Jonas Vingegaard wears the first yellow jersey of the Tour de France and with his team, Visma – Lease a Bike, signs a masterpiece and launches the challenge to Pogacar. The start he dreamed of could not have been better. Jonas Vingegaard is the first leader of the Tour de France 2026 after the extraordinary victory of his team in the opening team time trial held on the roads of Barcelona.

The Dutch formation executed a practically perfect performance, securing the stage victory ahead of INEOS Grenadiers with Filippo Ganna and UAE Team Emirates-XRG with Tadej Pogacar, forced to settle for third place. It's only the first day, but the Tour already has a master. And, above all, Vingegaard lands the first psychological blow in the long battle with the Slovenian champion.

The opening time trial was a demonstration of team strength. Every rider of Visma-Lease a Bike performed their task with absolute precision, maintaining an extremely high pace throughout the course.

In the final stretch, the valuable work of Italian Davide Piganzoli was also decisive, author of a generous final turn that allowed Vingegaard to be launched towards the finish line in ideal conditions. An impeccable team, built to win the Tour and capable of immediately transforming its ambitions into concrete results.

At the end of the race, Vingegaard's smile told everything and the effort to achieve the goal immediately took a back seat. "Could we have started better? No, I would say definitely not. This is without a doubt the perfect start".

With these words the Dane began the moment dedicated to the press, immediately thanking his teammates for the extraordinary work. "The Tour is still very long, obviously, but this is truly the perfect start. My teammates did extraordinary work today. They were very strong and, to be honest, I didn't have to do much: they practically pushed me to the finish line to win the stage and claim the yellow jersey".

For Vingegaard the victory has particular value precisely because it stems from collective work and he recognizes his teammates as having the most important merit. "It's the most important race in the world. Winning a team time trial is something incredible, because there are eight of us. I had seven teammates who today completely sacrificed themselves for me and it's simply extraordinary".

The Dane wanted to emphasize how that yellow jersey belongs to the entire team, which generously worked by giving every remaining ounce of strength. "It's not just me wearing the yellow jersey. The whole team won this stage. We must enjoy this moment and I really want to thank every one of my teammates and all the staff".

Visma-Lease a Bike had prepared the opening time trial down to the smallest detail and everything went according to plan and the final embrace between all the guys is an image that the team will preserve with pride. "I would say that everything went exactly as we had planned. We had a very specific tactic and in the end it worked perfectly".

A demonstration of organization that once again confirms how much the Dutch team is one of the reference points of world cycling.

More than the time gap in the standings, what matters today is the message that Visma-Lease a Bike and Jonas Vingegaard have sent to their opponents.

Tadej Pogacar, the great favorite going into the race, finished in third place with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, behind even INEOS Grenadiers. The Tour is still very long and everything can change in the mountains, but the first direct confrontation went to the Dane. It's an advantage above all psychological: Vingegaard starts ahead, wears the yellow jersey and forces the Slovenian to chase from day one.

At the end of the press conference, Vingegaard was reminded of a particularly significant statistical fact: the last winner of the Giro d'Italia capable of also conquering the first yellow jersey of the Tour was Miguel Indurain, in 1993. That year the Spaniard also won the Tour, but the Dane welcomed the comparison with caution.

"Of course I'm here to achieve the best possible result in the general classification and try to win the Tour. But that was only the first stage. There's still a lot of road ahead. We've gained a small advantage, it's true, but the Tour is still very long and I'm not Indurain".

Then, however, all the satisfaction for the result achieved came forward. "Honestly I couldn't have imagined a better start. This jersey has a special meaning for me. As I've already said, I've lived through difficult years for reasons that everyone knows. Returning to the Tour, which is the most important race in the world, and finding myself again with the yellow jersey is something truly special. I'll enjoy it to the fullest".

The conquest of the yellow jersey also takes on a personal significance. In recent years Vingegaard has gone through complicated moments, marked by crashes, physical difficulties and long recovery periods. Returning immediately to the command of the Tour represents much more than a simple sporting result.

The curtain on the Grande Boucle has just risen and many things have become immediately clear. But the first fanfare bears the signature of Jonas Vingegaard, who tomorrow will start ahead of everyone with the yellow jersey on his shoulders. Visma-Lease a Bike has proven to be already ready for battle and the duel with Tadej Pogačar has officially begun.