"Pogacar could win ten stages this year if he wanted" - Mike Teunissen thinks Tour de France could be dominated by Slovenian

Tadej Pogacar could win as many as ten stages in the 2026 Tour de France, that's according to fellow WorldTour rider Mike Teunissen. Looking ahead to the Grand Boucle, the XDS Astana veteran believes that here's few opportunities for sprinters and classics riders.

With Pogacar's attributes making him suited towards fighting for victories in stages in high mountains, punchy hill stages and versatile sprints, the lead-out rider believes the Slovenian rider thinks it's in Pogacar's hands.

He told Domestique: "Pogacar could win ten stages this year if he wanted. There's very little left for the sprinters, but even less for the classics riders."

In terms of stage design, Teunissen pointed to the profile of 2025 Tour star Ben Healy. The former Irish champion excelled in hilly and medium mountain stages last summer and the Dutchman thinks stages should be shaped around his attributes to be made more competitive for others.

He added: "Stages that should be designed for that type of rider are won by someone like Ben Healy. Then there's a steep climb where Healy attacks at seven watts per kilogram. In a situation like that, I simply can't do anything."

The rise in high tide within cycling has been well-documented, with climbing speeds and average speeds increasing since 2020. Teunissen thinks it's now harder for riders to find an edge on opponents like what they previously could given that everybody in the peloton is making forward strides.

"In the past, you could still gain an advantage thanks to things like nutrition or knowledge of the route, but that almost doesn't work anymore. I myself am improving, but everyone else is improving too."

Teunissen won a stage in the 2019 Tour de France as part of Team Jumbo-Visma, but left the team in 2023 to join what was then Intermarche-Circus-Wanty. He joined XDS Astana ahead of the 2025 season.

An elite lead-out and all-round classics competitor, Teunissen is expected to be part of a squad aimed at stage victories. With Max Kanter in form at the Baloise Belgium Tour, Teunissen will hope his experience can help guide the German into position to battle for sprint victories.

While working in service of Kanter, Teunissen has also racked up some impressive performances. He took two top tens in Belgium last week, two top tens at Paris-Nice in March as well as a hard-earned tenth at Paris-Roubaix and fifth at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.