Pogačar’s dominance, Safety on Alpe d’Huez, and that epic finish in Paris - Tour de France 2026 Wrapped Up | The Race Communiqué

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The men’s Tour de France is over for another year, and what an epic week of racing we’ve just seen. Pogačar might have wrapped up the overall victory early on, but some amazing battles for the green, white, and polka dot jerseys, some big shifts in the rest of the top 10 in the final week, and an unbelievable finish in Paris made this a truly memorable edition of the race.

Guys, Durbo’s just finished his final Tour de France and is dialling in from a well-earned holiday to join me and Southam for this month’s episode of The Race Communiqué where we’re wrapping up the 2026 Tour de France.

Of course, we’ve been dropping weekly wrap-up podcasts on the rest days, so we start this episode by spinning through the last week of racing. Having Southam on board to give us some insight into Richard Carapaz’s audacious moves on those brutal final three stages to take two stages and the polka dot jersey is another reminder of how lucky we are to have Tom and Luke take us inside the pelo each month.

A big topic of discussion over the last week of racing was the fans on Alpe d’Huez. Record-breaking numbers of spectators made the pilgrimage to the mountain, and it might have been a step too far. A brutal exit for Einer Rubio after a team car had to brake for a stumbling spectator really highlighted just how sketchy it can be up there, and hearing some of Durbo’s war stories from the other end of the bunch is really eye-opening.

Of course, Durbs wrapped up his 12th and final lap of France, and he takes us through the emotions of reaching Paris for the final time.

Durbo’s PeloChat takes us inside the seldom-discussed world of the grupetto. We spend a lot of the time focusing on the riders winning the bike races, but the guys at the back are probably suffering even more just to get to the finish within the time cut!

Southam’s call before the Tour de France about the Mega-Break was spot on, and we saw a few stages defined by absolutely massive moves with tens of riders in. In this month’s Talking Tactics, Southam shares the secrets to getting into a breakaway, and just how bloody hard it can be!

Guys, there is a lot to go through in this episode. As is often the case with the Tour, there are so many different stories to follow. Get yourself comfortable

Cheers,

Mitch

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