“They’re not worried about it at all” – Chris Horner spots the Tadej Pogacar detail that should concern Jonas Vingegaard
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard could hardly have asked for a better start to the 2026 Tour de France. Team Visma | Lease a Bike won the opening team time trial in Barcelona, the Dane pulled on yellow, and Tadej Pogacar was left 12 seconds down after just one stage.
Chris Horner, though, was not reading Pogacar’s day as an early alarm for UAE Team Emirates – XRG. In his post-stage analysis on The Butterfly Effect, the former Vuelta a Espana winner pointed first to Pogacar’s ride on the final climb. “They’re not worried about it at all,” Horner said, referring to Pogacar and UAE after stage 1. “Because Tadej Pogacar was the fastest rider going up the final climb, three seconds faster than Jonas Vingegaard.”
Vingegaard had been delivered perfectly by Visma, with Matteo Jorgenson and Davide Piganzoli central to the final launch. Pogacar, by contrast, had spent more of the stage working inside UAE’s formation before being released by Isaac del Toro in the closing metres.
“If you want to look at everything tactically, Tadej Pogacar was pulling throughout the whole stage,” Horner explained. “Jonas Vingegaard was sitting at the back of the team tactically wisely.”
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“That is a beautiful tactic” – Horner hails Visma’s perfect start
Horner was careful not to frame that as a criticism of Vingegaard. He saw Visma’s stage 1 ride as the perfect use of a team time trial designed to reward a well-timed leader launch on the final climb.
“Jonas, you are racing brilliant,” Horner said. “I am not dissing any tactic here. You guys were brilliant. Brilliant at the Giro and now brilliant on stage one of the Tour de France. Rest at the back. Let your big guys ride on the front and then deliver the decisive blow to win here on stage one and gain time on Tadej Pogacar. That is a beautiful tactic and it was delivered perfectly.”
Vingegaard ended the day in yellow, with Filippo Ganna second overall at eight seconds, Pogacar third at 12 seconds, Juan Ayuso at 16 seconds and Remco Evenepoel at 19 seconds. Visma had the stage win, the jersey and the first gap between the two main favourites.
Vingegaard in action during stage 1
Pogacar’s final climb keeps UAE calm
For Horner, UAE’s ride was not perfect, but nor was it a cause for panic. The one point he did raise was the loss of Adam Yates before the decisive section, leaving Pogacar and Del Toro without the extra support he expected deeper into the finale.
“UAE Team Emirates were brilliant,” Horner said. “Just had the hiccup of Adam Yates dropping off early, who should have been there on the penultimate and then leading Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro up the final climb, so they could have launched with two riders going with 500 metres to go. But that happens, you can’t do anything about that.”
Pogacar still closed the stage with the fastest split on the final climb. Horner also noted that Del Toro was smiling afterwards, another sign that UAE were not treating the time loss as a major setback. “They’re not worried about it at all,” he repeated. “Because Tadej Pogacar was the fastest rider going up the final climb.”
Horner warns Visma not to take the bait
The yellow jersey now sits on Vingegaard’s shoulders, but Horner warned Visma against turning a small early advantage into unnecessary work. With Pogacar still the rider he views as the outright favourite, Horner wants UAE to be made to carry the race.
“Do not get carried away with being in front of Tadej Pogacar,” Horner said of Visma. “UAE Team Emirates have to defend because they have the outright favourite here to win the Tour de France. So take the advantage you have of these minor seconds gained on stage one and put them to good use, and make Tadej Pogacar ride everything on the front before you put your teammates on the front.”
Stage 2 now takes the race back into a lumpy Barcelona finale rather than a summit finish, with enough terrain for attacks, counters and classic-style racing. Horner mentioned Mathieu van der Poel as one possible aggressor, but also left the door open for UAE to move quickly.
“Could we see riders like Mathieu van der Poel put in some action on tomorrow’s classic-like finish? Could be,” he said. “Will Tadej Pogacar want to launch it up? UAE Team Emirates said they’d like to get the race leader’s yellow jersey. So maybe we’ll see something out of Isaac del Toro.”
Vingegaard in yellow, Pogacar already chasing
Visma have the first yellow jersey of the Tour and the early scoreboard advantage. Pogacar has 12 seconds to recover, but also the final-climb split Horner believes will keep UAE calm.
Vingegaard struck first in Barcelona. Stage 2 will show how quickly Pogacar wants to answer.
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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