Updated July 28, 2026 04:27AM
Well, that’s all they rode. The 2026 Tour de France is over.
The 158 finishers were not just strong and entertaining on the bike, they had some killer things to say and great quips off it too.
Here are the funniest, most compelling and downright strangest quotes from this year’s edition of cycling’s most prestigious race.
Master and apprentice crack a joke
Pogačar paced Isaac Del Toro to pressure Paul Seixas and helpedto secure the white jersey for the Mexican. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
“Actually, me and Isaac are big rivals. We’re just playing that we’re friends in front of the camera.” Tadej Pogačar is cracking jokes in his post-Tour press conference.
“It’s something you wouldn’t even write in a story book.” The Slovenian on winning his record-equalling fifth Tour title.
“If you could have seen through my glasses during the stage, you would have seen I was crying and speechless.” Isaac Del Toro, the first Mexican to finish on the Tour’s final podium, was emotional as Pogačar played super-domestique on stage 20 (above) and helped him to third place.
Sepp Kuss, adrenaline junkie
Sepp Kuss descending during his break on stage 20 of the 2026 Tour de France, right before his dramatic crashes. (Photo: Gruber Images)
“It was a bit more of a corner than I expected. We’ll see if my wife lets me race my bike anymore – she always tells me not to take any risks on the downhills. But you’ve got to have a bit of adrenaline every once in a while.” Sepp Kuss after his second crash into roadside netting, nearly going over the edge of the road, while leading with 5km to go of stage 20.
“I think they were so drunk that it was more like slapping my backside than pushing me, so it wasn’t exactly pleasant.” French national champion Romain Gregoire tells L’Equipe he was not so impressed by the Alpe d’Huez fans.
“You’re insane, mate.” Paul Seixas to Tadej Pogačar after his win on Alpe d’Huez on stage 19.
Records, ‘records’ and handling the pressure
Pogačar on the way to beating a record on Alpe d’Huez. (Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
“I actually don’t know what was Pantani’s time was, to be honest.” A new record up Alpe d’Huez from Tadej Pogačar, even if he is not as bothered about it as most of the cycling world.
“There are always expectations, and when I don’t deliver they’re not going to shoot me or anything, but you just try to deliver.” There is a lot of pressure in the Tour, but it’s not quite life and death, as a relieved Jasper Philipsen explained after winning stage 17.
“He’s a good kid.” Tadej Pogačar after stage 16 about poor TT crash victim Florian Lipowitz… who is only two years younger than him.
“Has anyone ever been in the breakaway three days in a row while being in the top ten overall? I don’t think so. Tadej can break loads of records, but so can I.” Tom Pidcock after going up the road on stage 15… five days before Richard Carapaz made it into three back-to-back breakaways too.
“I think the team has made it quite obvious they care more that Mads wins the green than I win a stage. And you know, at the end of the day, they write my paycheck, so I have to do what I’m told.” Lidl-Trek’s Quinn Simmons after his stirring breakaway on stage 15.
“We had no Plan B.” A dejected Matteo Jorgenson sums it up after Vingegaard’s crash on the road to Plateau de Solaison.
Jet ski for a Tour stage win, fair deal
Sprinting all the way to a new jet ski. (Photo: JASPER JACOBS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP))
“He sticks out his hand. I was kind of like, ‘I don’t know if this is the place for that!’ I stuck my hand out at the last minute and we pulled it off.” Quinn Simmons’ dad Scott explains to Velo how he and his son went viral with a feelgood high five on stage 12 as the US champion accelerated up a rise.
“That’s why I stopped the biathlon.” Sport switcher Florian Lipowitz after missing the target when chucking his bidon at a fan’s painted bullseye sign.
“He was a sad boy on the bus this morning. We promised him a jet ski if he won. Now Thor [Hushovd, general manager] has to sort out the jet ski.” Soren Wærenskjold goes from crash victim in last place on day 10 to winning stage 11, helped by a special motivation, as teammate Tobias Halland Johannessen tells TV 2.
“To all the guys that were booing, they give us more power … they put wood on the fire.” Tadej Pogačar has an answer for the haters after his stage 10 win at Le Lioran.
“The Tour is an adventure and we have made even more of it. We enjoyed a night under the starry sky. The hotel was certainly not luxurious, but sleeping outside was a bit better. There were fewer insects and mosquitoes there than in our rooms.” Tobias Halland Johanessen (again!) was not a fan of his rest day hotel, as Sporza found out.
It’s in his nature (break)
“You might sit on it and go a little bit in your chamois, but I’d much prefer that than on a little kid on the side of the road!” In his last Tour, Luke Durbridge (Jayco Alula) goes a little TMI to Velo about respecting the public and stopping a nature break midstream.
“People don’t realize how much the level has risen. My generation saw the gap widen. And the new generation is coming, doing 7 watts per kg for 20 minutes. Before, if you did 6 watts per kg, you were good. Now you’re a teammate.” 2017 Tour King of the Mountains Warren Barguil on how fast things the sport has evolved to L’Equipe.
“If I had [the] power to change all, I would change the whole calendar. I would not race in July and in August in the hot place. That’s something that we need to think through.” Tadej Pogačar’s climate change solutions, speaking after a stage 9 shortened by 30 kilometers due to extreme heat.
Remco’s Red Bull red mist
Co-leaders Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz: it wasn’t all harmony. (Photo: Getty Images)
“Yes, I was angry, and rightly so. In the Tour of Catalonia, I rode at the front for him for 30 kilometers. I asked to do one kilometer of work at the front, and that wasn’t possible.” How’s that Red Bull dual leadership tactic going? Oh. Remco Eveneoel after stage 6 about Florian Lipowitz.
“All good, you speak and you forget.” Evenepoel before stage 7, videoed on the team bus with Florian Lipwoitz in a totally not stage-managed PR stunt. What a difference a day makes. Everything was apparently rosy.
“You have to bite the bullet, but sometimes the bullet bites back and you chip your tooth.” Here’s why Sepp Kuss’ mega-watt smile was dented on stage 6.
Pogačar is Mexican
The bromance of the Tour: Del Toro and Pogačar. (Photo: Gruber Images)
“I don’t think I’ve done such a hard race in such heat before; it was ridiculous … I think we went through about 10,000 bidons today as a peloton.” Tom Pidcock after the 100-degree conditions on stage 3 to Les Angles.
“Pogi, hermano, ya eres mexicano! – (Pogi, brother, you are Mexican)!” Mexican fans chanting to wingman Pogačar after Isaac del Toro’s stage 2 win in Barcelona.
“I know where you want to go. You want to hear me say I want to be on the podium and hear Florian say he wants to be on the podium. Of course, we want to be on the podium, but whether it’s him or myself, if we do it in a good way without this negative energy, it’s good for both of us and for the team.” Remco Evenepoel pulls no punches in his pre-race press conference about Red Bull’s dual leadership strategy.
