The Tour de France presents the first direct head-to-head clash of the season between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. The Slovenian arrives at the grand event with just 16 days of racing under his belt, during which he has secured 13 victories, while the Dane has raced for 35 days so far, signing 12 wins. Pogacar has claimed 4 one-day races and 2 stage races, while Vingegaard has competed in 3 stage races and has won them all, including the Giro d'Italia. 

Tadej is chasing his fifth triumph in his career at the Grande Boucle to join Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain at the top of the all-time standings, while Jonas wants to become the ninth rider ever to win both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in the same year. Before him, only Italians Coppi and Pantani, Frenchmen Anquetil and Hinault, Belgian Merckx, Irishman Roche, Spaniard Indurain and Pogacar himself have achieved this feat.

There will be 12 Italian riders at the start of the 2026 Tour de France, the highest number compared to 7 in 2023, 8 in 2024 and 11 last year. Among them, only four have won races this season: Filippo Ganna has achieved five victories, Davide Ballerini and Davide Piganzoli two each, and Antonio Tiberi one. 
Belgium, with 31 riders at the start, will be the most represented country in this Grande Boucle. The last time France was surpassed in terms of number of cyclists at the starting line was in 2007, an edition in which Spain held the record (41 compared to 36 French riders). 

Source www.ciclopico.it - full article and other statistical curiosities at the link https://ciclopico.it/grandi-giri/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-2026-pre/