ANALYSIS - 5 riders who can win big at the 2026 Tour de France, but are missing in action ahead of it

The 2026 Tour de France is starting in the space of just under a month, and all of the riders who are aiming for strong results there are currently doing their specific preparation. Some use the Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes, some the Tour de Suisse, and some will do some minor races. However, others will not race at all - we look at some of those names.

In Auvergne this week there is a flurry of GC men using the eight-day French race, which is the most traditional preparation race towards the Tour. The combination of difficult mountain stages, a team time trial and racing on French roads makes it the most logic decision. Paul Seixas, Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso certainly think so; whilst teams such as Netcompany INEOS and Team Visma | Lease a Bike have almost their entire Tour block present at the race.

The Tour de Suisse meanwhile sees Tadej Pogacar aim for his first overall win, in a difficult yet shorter race. This one is best suited to the classics riders, with a few explosive stages. Aside from Pogacar, there are some very big names such as Tom Pidcock, Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen who will use it as specific preparation.

Elsewhere there are still a few other choices, with Florian Lipowitz heading to the Tour of Slovenia to prepare for the race; whilst a few sprinters such as Tim Merlier are using the Copenhagen Sprint or the Baloise Belgium Tour to get up to speed in terrain that is much more favourable to them.

So, out of those who have high aspirations at the Tour, who is not racing at all?

The first name is obvious and clear: Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian's schedule this year has been moved around when it comes to the public eye, because although his Tour of Flanders had been prepared since December, it was only officially revealed in the days leading up to the race - something which came as a controversy, as he and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe repeatedly lied about his schedule.

Ahead of the Tour de France, the Olympic Champion (and Lipowitz as well) were outlined to race the Tour Auvergne - Rhône Alpes. However none are currently present, instead following more specific preparation plans. In Evenepoel's case, he has avoided racing, and the reasons have already been named.

Injury or illness are not behind it, but instead a desire to only use training as preparation. The eight-day Auvergne, aside from the tapering days before and the recovery days necessary after, would take up almost two weeks off his schedule. Whilst this can for some riders have a positive pay off, Evenepoel's ability to easily reach his best form without racing makes it less necessary.

The Belgian has used this race in the previous two years, but not this time around. Instead he is dedicating his time to altitude training, where he is focusing on the longer climbing efforts where in the spring he was lacking; and also the weight loss which is key into the Tour where every bit matters against the climbers who put out the most W/Kg.

Evenepoel may take part in the national championships, which applies to other riders on the list. But if this is possible to avoid (in Belgium, the rules often make this hard), we should only see Evenepoel in Barcelona - Mentally fresh, without the media frenzy that occupied his mind 12 months ago.

Adam Yates' name has been slipping through all the cracks, despite not being confirmed at the Tour. But as CyclingUpToDate understands, this has been the plan for the Briton since December. Yates' season has been rocky, with a very busy schedule up until February, a slow down period in the busy month of March where most riders are competing at the top level, and a resurgence in April where he won O Gran Camiño.

As luck would have it, for his own personal ambitions, João Almeida would be forced out of the Giro d'Italia and that gave Yates the opportunity - perhaps the last in his career - to lead UAE at a Grand Tour, aiming for the overall classification. The goal of a podium was realistic, but Yates crashed on stage, suffering a concussion and a deep laceration behind one of his ears. He withdrew from the race the next morning.

Marc Soler was also scheduled to race the Tour and crashed alongside Yates, but his pelvis fracture came as a more serious injury. UAE for the Tour features seven riders we can have as a certainty: Tadej Pogacar, Isaac del Toro, Florian Vermeersch, Nils Politt, Tim Wellens, Brandon McNulty and Pavel Sivakov. An eighth is yet to be confirmed, but since Yates was already outlined to race the Giro-Tour double, then a Yates without the Giro fatigue could be even fresher for the Grand Boucle.

Two years ago he won the Tour de Suisse ahead of the Tour, and last year he raced both Giro and Tour. A resident in Andorra, he can effectively train at altitude at home; there is no record of him having joined the team at Sierra Nevada but he remains highly likely to be part of the Pogacar train this July.

Julian Alaphilippe is a rider that is not going into the Tour de France with the preparation that Tudor would hope for. Last year at the Tour de Suisse, he put in some of the best climbing performances of his entire career.

This time around, there's no race on the schedule. The reason for that is an illness that affected his spring. The veteran did not have any flashy performance throughout the spring, but had been building towards the Ardennes.

Luck would not be on his side and he did not manage to finish Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne; and did not even start Liège-Bastogne-Liége. His partner and Tour de France Femmes director Marion Rousse said the former World Champion needed to take a break and build a base towards the rest of the season.

Ever since, he has not pinned a number on his jersey. But just this Monday a post on Instagram confirms he is preparing for the Tour de France and has clear intentions, also at altitude in Sierra Nevada like many others at this time of year.

Alaphilippe will be a stage hunter and Tudor's headliner, however he is also a rider who has a more traditional preparation method which often involves racing to reach his best level, so it is not certain the best 'Loulou' will be in the roads of France anytime soon.

Mikel Landa began the 2026 season with the goal of racing all three Grand Tours. That will not happen, as to begin with he did not start the Giro d'Italia. The Basque rider suffered a pelvis fracture after crashing at his home race in the Basque Country, and could not start the Corsa Rosa.

The Tour and Vuelta remain in his program, but the Basque climber is nowhere to be seen. At the Tour, Soudal - Quick-Step should be backing up Tim Merlier in the pursuit of wins in the bunch sprints.

Elsewhere the team does not require a climber block and may not have GC ambitions. Valentin Paret-Peintre and Ilan van Wilder will be two big cards for the terrain, but in an eight-man lineup there is space for another climber and Landa is certainly the team's biggest name.

However nothing is known of him at the time, without a Strava account to follow and with no recent social media activity. In a way that is part of 'Landismo', the veteran is a rider that benefits from staying in the shadow and away from the media pressure that in the past has affected him.

The last man on the list is someone who has not raced yet this season: Tiesj Benoot. In a year where Paul Seixas took the leap, it feels like almost every other rider at Decathlon CMA CGM Team has gone under the radar.

The French team signed two men from Team Visma | Lease a Bike: Olav Kooij and Tiesj Benoot. Both remained out of action until the previous name started his season now in May.

Benoot has been training at altitude, preparing for his return to racing, with the clear aim of the Tour de France. After suffering from an hernia, he hasn't been able to race for the French team yet, but he is preparing his comeback.

However the Belgian has been removed from the startlist of the 2026 Tour de Suisse, which was meant to be the race where he would return to the peloton. There are several ways to interpret this. He has been in Sierra Nevada at least since the 18th of May, making up for a large camp.

He was removed from the Swiss race, but may potentially start the Baloise Belgium Tour as Stefan Bisseger, Daan Hoole (two men who will race the Tour) and also Olav Kooij who is still a question mark will be there.

Benoot's schedule change is yet to be explained, and the idea that he may not race until the Tour is still possible. Whilst he has not raced yet with Paul Seixas, his level in 2025 and his sheer versatility make him an asset that Decathlon may not want to leave at home this July.