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Our cycling news roundup on the eve of the 2026 Tour de France route presentation — plus transfers, re-ups, a gravel update, the UCI’s ketone guidance — and a peek at Juan Ayuso’s Instagram feed.
TOP STORY:
- PEZ’s Guide to the 2026 Tour de France Route Rumors
RACE NEWS
- Cameron “Cam” Jones Wins Lifetime Grand Prix Overall
RIDER & TEAM NEWS
- INEOS Grenadiers Sign Promising Norwegian Embret Svestad-Bårdseng
- Max Kanter Extends Contract with XDS Astana Team
WHAT ELSE IS COOL IN ROAD CYCLING
- News You Can Use (But Shouldn’t?) — UCI Issues Statement on Ketone Use
- Rapha & USA Cycling Target Partnership at 2028 Olympics & Beyond
- Groupama to Partner with Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
AND…WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM JUAN AYUSO’S INSTAGRAM?
PEZ’ Guide to the 2026 Tour de France Route Rumors
Time zones being a blessing and a curse — a blessing when you can watch the closing kilometers of a Tour stage while brushing your teeth in the morning; a curse when you’re meeting a European deadline from Pacific time — we share this, our guide to Tour parcours rumors, knowing that they’ll be confirmed or denied just hours after you read this.
Still, we wanted to grant our readers a chance to test our prognostication skills — so here goes:
What We Know
Barcelona is the site of the 2026 Grand Boucle’s Grand Départ. After an wholly Gallic parcours in 2025, the Tour is venturing into Spain for its third-ever start in France’s southern neighbor (after San Sebastian in ’92 and Bilbao in ’23). The 1992 Olympic city will also host stages 2 — a team time trial, back for the first time since 2019 — and 3, a 178-km road stage.
Stream the Live Tour de France 20206 Route presentation here – after 11:00am CET
So we know about the start — the Grand Départ — and about the finish: Building on the resounding popularity of 2025’s final stage in Paris, where Wout Van Aert won triumphantly, 2026’s finale will again crest the climb to Montmartre (multiple times).
The Rumors
Beyond the Barcelona start and the Paris/Montmartre finish, here are some guesses:
- The Pyrenees will feature early. It doesn’t take a Nostradamus to determine that a race that starts in Barcelona will likely enter France through its southwest border.
- A visit to the Cirque de Garvarnie. Sudouest has reported that stage 6 will climb the new ascent of the Col de Tentes, bringing the Tour for the first time to the spectacular Cirque de Gavarnie — a natural amphitheatre deemed ‘the Colosseum of nature’ by Victor Hugo.
- Jonas Vingegaard will appreciate the rumor that during the second week, the Tour will climb the Puy Mary and Col du Pertus before finishing at Le Lioran — where the Dane trounced Tadej Pogačar in 2024.
- The route will likely also include finishes at Le Markstein and Plateau de Solaison.
- Alas — early reports that the 2026 route would include La Planche des Belles Filles seem inaccurate. (To Primoz Roglic’s relief, we assume.)
- Week three should feature a time trial — not a pure-climbing version, as in so many recent Grand Tours.
- And…start reserving your campsite on Dutch Corner now: The 2026 Tour route may trace the famed 21 switchbacks to Alpe d’Huez — twice, on stages 19 and 20.
We’ve sourced these rumors from cycling publications and local French newspapers. As for our own predictions? We’re saying today — nine months before the Grand Départ in Barcelona — that the podium will feature at least one rider aged 22 years or younger…regardless of where the route takes them.
RACE NEWS
Cameron “Cam” Jones Wins Lifetime Grand Prix Overall
Photo by Kyle Thornhil for Scott Bicycles
Having entered the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix as a wild card entry, New Zealand’s Cameron Jones has remarkably finished the season as the overall series champion.
Jones sealed the title at the Big Sugar Classic in Bentonville, Arkansas, where severe weather forced organizers to shorten the course. In a race with multiple splits, Jones rode a disciplined and tactical race, focusing his efforts on his bid to win the Life Time Grand Prix overall. With a massive effort to take the bunch sprint, Cam secured fifth place on the day – a result that propelled him into first place in the series. This result comes on top of wins at Unbound Gravel and Little Sugar MTB.
“I came into this series as an outsider with nothing to defend,” said Jones. “Every race was a chance to prove I belonged — and in the end, that mindset won the whole thing.”
A Scott-sponsored athlete, Jones’ participation was never guaranteed: He was not selected when the 2025 Grand Prix roster was first announced. Only after his Unbound win and media surge did he receive a Wild Card entry.
“I came into this series as an outsider with nothing to defend,” said Jones. “Every race was a chance to prove I belonged — and in the end, that mindset won the whole thing.”
