“There are always traps” - Miguel Indurain warns Tadej Pogacar over Barcelona start despite Tour de France favourite status
CyclingThursday, 02 July 2026 at 10:30
Tadej Pogacar will start the 2026 Tour de France as the clearest favourite for yellow, but Miguel Indurain knows better than most how quickly three weeks in July can start creating problems. The five-time Tour winner sees the UAE Team Emirates – XRG leader as the rider to beat, while also pointing to the Barcelona Grand Depart and opening team time trial as early tests that cannot be treated lightly.
Barcelona hosts the Tour’s Grand Depart for the first time this Saturday, July 4, with Pogacar chasing another yellow jersey after his recent run of dominance in the race. Indurain believes the Slovenian arrives with his form, confidence and team all in the right place, but still expects the first days to carry risk before the mountain battle fully opens.
“Well, yes, Pogacar is very strong,” Indurain told Eurosport. “He and his team are in top form and motivated. He is also the winner of the most recent Tours, so he is the number one favourite. But the rest will certainly make it difficult for him and then, in the race, a Tour is complicated.”
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The Barcelona start gives the 2026 edition an immediate layer of tension. A Grand Depart in a major city, a team time trial, nervous positioning and the usual first-week urgency all leave room for mistakes long before the general classification favourites reach the decisive climbs.
“A start in Barcelona, a team time trial... there are always traps and you have to get through it day by day,” Indurain added. “But Pogacar is in good spirits and I think he will be the top favourite.”
Indurain keeps Seixas expectations under control
Pogacar is not the only rider drawing attention before the race leaves Barcelona. Paul Seixas will make his Tour de France debut at just 19 years old, carrying major expectation after his rapid rise with Decathlon CMA CGM Team.
Indurain sees the talent, but also the scale of what Seixas is walking into. A first Tour is already a severe test for any rider, and the pressure grows further when a teenager arrives as one of the most talked-about names in the peloton.
“Well, he is a young lad coming through,” Indurain said. “Maybe too young for the responsibility of a Tour de France, but nowadays young athletes in every sport take the reins very early and I’m sure he will do well.”
Seixas’ presence adds another storyline to a race still expected to be shaped mainly by Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel. For Indurain, the Frenchman’s age means the Tour should not be judged only through immediate results, even if his ceiling has already pushed him into the pre-race conversation.
Indurain has warned Pogacar not to get complacent
Ayuso and Spain’s Tour hopes
Indurain also looked at the Spanish picture, with Juan Ayuso still one of the country’s clearest long-term hopes for Grand Tour success. Ayuso’s move away from UAE has made his season less straightforward, but Indurain does not see that as changing the bigger assessment of his ability.
“Yes, there are good young riders in Spanish cycling,” he said. “Juan Ayuso has changed teams, he was at UAE. Whether you like it or not, that unsettles you a little, but he has the ability to fight for a Grand Tour. Maybe not this year, but in the future I think he has the chance to do great things.”
For Spanish riders at this Tour, Indurain would already view a stage victory as a significant result. The former champion knows how hard even one winning day has become in a race where the level is so deep and the opportunities so fiercely contested.
“Victories nowadays are very complicated,” Indurain said. “Well, they have always been difficult, but there are great riders and in a Tour, winning a stage means a lot to many people and they fight flat out. But if we get one stage, in the end we will see it as a victory.”
Pogacar remains the name around which the 2026 Tour is built, and Indurain is not trying to talk down his status. His warning is simpler: even the strongest favourite has to survive the days before the race reaches the terrain where he is expected to make the difference.
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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