Tour de France 2026 KOM Jersey and Teams Competition favourites | Richard Carapaz, Lenny Martinez, Valentin Paret-Peintre and more
Cycling
The 2026 Tour de France is sure to spring up many battles across the various classifications and jerseys, among those is the most prestigious - the polka dot jersey for the King of the Mountains.
The KOM classification is awarded to the rider who picks up the most points over the top of classified climbs throughout the 21 stages. Favourites for the prestigious classification include Richard Carapaz, Lenny Martinez, many of the GC contenders and other gifted climbers who could feature in breakaways in the next three weeks.
And as the Grand Boucle gets underway on July 4th, some squads will also be targeting the Team Classification - awarded to the teams with the lowest combined time of their three-best riders in the overall classification. We've taken a look at the favourites for the KOM jersey and Team Classification.
KOM Jersey Favourites
One of the top contenders to win the 2026 Tour de France is Richard Carapaz. The Ecuadorian climber, often a general classification favourite, has expressed his desire to ride this year for the mountains. He showed himself to be the next-best behind Tadej Pogacar last month at the Tour de Suisse.
Freed from the task of GC, Carapaz is the perfect candidate to chase breakaways and should be one of the strongest when the road goes uphill this month, just like he did in 2024 as he won the classification.
Lenny Martinez just missed out on the polka dot jersey last year, and will once again challenge for the jersey. He finished behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard as the general classification leaked into the standings in the mountains.
Riders in the mix
Of course we can't ignore the elephant in the room - the general classification riders could sweep up huge swathes of points as they do their own battle, and thus find themselves at the top end of the standings.
But with a backloaded route and many hard climbs featuring earlier in stages, there should be plenty of opportunity for breakaway and climbing specialists to take points. Valentin Paret-Peintre is one of them.
The Soudal-QuickStep rider won on Mont Ventoux in 2025, and should have the freedom to chase the mountains with his team. Ben O'Connor is another rider expected to be present in breakaways and could be in contention. The Australian rider had an up and down Giro d'Italia and could be planning to hit peak form this month.
Thymen Arensman starred in that Giro and will be hoping for another big outing in France. The Dutch rider took two huge mountain stage wins in 2025 and knows general classification is out of focus for Netcompany INEOS - meaning he'll have licence to attack.
Thymen Arensman at the 2026 Giro d'Italia
Dark Horses and Outsiders
The KOM jersey is always a difficult one to predict, given its nature of being shaped by both the breakaway and general classification. There are plenty of contenders to take points and put themselves in contention.
George Bennett has shown good form in June and should have the freedom with NSN to go for a break. Ben Healy is another rider who loves attacking at the Tour de France, despite not yet showing his top form in 2026. Thinking outside the box, could veteran Damiano Caruso fancy an eventful final Tour as he retires at the end of 2026?
Jai Hindley comes to the race in service of Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, but will be formidable if given a licence to attack. Egan Bernal has vowed to race aggressively in France after his battling Giro. Other outsiders include the likes of Lennart Van Eetvelt, Ilan Van Wilder, Pablo Castrillo and Michael Storer.
Read also
Team Classification
Team Visma | Lease a Bike won the 2025 Team Classification by over 24 minutes and should be the favourites this time around. With Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss, Davide Piganzoli and Matteo Jorgenson all riders capable of a strong general classification finish, they should be in with a shout.
Other teams that could arrive capable of challenging will of course be UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Red Bull - BORA Hansgrohe. However, plenty can happen over three weeks with rider abandons and changes in the general classification that can shake up the classification.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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