With the road season in the rearview mirror and the Tour Down Under still three months away, the Tour de France route presentation in October traditionally offers bike racing analysts a welcome opportunity to do meaningful work in an otherwise quiet time of year. All these Alpine climbs suit so-and-so, all these time trials suit so-and-so, you know the drill.
But what's a bike racing analyst to do in the age of Tadej Pogačar? We could state the obvious, that the 2026 Tour de France suits the reigning champ, but you probably already knew that. The truth is: Any realistic Tour de France route suits Pogačar.
Jonny Long
In a way, though, at least that frees up analysts and organizers alike to focus on other things. Maybe that's the silver lining here.
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