was given freedom to chase his own results, not achieving a meaningful one but having NSN's most important role in the Alps.
George Bennett is one of the riders who spent the most time leading the Tour de France peloton
Nicolas Breuillard
The Frenchman put on a strong set of performances early in the season that earned him a valuable spot in the Tour de France lineup. He was fifth at the Tour of Turkey back in April where he actually looked stronger than his leader Jordan Jegat. By the time the Tour came, none looked to be above the other.
However as the Tour began, Jegat began showing his best level, as had happened 12 months prior. Then, Jegat achieved a surprise Top10 after being consistent in the mountains but above all as he managed to sneak into several breakaways that allowed him to gain several minutes on his competition.
Breuillard was very valuable to Jegat's Top10 position once again in 2026. Whilst TotalEnergies may be coming to an end, the work between the two proved to be ideal. On stage 13, Jegat climbed from 19th to 11th in the overall classification as a result of a breakaway into Belfort where the French team had four men including the climber himself.
However you don't make it onto the Top10 if you are not a great climber. Previously we've looked at Yannis Voisard's case, and if it weren't for Breuillard, Jegat could've lost his Top10 on the final competitive stage.
As the riders went up the Col du Galibier, Jegat was dropped and it was Breuillard who stayed with him very far from the finish. This allowed Jegat to arrive to the finish just two minutes behind Voisard and ultimately saw him defend his Top10 successfully.
"I'm obviously happy, I fought to the very end. Fortunately, I could count on the whole team, and today it was Nicolas Breuillard who saved me," Jegat told Cyclism'Actu that day. "All my teammates have saved me every day, but today he was impressive. If I arrived in this state, it's thanks to him".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- ouch! Let's hope he recovers in time for a successful Vuelta, but I'm going to assume that he's not going to be at the level he wishes or needs to compete with, say, Pogačar (by now I assume he's going).RidesHills31-07-2026
- go wout!Crashjames31-07-2026
- Alec Segaert is present, so on stage 1 there is always a chance of a disruption of the sprint
Rafionain-Glas31-07-2026 - I'm a fan and hurts me to have to say - this is just plain stupid of both him and the team! “We may have misunderstood the Tour a bit this year,” Vingegaard said following his withdrawal. “We made me better on the longer climbs. But it could well be that we should have realised I needed to be a bit more explosive and look more closely at the route.''Cyclingsbestfan31-07-2026
- LOL passing men is no significant achievement for elite female cyclists unless they are actually prosRafionain-Glas31-07-2026
- Visma's Vuelta gifting was certainly complicated, with JV having almost wiped out Kuss's lead before a public outcry led to Visma's decision to hold back. But Jonas seemed fine with letting almost victory go.Hills3331-07-2026
- I can read, and am responding to another comment or, dumbdevilCrashjames31-07-2026
- imo the pogs gifting is way obvious... Visma riders obeyed team orders even though Kuss deserved his victory with Roglic having a sook.
Davide31-07-2026 - yup.OCexile31-07-2026
- I'm one of those who really hopes Pog is clean, as he has real (and entertaining) skills like attacking at just the right moment to beat Carapaz and Martinez on Alpe d'Huez, taking just the right line to pull away on the descent on Stage 6, crashing in such a way that he can carry on and win, or avoiding crashing over a bidon. For me, the real moment of temptation to boost performance in some way would surely be when a rider is feeling desperate (whether to win again or simply not crack); and we might not be aware of such an inner struggle.Hills3331-07-2026
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