Months of mind games between the two Tour de France favourites had a settlement of sorts on the opening day of the 2026 race, as Jonas Vingegaard gained an immediate 12 seconds advantage over Tadej Pogačar in a 20km team time trial in Barcelona.

Stage one of the 113th edition of Le Tour set the tone for what spectators hope will be another enthralling battle in the ensuing three weeks, and follows what has been a lengthy period of the two setting their stall out in public.

The declarations of superiority have not quite been delivered with the same intensity and ferocity as title-fighting boxers utter them, but nor can the war of words be filed away as chilling ripostes.

But the mind games that both Pogačar, 27, and Vingegaard, 29, have engaged in since the spring have persisted unabated – and have been in stark contrast to previous years when both riders have typically tried to shift the pressure away from themselves.

Pogačar has won four yellow jerseys to date, including the last two, while Vingegaard beat him to the maillot jaune in both 2022 and 2023. Theirs is an eternal rivalry, very possibly the greatest and most gripping of all time.

This article was published in The Observer in July 2026. To read the full article click here.