RACING
Updates, stories and opinions from inside the world's greatest sport, written and captured by Rouleur journalists
Business as usual: Does the Tour de France ever get old for riders or their families?
The average number of Tour de France appearances per rider this year is approximately 3.4 participations. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed debutants have been making headlines enough...
'Haters gonna hate': Pogačar steals the show on Bastille Day
France dreamed of a local victor on its national day. Instead, Tadej Pogačar lit up stage 10 with another trademark attack. Begrudged 'chapeaus' abound in...
'It's not Pogačar's fault he's so good' - Eddy Merckx on the Tour de France's current generation of GC stars
The five-time yellow jersey winner is still an avid watcher of the sport – he tells Rouleur his thoughts on the Pogačar-era of bike racing
Bastille Day at the Tour: can a Frenchman end the wait?
Bastille Day is the biggest day of the year for French cycling fans, and the wait for a home winner has dragged on since Warren...
Heat, hierarchy and a hotly contested green jersey: what we learnt from the Tour's first week
Rouleur breaks down the heatwaves, the sprint points battle, and UAE's grip on week one of the Tour de France.
Pidcock's redemption arc: Brit content in defeat after refinding his love of Le Tour
A jammed shifter and a third place in Ussel would once have wrecked Tom Pidcock's Tour. Free of pressure and riding for a team on...
'Maybe it's a one-day festival': Classics man Van der Poel takes his third Tour de France win in Ussel
The Tour de France spoke the Flying Dutchman's language during a lumpy breakaway stage in the Massif Central
'It's no secret: we've got seven guys going for the break' - Movistar turn to Corrèze's climbs to end seven year Tour drought
Rouleur caught up with sports director Matt White to discuss the complications of breakaway hunting at the Grande Boucle
A rule change, a settled GC, and a gentlemen's agreement: Why the Tour de France sprint stages have been safer in 2026
In previous years, crash-marred sprint stages have guaranteed chaos in the first week of the Tour. But as of stage eight in 2026, the crash...
'That was just not how it should've been': No rewrite in Bordeaux for Philipsen
Three years after downing Mark Cavendish on the same finish line, Jasper Philipsen returned to Bordeaux hoping for a performance of equal measure. This time,...
Toast to that: Merlier confirms world-best status in Bordeaux
The Wolfpack may have lost a key domestique in Bert Van Lerberghe in the Pyrenees, but Tim Merlier was unstoppable on the banks of the...
How Tourmalet stayed true to form on its eightieth outing
The famed climb lived up to expectations on stage six of the Tour de France, with Tadej Pogačar its latest conqueror.
'Pogačar is a good bike rider, so I'll take the L': GC commiserations after Tourmalet
With Tadej Pogačar in yellow by a terrifying margin and the general classification in tatters, we're all in need of a stiff drink.
In the wake of greatness: Chasing Pogačar and how the Tour podium is shaping up after stage six
From team infighting to teammate delight, the battle for third is hotting up at the Tour de France. Tadej Pogačar, as always, takes the plaudits...
Going underground: Lascaux's prehistoric art and the road to Bergerac
Four teenage boys, a dog called Robot and 17,000-year-old paintings: the strange story of Lascaux, and why the Tour de France's stage eight is paying...
'I wanted to enjoy myself, that's exactly what I did': Veistroffer is the hero of stage five
While Olav Kooij added another win to his tally in Pau, it was Baptiste Veistroffer's valiant 144km lone break – and the joy he took...
'Having two leaders brings a nice dynamic in the team' – Decathlon's dual debutants tick off first objective at Tour
Olav Kooij and Paul Seixas are sharing the pressure at their maiden Tour de France – not that you could tell
The Gave de Pau: River deep, mountains high
The rushing waters of the Gave de Pau follow a series of valleys down through the Pyrenees, from the Cirque de Gavarnie, past the foot...
'It's nice to show them they are wrong': It's good to have you back, Mads
After a ten-month drought, the former world champion took his 61st professional victory on the breakaway stage to Foix. Pedersen is in green, and order...
Analysis: Stage four provides the evidence — Get in the break or see the Tour wins disappear
After a Grand Départ dominated by the general classification riders, the Tour de France breakaway got their way on stage four and the Scandinavians were...
'It was a dream to wear it one day': Bienvenue en France, Baudin
Frenchman Alex Baudin marked the Tour de France's return home with a mammoth effort in the break. The stage win would eventually go to Tadej...
Heatwave chaos: Wildfires disrupt plans for Tour de France stage three
Riders are keeping cool, but you can't put an ice vest over the Tour de France. As fires rage in the Pyrenees, organisers have asked...
'If you see a Mexican flag it's for me': Isaac del Toro lands historic Tour de France stage win
Del Toro wins his country's first Tour stage since 1986 to the delight of adoring fans in Barcelona.
"It'll never go to plan": Ineos forced to settle for second after bad luck on stage one
Geraint Thomas had a stage one plan built around Kévin Vauquelin, but the Frenchman's back wheel had other ideas.
'The whole team will enjoy it': Strangely individualistic TTT won by the strongest collective
The opening TTT of the Tour de France delivered the excitement and jeopardy we wanted. Please can we have another?
Pogačar, Vingegaard and Seixas: A three, two, or one horse race?
Two men have shared first and second at the Tour for five years. This time, a teenager and a super-domestique are queuing up to break...
Over and out: First stage crashes
“Physically you’re at your best, you’ve been away preparing for months, and then it all ends. The Tour is a big beast that eats you...
'Our own thing, in our own way': Can Red Bull leaders Evenepoel and Lipowitz share the Tour?
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe's dual GC strategy faces its first real test. At the pre-race press conference, only one of its two leaders was talking. But doth...
Frenchness and fifty years of hurt: Paul Seixas and the nation's next great hope
Ned Boulting on the fragile, self-mocking soul of French cycling — and a nation of nearly-men on the precipice of change.
'I'm a sprinter, I need to survive': How the fastmen are shaping up at kilometre zero of the Tour
The 2026 route wants the sprinters dead by Paris. The points classification, reformed in their favour, might just keep them alive long enough to win...
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