Del Toro leads UAE 1-2 as GC favourites finish together

Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) sprinted to his first Grand Tour stage victory from an elite group of four on stage 2 of the 2026 Tour de France.

The young Mexican led home his teammate Tadej Pogačar for a dominant 1-2 finish. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) finished third and fourth respectively, with all four riders credited with the same time.

A select chasing group, led across the line by Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), finished three seconds in arrears after being unable to match the pace of the leaders on the explosive final climbs into Barcelona.

The 168 km stage from Tarragona featured a hilly profile designed for a punchy finale. An early breakaway including Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché) established a gap of over four minutes, but the peloton controlled the advantage ahead of the decisive closing circuit.

The race ignited on the final climb of Montjuïc, where the main favourites came to the fore. A powerful quartet containing Isaac del Toro and Tadej Pogačar (both UAE Team Emirates-XRG), alongside Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), quickly distanced all other rivals.

In the sprint to the line, Del Toro proved the strongest, launching his effort to take a landmark victory. He led home his team leader Pogačar for a 1-2, with Evenepoel and Vingegaard following on the same time, three seconds clear of the first chasers.

• UAE Team Emirates played their numbers perfectly. With two riders in the final four, Isaac del Toro was free to sprint for the win while Tadej Pogačar marked his direct GC rivals.
• The stage created no time gaps between the 'big three', but it confirmed their superiority. They were the only riders able to follow the decisive accelerations on the final climb into Barcelona.
• Isaac del Toro's victory is a stunning arrival on the biggest stage. Winning from a group containing the sport's top three riders marks him as a major talent for the future.
• The three-second gap to the first chasing group is a small but telling early indicator for riders like Mattias Skjelmose and Tom Pidcock on these punchy finishes.