{"id":2064994,"date":"2026-07-27T08:27:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T05:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2064994"},"modified":"2026-07-27T08:27:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T05:27:22","slug":"the-tour-de-france-needs-to-stop-obsessing-about-alpe-dhuez-and-other-hot-takes-from-the-2026-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2064994","title":{"rendered":"The Tour de France Needs to Stop Obsessing About Alpe d’Huez and Other Hot Takes from the 2026 Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2287483634-scaled-e1785139041137.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Updated July 27, 2026 01:16PM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Tour de France is over, and we\u2019re all a little bit sad.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re also a bit cooked from four weeks of cycling content.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019re bringing you 21 hot takes and conclusions to help you relive this year\u2019s race, but in a rapid-fire format.<\/p>\n

So here we go, in no particular order \u2013 21 takeaways from the 2026 Tour de France:<\/p>\n

\"Death,
Death, taxes, and Tadej Poga\u010dar winning are the inevitabilities of modern life.<\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Tadej Poga\u010dar is inevitable.<\/strong> Did anybody seriously think in the past six months he wouldn\u2019t win a record-equaling fifth yellow jersey? And while recency bias is a thing, 2026 might have been Poga\u010dar\u2019s greatest Tour. He could have won eight stages and come to Paris with a 10-minute lead if he wanted to.<\/p>\n

2. Quinn Simmons is an animal.<\/strong> Captain America, or should I say, Ricky Bobby, is well overdue a huge W. Don\u2019t count him out for Montr\u00e9al road worlds, seriously.<\/p>\n

3. ASO needs to turn down the thermostat on the Tour de France.<\/strong> The raging heatwave that cooked the start of this year\u2019s race won\u2019t be a one-off. Moving the race from July or bringing stages forward to the morning are obvious ways to avoid the inevitable heat. Neither seem likely to happen. Maybe shorter stages are the work-around.<\/p>\n

The spectacle of Alpe d\u2019Huez is brilliant, but the Tour de France can live without it.<\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. The Tour de France doesn\u2019t need Alpe d\u2019Huez<\/strong>, and the Alpe d\u2019Huez doesn\u2019t need the Tour de France. It\u2019s ugly when it\u2019s empty. It\u2019s stupid when it\u2019s spilling over with half a million frothing spectators. The race can live without those 21 bends. Only endless barriers (also ugly) or a ticketing system (unenforceable) will save them.<\/p>\n

5. The green jersey and polka dot prizes are better without GC interference.<\/strong> A rejigged points structure incentivized Mads Pedersen to go rampaging over HC climbs to win green. The duel for breakaway mountains points between Richard Carapaz and Valentin Paret-Peintre was one of the most entertaining parts of the race. The more that ASO can do to keep the general classification separate from the sprint and mountains prizes, the better.<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong> Speaking of which, Richard Carapaz and Mads Pedersen are bad-asses.<\/strong> Carapaz wearing full polka dots and a dangly gold chain while marauding over the Galibier was peak panache. And Mads? The man\u2019s a monster. Just rewind to the start of stage 20 to see what the 77kg bundle of muscle did in the mountains.<\/p>\n

\"Richard
Richard Carapaz on the Galibier. Hang it in the Louvre. (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7. It\u2019s time to give Remco Evenepoel a break.<\/strong> Cycling\u2019s favorite punchbag delivered the ride of his life to prove Red Bull and their controversial preparation program right. And of course, being Remco, he wasn\u2019t afraid to point it out: \u201cIt\u2019s proof the disbelief in me is unjustified,\u201d he said after he sealed second overall on stage 20.<\/p>\n

8. A little part of the race died when Jonas Vingegaard crashed out.<\/strong> Sure, the Dane\u2019s chances at winning his third Tour de France were looking slim at the point he crashed out. But you know Vingegaard would have gone down swinging for the bubbling guts of Tadej Poga\u010dar and his sickly superteam.<\/p>\n

9. Lactate gels and drinks might be the new super fuel of the Tour de France.<\/strong> The first-gen lactate fuel being used by UAE Emirates-XRG and one other team \u2013 Velo<\/em> understands it\u2019s Lidl-Trek \u2013 has the scientific potential to revolutionize the Tour. However, this was just the prototyping test run. A full lactate fuel revolution might not be realized during Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s reign on Le Tour.<\/p>\n

10. Paul Seixas delivered.<\/strong> The 19-year-old didn\u2019t win the white jersey or get a spot on the podium, but he matched the extreme expectation in every other way. If Seixas wasn\u2019t racing a guy getting pulls from Tadej Poga\u010dar, he would have finished top-3. In fact, it\u2019s maybe a good thing the French phenom didn\u2019t get a step on the podium in 2026. He\u2019s got another 15 years of that ahead of him.<\/p>\n

