Isaac del Toro claimed a dramatic victory on stage two of the 2026 Tour de France in Barcelona, with teammate Tadej Pogacar playing a pivotal role in the win. Jonas Vingegaard retained the yellow jersey, holding a six-second lead over Pogacar after bonus seconds were applied.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG dominates stage two
A day after Vingegaard's Visma-Lease a Bike squad won the opening team time trial, stage two belonged to their rivals UAE Team Emirates-XRG. They engineered a one-two finish, with Pogacar allowing his 22-year-old Mexican teammate Del Toro to take the win just two days into his debut Tour.
Vingegaard finished fourth, just behind Remco Evenepoel. Pogacar appeared capable of cutting into Vingegaard's lead or even taking yellow, but he chose to let Del Toro savor the moment.
Del Toro's emotional victory
Del Toro brought back a late attack from Mattias Skjelmose inside the final kilometer, initially appearing to set up Pogacar. However, Pogacar saw a gap to Vingegaard behind and waved his teammate through. “It means really everything,” said Del Toro, who earlier had to chase back after a mechanical issue. “I cannot believe what I just did. It’s insane. A rider like Tadej, being in the same team as him, the best team in the world, I’m full of emotion.”
He added: “We were going super fast. At the top of the climb I was not able to be in position to be in the front group, then I tried to bring back Skjelmose and we made a plan for Tadej. I did it, but then the gap was bigger so I just went with the flow to the finish line. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come almost ever so I’m super proud.”
Stage details and contenders
The main contenders came to the fore as the peloton began the first of three laps of a closing circuit in Barcelona at the end of a 168.5km stage along the coast from Tarragona. Tom Pidcock's Pinarello Q36.5 squad controlled a three-man breakaway, and Pidcock finished the day in 10th place.
Stage three affected by forest fires
The third stage on Monday will go ahead in an “adapted” format with no spectators in France due to forest fires in the Eastern Pyrenees. “On French territory, the publicity caravan will not circulate,” said Pierre Regnault de la Mothe, the prefect of the department. The setup will be limited to the passage of riders and essential vehicles.
The prefect added: “The public is asked not to go near the route or to the finish area. In other words, and I regret having to say this, it will be, in France at least, a stage of the Tour de France without spectators.”
The fire has swept across approximately 1,500 hectares and required about 700 firefighters. It is located about 70km from Les Angles, where riders are due to finish the third stage, which starts in Granollers, Spain. The prefect has also ordered the closure of the main road providing access to the route due to the fire.
