The 2026 Tour de France started on Saturday 4 July, with 184 riders grouped into 23 teams setting off from Barcelona to contest the greatest bike race on the globe. Over the next three weeks, these riders will race along a route that’s 3,320km (2,063.4 miles) long, tackling almost 50,000 metres of ascent in the process.
But not everyone will make it to the streets of Paris to ride around the Montmartre circuit.
The penultimate stage claimed two casualties, with Jayco AlUla's Pascal Ackermann bailing during the approach to Col de la Croix de Fer and Ilan Van Wilder from Soudal Quick-Step withdrawing after crashing on the subsequent descent from the hors catégorie climb.
Stage 19 saw one of the most dramatic an disturbing withdrawals, when Movistar rider Einer Rubio suffered a horror crash, colliding into the a back of a UAE car and sustaining serious facial injuries.
Italian rider Edoardo Affini from Visma-Lease a Bike also abandoned the Tour during the Alpe d'Huez stage.
Twenty-six riders have so far left the race.
Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates-XRG) departed on stage 18. The American had crashed into a car while reconning stage 16's TT course and then came down with illness that is sweeping the peloton two days later.
Others were not as lucky as McNulty that day, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) crashed heavily in the time trial and broke his collar bone.
Even the second rest day claimed a rider as Lars Craps from Lotto-Intermarché abandoned having fallen ill and developed a fever, meaning he was unable to start stage 16.
Previously, on stage 15 the race had its most high-profile abandon as former Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), sitting in second on GC, crashed out on a descent.
During the course of the mountain stage, three-time sprint winner at this Tour Tim Merlier and NSN cycling rider Tom van Asbroeck also abandoned the race.
Earlier in the weekend Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility) who was dropped on the first climb of stage 14's mountain test, abandoned as he was still suffering from injuries he acquired in a mass mile-up on stage 12. He rode to the finish anyway despite knowing he was likely to be outside the time cut.
The day before Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto–Intermarché), both left with broken collar bones after being involved in the same mass crash in the final sprint at the end of stage 12.
We might not have seen the almost Hunger Games-rate of attrition that was on show at the Giro d’Italia this year, but the stage 12 crash has been the only massive crash so far.
The big news in the race's first week was that Torstein Træen had been forced to abandon after his yellow jersey dream came to a disastrous end on Col du Tourmalet during stage six, with a crash leaving the Uno-X Mobility rider injured and in pain, with what turned out to be multiple fractured ribs. The Norwegian, who had already lost his GC lead to an imperious Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), managed to finish the stage, but withdrew before the start of stage seven.
Earlier in the week, Clément Berthet from Groupama-FDJ United was the first to fall, with the climber failing to start stage two, withdrawing from the race after sustaining an injury in a crash with teammate Guillaume Martin halfway through the 19.6km time trial on day one.
Lotto-Intermarché’s Arnaud De Lie was the next to throw the towel in. While young Mexican sensation Isaac del Toro nailed a near-perfect ride to take victory on stage two, De Lie visibly struggled with illness throughout the day and finished last. As the route passed from Spain into France on long-and-lumpy stage three, amid a heatwave, it was no surprise to see the 24-year-old Belgian sprinter withdrawing from the race, although he soldiered on to within 10km of the finish line.
On stage four, when Mads Pedersen from Lidl-Trek sprinted to victory and fellow Scandinavian Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility) grabbed the yellow jersey, Kelland O'Brien from Jayco AlUla was unable to cope with the heat, and crossed the line a few minutes after the imposed cut-off, meaning he is out of the race.
Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) came off the worst in a crash on stage five of the Tour in Pau, suffering concussion, which forced him to abandon. The next day, Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling) abandoned the race early on stage six, after struggling at the Tour previously.
Movistar's Cian Uijtdebroeks bailed on Thursday, while Bert Van Lerberghe (Soudal–Quick-Step) and Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling) also failed to finish stage six.
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Riders who have abandoned the 2026 Tour de France
- Clément Berthet (Groupama-FDJ United) – DNS stage 2 after crashing on stage 1
- Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) – Abandoned during stage 3 with illness
- Kelland O'Brien (Jayco AlUla) – Missed cut-off on stage 4
- Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) – DNS stage 6 after crashing on stage 5
- Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling) – DNF stage 6
- Bert Van Lerberghe (Soudal–Quick-Step) – DNF stage 6
- Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar) – DNF stage 6
- Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility) - DNS stage 7 after crashing on stage 6
- Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro) – DNS stage 10 due to illness
- Chris Harper (Pinarello Q36.5) – DNS stage 11 after crashing on stage 10
- Fernando Gaviria (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) – DNS stage 13 after crash on stage 12
- Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto–Intermarché) – DNS stage 13 after crash on stage 12
- Frits Biesterbos (Picni PostNL) - DNS
- Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) - DNS stage 14 after developing a sore throat and a fever overnight.
- Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility) Outside the time cut on stage 14
- Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) Abandoned on stage 15
- Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) Crashed out on stage 15
- Tom van Asbroeck (NSN Cycling) DNF on stage 15
- Lars Craps (Lotto-Intermarché) DNS stage 16 after falling ill
- Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) DNF after crashing on stage 16
- Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirate-XRG) DNF on stage 18 with illness
- José Félix Parra (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) DNS on stage 18
- Einer Rubio (Movistar) DNF stage 19 after a crash
- Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) DNF stage 19
- Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla) DNF stage 20
- Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) DNF stage 20 after a crash
