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Race the Route: Stage 8 of the 2026 Tour — Périgueux to Bergerac Through the Dordogne
Today's Stage 8 is a flat 180.4 km run from Périgueux to Bergerac through the Dordogne. Here's how to ride the same terrain the peloton races — and turn it into your own endurance session.
By ZealZag TeamRace the Route: Riding the Col du Tourmalet Like the 2026 Tour
The 2026 Tour's first hors catégorie climb is a bucket-list ascent for any cyclist. Here's how to ride the Col du Tourmalet yourself — the numbers, the two approaches, and why you should do it with a local.
By ZealZag TeamTour de France 2026: The Tourmalet Awaits as Træen Defends Yellow Into the Pyrenees
A surprise leader in yellow, the favourites lying in wait, and the fabled Col du Tourmalet looming as the 2026 Tour's first hors catégorie test — the race for the mountains starts now.
By ZealZag TeamCycling Barcelona: Montjuïc, the Seafront Stage 1 Route, and the Sitges Coast
A practical guide to riding the roads at the centre of the Tour de France's Grand Départ — Montjuïc's switchbacks, the seafront TTT course, and the 40-kilometre coastal run to Sitges that Stage 2 traces along the Costa Daurada.
By ZealZag TeamGrand Départ Barcelona: The Tour Opens with Its First Team Time Trial Since 1971
Twenty-two squads rolled off the Parc del Fòrum ramp and pointed at Montjuïc on Saturday as the Tour de France opened its 2026 edition with a team time trial through the streets of Barcelona — a format not seen at a Tour Grand Départ since 1971, and one carrying an individual GC twist that made every second count.
By ZealZag TeamHow to Watch the Tour de France 2026 in Person: Barcelona to Alpe d'Huez
A practical guide for destination-athletes joining the Tour de France roadside — the stages worth travelling for, where to stand on Alpe d'Huez and in the Pyrenees, how to time a trip around the race's three-week geography, and what the experience actually delivers.
By ZealZag TeamGaudí's Avenue Belongs to the Tour: 80,000 Fill Barcelona for the Team Presentation
With 80,000 spectators lining Avinguda de Gaudí between the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site and the Sagrada Família, and Castellers building human towers while Sílvia Pérez Cruz sang, Barcelona staged the most architecturally striking team presentation in Tour de France history — two days before the race begins.
By ZealZag TeamClimbing the Tourmalet: Cycling the French Pyrenees from Luz-Saint-Sauveur to Gavarnie-Gèdre
Tour de France Stage 6 crosses the Col d'Aspin and the Col du Tourmalet before a first-ever finish at Gavarnie-Gèdre on July 9. This is a practical guide to riding these roads yourself — what the climbs are, where to base, when to go.
By ZealZag Team
Race the Route: Ride Tour de France Stage 1's Barcelona TTT Course
The 19.7km Tour de France Stage 1 TTT from Fòrum to Montjuïc is one of Europe's most cinematic cycling routes. Here's how to ride every kilometer — logistics, Montjuïc climb tips, and where to eat.
By ZealZag Team
Tour de France 2026: Barcelona Braces for the Grande Boucle
23 Tour de France teams present at Sagrada Família as Barcelona's Grand Départ week ignites — Pogačar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel on the same starting line for the first time.
By ZealZag TeamThree Days Out: Tour de France 2026 Opens with First Stage 1 TTT Since 1971 in Barcelona
The 113th Tour de France fires its starting gun on Saturday — an unprecedented team time trial up Montjuïc where individual times apply, the first TTT opener since 1971, and Pogačar versus Vingegaard's Giro-winning form versus Evenepoel's chrono power in one 19.6-kilometre opener.
By ZealZag TeamCycling Barcelona: Montjuïc, the Tour de France TTT Route, and Where to Ride Beyond the City
A practical guide to cycling the 2026 Tour de France Stage 1 TTT route through Barcelona and the Montjuïc circuit — plus where to ride in the days around the Grand Départ when the streets themselves become the stage.
By ZealZag TeamThe Tour de France Has Arrived in Barcelona: 23 Teams, Four Days, One Starting Gun
Four days before the Tour de France opens with its first team time trial since 1971, Barcelona is mid-preparation — team buses on the streets, the Montjuïc circuit under reconnaissance, and a GC field where the defending champion and the reigning Giro winner both need to be watched from the first pedal stroke.
