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The 2026 men’s Tour de France is into its final week, with Tadej Pogačar looking nailed-on to join that elite club of five-time victors.
The green jersey competition is almost sewn-up too. Biniam Girmay has come up short in his quest for green and a stage win (so far). Before the race, NSN sport director Sam Bewley told me that he was confident that the Eritrean could repeat his performances of 2024. While Girmay has been consistent, he has lacked the speed, strength and positioning of Merlier and Pedersen. Girmay’s search for a WorldTour victory, now more than two-years-deep, continues.
The Tour sucks away July’s oxygen, but there is another race that takes place in July each year which deserves a moment of attention. One that is quite unlike any other on the calendar - the Tour of Magnficent Qinghai. I spoke to Burgos-Burpellet-BH DS Damien Garcia this week to find out what makes this race so special, and so brutal.
Also this week, an interview with Uzbekistan’s latest big talent who dreams of winning Milano-Sanremo, big changes at the UCI World Cycling Centre and a catch up on results from around the world.
Enjoy the newsletter - and support my reporting by signing up to Escape Collective through one of my articles. Dan
Recent posts:
- How do you race at 4,000 metres? The Tour of Magnificent Qinghai provides answers.
- Nikita Tsvetkov is writing Uzbekistan’s next pro cycling chapter
- Can Biniam Girmay return to his green jersey-winning best at the Tour de France?
- The Tour of Qatar is on course to return in 2027
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Several riders I’ve spoken to over the years have told me that the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai is a race they must do before they retire.
A strange one, right? But this eight-day stage race that takes place in the Chinese province just north of Tibet is unlike any other. There’s one reason for that: the altitude.
The 2026 edition of the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai, which took place last week, never dipped below 2,300 metres of altitude. Much of the race took place around 3,500 metres and peaked at just over a staggering 4,000 metres. For context, the highest peak in Europe this season comes on the 20th stage of the Tour de France on top of the Col du Galibier at 2,642 metres.
“One day you could be good and then the next day you lose ten minutes in the GC. With this high altitude, it's complicated to read the race,” Damien Garcia, Sports Director for Burgos-Burpellet-BH told me for Escape Collective.
Read that piece in full to find out how the riders manage the conditions at this spectacular race.
The 2026 edition was won by Ecuadorian former Giro d’Italia stage-winner Jonathan Caicedo - now racing for Chinese team Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Team following the demise of Mexican continental team Petrolike.
After leading the UCI’s international cycling initiative since 2022, Jacques Landry has left his position asDirector of the UCI World Cycling Centre.
Canadian Landry, a former professional who competed in the road race at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, guided the centre through several significant initiatives and modernisations after taking over from Frenchman Vincent Jacquet. The most significant of these was the ‘Africa 2025’ programme which sought to put development at the heart of the Kigali World Championships, with the UCI hosting several training camps for promising African riders.
After Kigali, the WCC launched the ‘Global 2028’ strategy, a three-year initiative to develop pro cycling’s emerging nations ahead of the 2028 Worlds in Abu Dhabi. (Here’s my interview with Landry about ‘Global 2028’ from April).
“Grateful to the team, the coaches, and the athletes and national federations from every corner of the world who made this journey unforgettable. Thank you to the UCI for the trust,” Landry said in a post on social media.
Global Peloton has contacted the UCI for clarity on the reasons behind Landry’s departure and plans to recruit a successor. At time of publication there has been no response.
There is no team more Italian than Bardiani, apart from the fact that they are now part-Uzbek.
The long-running ProTeam which lights up the Giro d’Italia every year with its plucky breakaway attempts signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Uzbek clothing company 7 Saber at the start of the season to become known as Bardiani-CSF-7 Saber. The move probably secures the team’s future for the next few seasons, but it also signifies Uzbekistan’s next steps on their topsy-turvy pro cycling journey.
As part of the deal, Bardiani-CSF-7 Saber signed two Uzbek riders, Sergei Rostovstev and Nikita Tsvetkov. The latter is a very promising talent, and raced his first Grand Tour at the Giro d’Italia earlier this season.
I spoke with Tsvetkov after he completed the Giro on signing his first pro deal, his future goals and cycling in Uzbekistan.
Read my interview with Tsvetkov on Escape Collective
After finishing on the podium of the Giro d’Italia Next Gen last month, Brazilian Henrique Bravo claimed the top spot at the Valle d’Aosta (U23) ahead of Ecuador’s Mateo Ramírez. The Soudal Quick-Step devo rider led from start to finish after winning a tough opening time-trial.
At the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai, there were stage wins for César Macias (who I interviewed earlier this year), Henok Mulubrhan and Santiago Umba.
One of North America’s biggest junior races, the Tour de l’Abitibi Juniors, took place last week. The men’s race was won by local Canadian rider Carter de Veer ahead of Kazakh talent Gleb Novikov, as the Central Asian national sent a strong squad to Canada. Elodie Malois dominated the women’s race for the Candadian national team as Aruzhan Kabdulova finished 7th on GC.
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