“I’m actually super happy” – Tadej Pogacar shrugs off Jonas Vingegaard time loss after stressful Tour de France opener
CyclingSaturday, 04 July 2026 at 20:29
Tadej Pogacar did not get yellow in Barcelona, did not beat Jonas Vingegaard, and still finished the opening day of the 2026 Tour de France insisting he was happy.
UAE Team Emirates – XRG placed third in the Stage 1 team time trial, 11.28 seconds behind Team Visma | Lease a Bike, leaving Pogacar 12 seconds behind Vingegaard in the first general classification. It was not the dream opening from a yellow jersey perspective, but Pogacar still left the Montjuic finale with the first polka-dot jersey of the race and a positive view of UAE’s ride.
“No, I’m not disappointed,” Pogacar said after the stage. “I’m actually super happy. You always want victory, but we had super good performance. I’m super happy this really hard day is over.”
Stage 1 was only 19.6 kilometres long, but the team time trial format, the individual timing rules and the climb towards the Olympic Stadium gave the favourites little room to hide. Visma judged it best, INEOS came closest through Filippo Ganna, and UAE had to rely on Pogacar and Isaac del Toro to finish off the damage limitation late.
“You prepare for just 20 minutes and it’s stressful,” Pogacar said. “Still, I enjoyed today, it was a long time since I last raced a TTT. I can be happy about today and motivated for next days.”
Del Toro digs deep as Pogacar takes polka dots
Pogacar had said before the Tour that the Montjuic finale would suit him, and UAE’s ride looked increasingly built around getting him to the climb with enough support still around him. By the final section, Del Toro was the last rider left helping the Slovenian, before Pogacar pushed on alone in the closing metres.
“I was quite sure the climb was going to go well,” Pogacar said. “Isaac did an amazing job, he’s such a good kid. Everybody went over their limits. Thanks to them, I have the polka-dot jersey.”
Tadej Pogacar at the 2026 Tour de France team presentation
That gives Pogacar a jersey after the first stage, just not the one Visma took with Vingegaard. The GC picture is already marked: Vingegaard in yellow, Ganna second, Pogacar third, Juan Ayuso fourth and Remco Evenepoel fifth. Del Toro also starts high, sitting sixth overall at 26 seconds after helping UAE through one of the most awkward opening tests the Tour could have offered.
Visma were faster, Vingegaard gained time, and UAE were beaten by both the winning team and INEOS. Pogacar’s answer was still calm, with Stage 2 already on his radar.
“First I need to chill and decompress, although we don’t have much time,” he said. “It will be a tricky stage, for puncheurs. The finale will be hectic, and things can also get complicated before that. We’ll have to pay attention tomorrow and do our best in the finale.”
Pogacar starts it 12 seconds behind Vingegaard, in polka dots, with Del Toro inside the top six and UAE already through the stress test they had spent months preparing for.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Maybe Pogi is happy because he's close, but now his team doesn't need to control and chase so hard tomorrow. Because there's an unwritten rule about the yellow jersey team's additional responsibilities.Ride197404-07-2026
- From what has been said, he is working for Pogi at the TDF. However, he will lead the team at the Vuelta Espana. And unless Pogi rides the Giro D'italia next year, he very well may lead there. He is only currently not leading a team at the TDF. And he seems 100% happy with that.md197504-07-2026
- Hey, you funny guy! LOL!MajorPayne04-07-2026
- It's a handful of seconds on day one of three week stage race.gooseflight04-07-2026
- I really enjoyed this new format to the TTT. Jonas in yellow, Tadej in the KOM jersey for fastest up the climb. Good ride by Remco and Ayuso. Paul Seixas did a lot of work to drive Decathlon and still finished with a decent time. Looking forward to him mixing it up with the big names in the mountains. Will Visma let the jersey go tomorrow?Pedalmasher04-07-2026
- All the teams first riders were in red today, if not they have not done their job. 20 kilometers means nothing for tomorrow - stop making a fool of youself. Congrats to Visma team and Jonas.Jakob04-07-2026
- Tomorrow Pogi needs to attack early because Vingegaard always has problems if he went deep into the red the day before. I guarantee if there are good UAE tactics and good leadout, that Pogi will drop Jonas tomorrow and I hope for an offensive Seixas also.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales04-07-2026
- Losing more than 1 minute after one stage. Not good, especially when he's not even the tier one climber. Movistar can salvage the Tour by targeting stage hunting instead sacrificing riders to protect the GC goal. It's gone, baby, gone.
KerisVroom04-07-2026 - First fact: Uijtdebroeks forced an early exit from Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe at the end of 2023. He was frustrated by a lack of guaranteed Grand Tour starts??? Second fact: Uijtdebroeks terminated his contract with Visma-Lease a Bike two years early to sign a four-year deal with the Movistar. The same BS, because Visma could not guarantee him the Grand Tour racing program he needed. Third fact: Today Uijtdebroeks blew up, but he will say it was Movistars fault. Fourth fact: Uijtdebroeks will be looking for a new team.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales04-07-2026
- LOL!
Rafionain-Glas04-07-2026
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