Best riders before Tour de France 2026: update of skills

After the Giro, before the Tour, it's a perfect moment to evaluate the skills of riders according to the computer model of Cycling Oracle. In this blog we take a look at the best riders in different skills and who improved the most. Who are the rising stars of 2026? In this blog you can find more details about the background of the model and how it works. At our website, you can compare up to 5 riders and browse through the skills and current rankings.

Best riders overall (OVR)

The overall skill measures the best skills of every rider, not taking into consideration all skills, but mainly their specialties. At the start of 2026, Pogacar already scored the maximum of 99, and he still does after the 5 classics and 2 stage-races he participated in. 14 wins, 3 Monuments; this is the greatest of all time.

Jonas Vingegaard increased from 97 to 98, mainly as a result of GC victories in Giro d'Italia, Paris-Nice and Catalunya. Despite their limited program, Almeida, del Toro and Pedersen remained in the top 10 of best riders.

Most improved:

Which riders improved most in the first part of the season? Per Strand Hagenes gained some nice results and showed his strenght as a classic rider and domestique. Also Luke Tuckwell is worth mentioning, being a young rider with a strong GC performance in Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes (2nd).

Considering riders who already scored 75 or higher at the start of the season, Paul Seixas is the rider who improved his overall skill the most. He ranks 92 after his victories in Basque Country, La Flèche Wallonne and impressive ride (2nd) at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The French miracle-kid jumps across our ranks like we never saw before. The model traditionally struggles with young riders emerging fast, but Paul Seixas has such strong results that even the computer knows. He had a set-back in Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes but expectations are high with Tour de France debut around the corner. Tim van Dijke and Tobias Lund Andresen had strong spring-campaigns as well and rank among the best riders before the Tour de France.

Best hill-specialists (HLL)

Hills are everywhere in spring. From Omloop Nieuwsblad to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which riders have the best hill skill? It is without any doubt Tadej Pogacar with the maximum of 99. Behind him Isaac del Toro (3rd in Strade) and Remco Evenepoel (victory in Amstel Gold Race, 3rd in Vlaanderen and Liège) remained the best hill specialists. Romain Grégorie is among the best 5 after his top-10 results in all Ardennes classics and Strade Bianche. Again, Seixas is among the best as well in this skill.

Most improved:

Léo Bisiaux (67>84), Matys Grisel, Emiel Verstrynge (59>71) and Andrew August are four riders worth mentioning with a big increase in their hill skill according to our model. But it is Paul Seixas who scores 94 before the Tour de France and is among the best at the age of 19.

Best sprinters (SPR)

The fast men had some interesting chances and duels in the preparation to the Tour de France. Who are the fastest men on the planet? It is still Jasper Philipsen according to our model. Tim Merlier lost a point due to his injuries and late start to the season. Olav Kooij was absent this spring, but made his comeback with some impressive wins and sprints. Will Girmay and Pedersen level with them in the Tour de France?

Most improved:

Riders who already scored 75 or higher at the start of the season are considered to be fast finishers. Among them Steffen De Schuyteneer improved most. Dorian Godon scored the most impressive results at his new team (INEOS Grenadiers), mainly outside the classics.

Fabio Jakobsen (83>72) is a former top-sprinter who lost most points on his sprint skill in our model.

Best climbers (MTN)

Real big mountains await this July. From Tourmalet to Galibier, from Alpe d'Huez to Solaison, all big mountains and mountain ranges are covered in this year's Tour de France. Pogacar and Vingegaard rank 1 and 2 in this list, naturally. After their Giro d'Italia performances Felix Gall (+3) and Sepp Kuss (+2) became third and fourth best climbers in the peloton. Also del Toro and Arensman gained some points and rank among the best 10 climbers.

Besides Eulalo and Tudkwell, Alessandro Pinarello is the rising star in this regard, with strong climbing performances in Tirreno-Adriatico and O Gran Camino people might have expected more of him in Giro d'Italia (no GC result). The young Italian is still one of the rising climbing stars in the peloton.

Laurens De Plus, Pello Bilbao and Lennert Van Eetvelt lost some significant amount of points in their mountain skill due to various reasons.

Best time-trialists (ITT)

Time Trials are of importance in stage-races, especially in this year's Tour de France, which kicks off with a Team Time Trial. Who is the best in the invididual race against the clock? It is Remco, the reigning World, European ánd Olympic champion. Ganna gained a point, Vine lost two, but the difference with Evenepoel is still large. Kévin Vauquelin scored some impressive results the past months, giving him a spot in the top 15, together with Thymen Arensman.

Best GC-riders (GC)

The skill for GC is crucial for the Tour de France. There have been several stage-races that are of importance to, Jonas  Vingegaard won 3 of them and Pogacar and del Toro both 2 in 2026. While Jonas Vingegaard is the best GC-rider according to our model, Tadej Pogacar did not contest many stage-races. When he rides he wins and despite he might be a better GC-rider, the computer model uses results to measure skills. Without results it will be difficult to accurately model a rider his skills. Behind the big 2, Felix Gall (94), Lipowitz (93) and Joao Almeida (92) rank as the best GC specialists before the start of the Tour de France.

Luke Tuckwell, Afonso Eulalio and Igor Arrieta made big improvements in their GC skill. They performed above expectations in some WorldTour stage-races. Luke Plapp, Alessandro Pinarello,  Alex Baudin and Davide Piganzoli already scored high but improved significantly.