By ZealZag TeamGrégoire Takes the Tricolore: France's Men's Road Champion Solo at La Tour-du-Pin
Romain Grégoire won the 2026 French elite men's road championship with a solo attack off the Béjui climb in suffocating heat, claiming his first national title and the tricolore jersey he will wear when the Tour de France opens in Barcelona on July 4.
By ZealZag TeamTraining in Frankfurt: The Langener Waldsee, Taunus Hills, and the Main River Towpath
Frankfurt is the most functional triathlon training city in central Europe — a forest lake for open-water swimming, Taunus hills for climbing, a flat river towpath for tempo work, and a major airport hub under an hour from all of it.
By ZealZag TeamThe Sella Ronda on Two Wheels: Mountain Biking the Dolomites' Greatest Loop
The Sella Ronda is the most famous circuit in the Dolomites — 52 kilometres of mountain passes ringing the Sella massif, connecting Val di Fassa, Val Gardena, Alta Badia, and Arabba. A guide to riding it by mountain bike (lift-assisted), road bike, or e-bike, staged from the same Canazei that hosts this weekend's UCI Enduro World Cup.
By ZealZag TeamCycling Lyon: Beaujolais Vineyards, Dombes Plateau, and the Rhône Valley Headwaters
Lyon is 45 minutes north of La Tour-du-Pin and one of France's best-kept cycling bases — access to Beaujolais rolling hills, the Dombes bird-lake plateau, and the col roads of the Monts du Lyonnais. Practical guide for destination athletes staging the French nationals or building a week of French road cycling.
By ZealZag TeamCélia Gery Takes the Tricolore: France's 20-Year-Old Superstar Wins Women's Road Nationals
Célia Gery added the French national road champion's jersey to a 2026 palmarès that already includes Brabantse Pijl, a Giro d'Italia Women stage, and the elite cyclocross national title — and she's still 20 years old.
By ZealZag TeamIsère and the Dauphiné: Cycling the Range Between Grenoble and the Alps
The Dauphiné is the region that gave the stage race its name — and it earns that association. Practical guide to cycling the Vercors plateau, the Chartreuse massif, and the col roads that lead into the Alps from Grenoble, for athletes arriving around the French nationals or building an Alpine cycling trip.
By ZealZag TeamFrench Nationals TT: Armirail Completes a Hat-Trick in Isère, Road Race Awaits
Bruno Armirail claimed his third French national time trial title in four years on the 29.7-kilometre course in La Tour-du-Pin, while the elite road races — the jerseys that matter for grand tours — run on Saturday and Sunday. This is what the champion's band looks like on a WorldTour peloton.
By ZealZag TeamThe Dolomites for Road Cyclists: Italy's Greatest Training Ground, Pass by Pass
The Dolomites pack more significant cycling passes into a driveable area than anywhere else in the Alps. Stelvio, Giau, Pordoi, Fedaia, Mortirolo — these are not interchangeable. Here is what each climb actually demands, when to go, and how to build a week in the mountains without wasting days on logistics.
By ZealZag TeamNational Championships Week 2026: Europe Races for the Jersey Before the Tour
The last weekend of June is national championships week — the one race each year where trade teams dissolve and riders race for their country's jersey. It is the final form check before the Tour de France Grand Départ in Barcelona, and the new champions will wear their national colours for the next twelve months.
By ZealZag TeamCycling the Aragonese Pyrenees: Jaca, Somport, and the Quiet Side of the Mountains
The Aragonese Pyrenees run between the Basque cycling heartland to the west and the Catalan mountains to the east — and carry none of their traffic. A practical guide to cycling the Puerto de Somport, Portalet, and the Hecho and Ansó valleys from Sabiñánigo and Jaca.
By ZealZag TeamSpanish Road Nationals TT: Racing for the Stripes in the Pyrenees Foothills
The Spanish road cycling national championships open their time trial day in Sabiñánigo — where the Hoya de Huesca meets the Aragonese Pyrenees, and riders compete for the red-and-yellow national jersey worn for a full season on the WorldTour.
By ZealZag Team