This Was Supposed to Be the Closest Tour de France in Years. It Lasted Six Days.

The 2026 Tour de France was supposed to be the closest in years.

Tadej Pogačar needed just six stages to blow that storyline to pieces.

The first mountain finish of the 2026 Tour delivered the same brutal truth that the peloton’s been struggling with for years: when Pogačar goes, no one can follow.

The mood of quiet optimism in Barcelona quickly went to gloom as soon as Pogačar attacked at about 5km to go on the mythic Col du Tourmalet.

Pogačar took 2:38 on Jonas Vingegaard in one stage and that’s already about half of his winning margin from the 2025 drubbing.

From everyone from Juan Ayuso to French phenom Paul Seixas, the stage quickly devolved into damage control.

The 2026 Tour is far from over, but GC battle certainly feels that way.

Jonas Vingegaard: ‘The fight is not over’

For Vingegaard, the climbing stage to Gavarnie delivered a stinging disappointment.

After taking yellow in the opening stage and feeling confident after winning the Giro d’Italia, he truly believed he was ready to challenge Pogačar at the Tour.

The two-time Tour winner couldn’t hide his disappointment at the line.

“It was a very tough day. It was not the day I wanted, obviously, but that’s how it is sometimes,” Vingegaard said.

“UAE put in a big attack on the Tourmalet, and I couldn’t follow, and I had to settle within my own pace, and over the top, I was not that far. But on a downhill like this, it’s not really suited to me.”

The Dane certainly didn’t expect a drubbing this bad right on the first summit finale.

“Obviously I am disappointed. I have to be. But sometimes that is life and I cannot change it,” he said.

“I still believe in myself. I still believe my legs will get better throughout the race. So the fight is not over.”

Visma sport director Marc Reef was equally deflated.

“Today’s result is indeed disappointing, but we saw a Jonas who fought all the way to the finish line and did everything he could to limit the gap to Pogačar while also holding off the group chasing behind him, which he managed to do well,” he said.

Paul Seixas: ‘I finished exactly where I belonged’

Behind Vingegaard, everyone else was licking their wounds and counting their blessings for not losing even more.

A big group formed and nearly caught the Dane on the final climb to Gavarnie only at 19 seconds back.

The hunt for the podium might be all that’s left, because there are some big names and even bigger ambitions still within one minute of each other.

French phenom Seixas (Decathlon CMA-CGM) had no answer when Pogačar attacked.

After falling short of latching onto Vingegaard’s wheel, he rolled in for fifth on the stage in his first major mountaintop finale of his Tour debut.

“Honestly, it was really tough. I think things went pretty well. I managed my climb, and in the end, a solid fifth place isn’t bad,” he said. “Tadej was very strong, so chapeaux to him. I finished exactly where I belonged.”

Juan Ayuso: ‘We’re chasing the podium now’

The Spanish star at Lidl-Trek thanked his lucky stars for at least being able to stay within Tour podium range.

A crash on the Col d’Aspin nearly derailed what was already a brutal day.

“I had a crash at the start of the Aspin, it wasn’t the best situation to hit the ground, but the team rallied around me. It wasn’t my best day but I defended myself among the GC favorites,” Ayuso said. “Tadej was superior, and that’s not news to anyone, and Jonas didn’t get too much time on us. We’re chasing the podium and that’s what we’re racing for now.

“That I could be in this group after how I was feeling today is a good sign, because if I wasn’t in that group, I could have lost a lot of time.”