RIDER & TEAM NEWS
INEOS Grenadiers Sign Promising Norwegian Embret Svestad-Bårdseng
INEOS Grenadiers has announced the signing of 23 year-old Embret Svestad-Bårdseng, one of Norway’s most promising climbing talents. I
Svestad-Bårdseng completed his debut Grand Tour at the 2025 Giro d’Italia, raced strongly at Volta a Catalunya and Tour de Pologne, and finished fourth on the queen stage at the Tour of Oman, to secure a top-10 overall finish.
Reflecting on the move, Svestad-Bårdseng said: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining INEOS Grenadiers. This is a big and very exciting step in my career. I grew up watching this team dominate the Grand Tours in the mountains and always dreamed of one day being part of that.
“I believe being part of the INEOS Grenadiers can now help me take a big step forward as a rider and I’m looking forward to being part of one of the best performance teams in the world.”
Sir Dave Brailsford said: “Embret is a very exciting addition to our roster. He’s young and ambitious, and is already showing the kind of climbing talent that is needed at the highest level of this sport.”
Max Kanter Extends Contract with XDS Astana Team
German sprinter Max Kanter has extended his contract with XDS Astana Team through 2027.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a strong 2025 season, highlighted by victory at the Famenne Ardenne Classic, podiums at Clásica de Almería, Paris–Chauny, and Omloop van het Houtland, and 11 Top-10 finishes including Classic Brugge–De Panne and Scheldeprijs.
“I’m really happy to continue with XDS Astana after such a challenging but rewarding season,” said Kanter. General Manager Alexandr Vinokurov praised Kanter’s progress, calling him “a key rider for future successes” and emphasizing the team’s plan to strengthen its sprint support for 2026–2027.
WHAT ELSE IS COOL IN ROAD CYCLING
News You Can Use (But Shouldn’t?) — UCI Issues Statement on Ketone Use
The UCI has issued a “declaration concerning the use of ketone supplements by cyclists.”
When we saw this pop up in our feeds, we opened quickly, thinking, “They’re dropping the hammer on ketones -?”
Nope: read the declaration for yourself, but what we read is…
- Here’s what ketones are.
- A study showed them to be beneficial to cycling performance…
- But then others didn’t…
- But then still others — these focused on recovery — pointed back to enhanced performance…
- But then still other research said no, no benefit. Really
Implied: we’re not banning them. Stated: they don’t help, so don’t bother using them.
We’re glad we could help!
Rapha & USA Cycling Target Partnership at 2028 Olympics & Beyond
Rapha and USA Cycling have announced a new partnership aimed at ushering in a transformative era for American cycling. From 2026 through 2029, Rapha will outfit Team USA across all disciplines—including Track, BMX Racing, and Freestyle—bringing its signature style and innovation to the national program.
The partnership builds on Rapha’s long history of supporting U.S. cycling, from EF Pro Cycling to the Legion crit team and the Search for Speed talent program in Los Angeles. USA Cycling CEO Brendan Quirk called the collaboration “a catalyst for a Golden Age,” with a shared goal of winning 10 medals at the LA28 Olympic Games.
Groupama to Partner with Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
The Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift have announced a three-year partnership agreement with Groupama. This agreement continues Groupama’s commitment to professional cycling, which began with the creation of the Groupama-FDJ team in 2018.
This partnership also reflects the shared ambitions between the Grande Boucle and Groupama to invest in amateur and everyday cyclists through initiatives to support clubs and promote safety awareness.
Said Sylvain Burel, Groupama Group Communications Director, “By becoming an official partner of the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, we are strengthening our presence in a sport we already support at the highest level.”
Yann Le Moenner, CEO of A.S.O., welcomed Groupama: “We are delighted to welcome Groupama as one of our official partners. This partnership reflects the values we share around cycling. It is another step forward in their commitment to the sport, whether for professionals, amateurs or everyday cyclists.”
AND…WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM JUAN AYUSO’S INSTAGRAM?
Our weekly social media-focused feature returns, prompted by the news that soon after fleeing the House of Pogačar for Lidl-Trek, Juan Ayuso has been training diligently hanging out in Miami.
One glance at his Instagram page suggests that this is indeed true — and that far from chastened after a season of mostly disappointing results, the Spaniard is feeling feisty.
In fact, criticism seems to be fueling his motivation, as an intransigent tagline reads “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
But news of his transfer is nowhere to be seen: Photos and videos feature adoring fans, his notable “plugged ears” gesture from the Vuelta — and shots of him in Miami, including sporting the jersey of Tyreek Hill — hardly the NFL’s most lovable player. We’ll assume that LIDL-Trek management knew what they were getting into with his signing.
Drawing too many inferences from social media is dangerous, of course — but it sure seems obvious that Ayuso enters this new era of his career firmly defiant
.
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