11. Lidl-Trek\u2019s special edition Tour de France bikes were ridiculous, in a good way.<\/strong>I want one<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Sepp
Sepp Kuss is the high-climbing fan favorite of the Tour de France.<\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

12. Sepp Kuss remains the lovable \u201caw shucks\u201d star of the pro peloton.<\/strong> He\u2019s able to find the upside even when he just lost a Tour de France stage by falling and flirting with the precipice of a huge ravine. \u201cIt was a bit scary. Sorry to my wife and my family watching at home! That\u2019s racing. I\u2019m happy with the fight and the performance. It was a big day out,\u201d he said after his stage 19 near miss.<\/p>\n

13. Did you realize\u00a0Jordan Jegat and Yannis Voisard finished 10th and 11th on GC?<\/strong> No, I didn\u2019t think so. Congrats to them on sneaking a top placing without anybody really noticing.<\/p>\n

14.<\/strong> On which note, where were Picnic-PostNL, Cofidis, and Groupama FDJ?<\/strong> I\u2019m loath to beat down on the little guys, but they seemed to forget the assignment \u2013 to put those sponsor logos into breakaway photos. That was not the case for-Lotto-Intermarch\u00e9 \u2013 the Belgo-French crew had a riot, and Baptiste Veistroffer became everyone\u2019s new favorite rider.<\/p>\n

15. The Tour de France isn\u2019t slowing down.<\/strong> Stage 11 was the fastest in history, and the entire race was run off at a record-breaking average speed.<\/p>\n

\"Isaac
Isaac del Toro can win the Tour de France, but not in his current situation.<\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

16. Isaac del Toro has the potential to win the Tour de France.<\/strong> But his yellow jersey destiny is in the hands of his contract agent and his best bro Tadej Poga\u010dar. Torito is locked in at UAE Emirates-XRG through 2029. He\u2019ll only win the Tour if he moves teams or if Poga\u010dar decides five yellow jerseys are enough.<\/p>\n

17. The Tour de France needs more nark and needle.<\/strong> Riders are too nice now they\u2019re bred on media training and PR policy. The race needed a little sprint beef and intra-team spats to spice things up.<\/p>\n

18. The gap between the winners and losers continues to expand.<\/strong> Only 10 teams won a stage. Three teams won 12 of the 21 stages (UAE Emirates-XRG with 6, Soudal Quick-Step and Alpecin-Premier Tech both with 3). There were only two wildcard stage-winners (S\u00f8ren W\u00e6renskjold for Uno-X, Mauro Schmid for Jayco AlUla). Likewise, UAE and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe gobbled 49 percent of the prize purse while six teams failed to break \u20ac20k. The growing gap is a problem that can only be fixed with a top-to-bottom reform of the sport \u2013 which won\u2019t happen any time soon.<\/p>\n

19. Doping discourse will always be a part of the Tour de France,<\/strong> even 20 years removed from Operaci\u00f3n Puerto. But at least the debate is now about the zeal of drug testing authorities rather than the fallout of them not doing the job well enough.<\/p>\n

Mathieu van der Poel won the most exciting Tour de France stage in memory after his two-up attack with Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

20. Don\u2019t doubt Mathieu van der Poel and Alpecin-Premier Tech.<\/strong> They always find a way. After botched leadouts, tossed helmets, and bad vibes in week 1, the Belgian team left the Tour with three stage wins: two for Van der Poel and one for Jasper Philipsen. The Alpecin team has won a stage at every Tour de France since 2021. We bet the streak runs through to 2028, at least.<\/p>\n

21.<\/strong> Speaking of Mathieu van der Poel \u2013 Stage 21 of this year\u2019s Tour de France was exquisite.<\/strong> Dear ASO, please leave the Paris Montmartre stage exactly as it was after it was trimmed in length to 90km. Two hours, 8km between the Montmartre and the finish line, and GC neutral. Stages like that will bring the Tour de France to a TikTok generation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Updated July 27, 2026 01:16PM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/tour-de-france\/21-takes-2026-tour-de-france\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2287483634-scaled-e1785139041137.jpg”] Jim Cotton Updated July 27, 2026 01:16PM The Tour de France is over, and we\u2019re all a little bit sad. But we\u2019re also a bit cooked from four weeks of cycling content. That\u2019s why we\u2019re bringing you 21 hot takes and conclusions to help you relive this year\u2019s race, but in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2064994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2064994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064994\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2064994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2064994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2064994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}