Not the Dauphiné

The build-up to the 2026 Tour de France starts here. It's not the Dauphiné because the race has been rebranded the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, which may take us a while to get used to.

Join Lionel Birnie and Graham Willgoss as they are reunited to look ahead to the first big preparation race for the Tour, which starts on Sunday. With Jonas Vingegaard resting after a convincing victory at the Giro d'Italia, and Tadej Pogačar focusing on the Tour de Suisse, that puts the spotlight on the young French sensation Paul Seixas.

The Decathlon rider won Itzulia earlier in the spring to amplify the growing hype around him. France is starting to believe they finally have a successor to Bernard Hinault, the last French man to win the Tour.

But who stands in his way next week, and what other clues will we gain about who's on track for the Tour?

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The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.