DOUBLE intermediate sprints? 2026 Tour de France to change things up in green jersey battle

The Tour de France is not often the race where innovation is experimented on, but it may be the case in 2026. Only in the Grand Tours do the intermediate sprints have such a large amount of points and is absolutely critical in the fight for the points classifications, and in 2026 the sprinters will have two intermediate sprints in the stages that are designated flat.

In seven of the race's stages (not clarified, but believed to be stages 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13 and 21) there will be two intermediate sprints. This will give way to 40 points in total, whilst the finish line sprint will deliver 50 for the winner. This will open up room for more riders to aim for breakaways certainly as a stint in the green jersey or even fighting for a top result in this classification will become more possible, whilst also potentially making these flat stages more interesting as more riders will aim to be in front and race more aggressively.

However for the spectacle, there seems to be little to lose by creating new opportunities to gain points for what is the second most important classification in the race. ASO explained this in a short statement: “To open up new strategic options for the contenders in the points classification, the routes of the seven flat stages will feature two intermediate sprints".

This may have also been done taking into consideration the outcome of this year's competition, in which Jonathan Milan did not really have any competition from within his own peers, but had Tadej Pogacar come very close to it. However, the Slovenian seemed to purposefully not aim for the intermediate sprints, which would've likely given him the victory if he had tried. If the weather does not play a role, there is some fear that as has happened in recent years, stages like 7-9 may have very little action, and so this may come as a positive change in the general outlook of the race in terms of interest for fans, as well as exposure for sponsors and more cities along the route.