The 2026 Tour de France gets underway on Saturday with a fascinating 19.6km team time trial through the streets of Barcelona, where the first Yellow Jersey of this year's race will be decided.
Outright favourite Tadej Pogačar begins the Tour at 1.25 to win a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title and you can check out our outright betting preview covering the Yellow, Green and Polka Dot Jersey markets.
Stage 1 Route
Stage 1 is a 19.6km team time trial, starting at Barcelona Forum and finishing at the Olympic Stadium.
The opening half of the course is largely flat and should allow the specialist time trial teams to settle into a high-speed rhythm. However, the second half becomes far more demanding, with several gradual rises before the decisive finale.
The key obstacle comes with 1.1km at 5.1%, beginning just under around 3.6km from the finish, before the riders tackle the final 800m climb at an average gradient of 7% up to the line. While neither climb is especially long, they are steep enough to create time gaps between the general classification contenders.
Unlike previous editions of the Tour, this year's opening team time trial uses a new format.
Traditionally, the team's time was taken on the third or fourth rider across the finish line, making it essential to keep the squad together. This year, however, every rider receives his own finishing time. That means riders are free to finish ahead of their teammates without being penalised.
The tactical implications are enormous.
Teams can now use their domestiques to drive the pace for much of the route before allowing their GC leaders to ride the final climb at maximum effort. Expect riders such as Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard to attack the closing ascent almost individually in an effort to gain valuable early seconds.
The same applies to teams like Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe. Do they burn riders such as Florian Lipowitz to launch Remco Evenepoel, or conserve both leaders for the climb? Evenepoel is one of the strongest time trialists in the world, but every effort made on the flat could cost him on the uphill finish.
It promises to be one of the most intriguing opening stages the Tour has seen for many years.
Stage 1 Team Time Trial Betting- click here to bet
- Netcompany INEOS – 1.91
- UAE Team Emirates XRG – 3.75
- Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe – 4.75
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike – 9.00
- Lidl-Trek – 12.00
- Team BikeExchange ACO – 29.00
- EF Education-EasyPost – 67.00
- All other teams – 81.00+
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What to Expect
The new timing rules should produce a completely different style of team time trial.
Rather than trying to shepherd four riders to the finish together, teams are likely to ride at maximum intensity from the gun, sacrificing domestiques along the way to leave their GC leaders with as much energy as possible for the final climb.
That could make for a spectacular finish, with the strongest climbers effectively riding an individual time trial over the final kilometre while their teammates fade behind them.
Expect aggressive tactics, plenty of riders being dropped, and meaningful time gaps among the overall contenders before the race has barely begun.
Verdict
Netcompany INEOS deserve favouritism on paper given the strength of their time trial squad. However, Filippo Ganna hasn't raced for some time, while Tobias Foss is returning from injury, making odds of 1.91 look a little short.
UAE Team Emirates XRG should be right in contention, with Pogačar and Isaac del Toro likely to arrive together near the foot of the final climb. If UAE find themselves in a position to claim the Yellow Jersey, it wouldn't be a surprise if they allowed Del Toro to take it, reducing some of the early race pressure on Pogačar.
Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe also have the horsepower to challenge, boasting a squad packed with quality time trialists and climbers.
The value, though, looks to be with Lidl-Trek at 12.00. They have excellent depth, several powerful rouleurs and climbers, and have consistently produced strong performances in team time trials.
At much bigger odds, EF Education-EasyPost are worth considering in the Top 3 market. They have a habit of outperforming expectations in this discipline and possess quality finishers such as Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy.
Bets
Lidl-Trek to win the Team Time Trial – 12.00
EF Education-EasyPost – Top 3 Finish – 10.00
Prices were correct at the time of posting but are subject to change.
