After 173 kilometres, the 29-year-old was less than ten centimetres ahead of Evenepoel across the finish line. After Godon had caught Evenepoel's slipstream after his attack, he quickly got to the same height and passed the Belgian. However, the Belgian held on and gained back centimetre by centimetre. If the route had been a little further, Evenepoel might have been able to turn the tide. As it was, he was once again left with second place. The reigning world champion and Olympic time trial champion finished second in the same place in his only appearance to date at the 2023 Tour of Catalunya, behind Primoz Roglic.
This is Godon's sixth participation. This is the first time he has won here. "It's always been the same final for three years. I know it pretty well by now," said Godon in the winner's interview, also blaming his familiarity with the route for his success. "When I ride past here in training, I always think of this stage. I knew that I would win here at some point. I've finished fourth twice, but today is my day."
Bonus seconds give Evenepoel its first small advantage
Godon recently proved that he is in good form at Paris-Nice when he won the shortened queen stage in Isola, which ultimately ended in a finale similar to the one on the Costa Brava. But Evenepoel should also be quite satisfied, as second place earned him six bonus seconds on his rivals in the battle for the overall victory, including Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates - XRG).
Henri Uhlig (Alpecin-Premier Tech) was the best German at the Catalonia opener in eighth place. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) reached the finish with the peloton. However, not all potential classification riders managed to do so. Giulio Ciccone and Derek Gee-West (both Lidl - Trek) were already more than a minute and a half behind. David Gaudu (Groupama - FDJ United) was even worse off.
Tour of Catalonia 2026 - Results of the 1st stage
Stage 1: Sant Feliu de Guíxols - Sant Feliu de Guíxols
Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2026: Stage 1, Sant Feliu de Guíxols - Sant Feliu de Guíxols
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | INEOS Grenadiers | 04:01:09 |
| 2 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | XDS Astana Team | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | Lotto Intermarché | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | Bahrain - Victorious | +00:00:00 |
How the 1st stage of the 2026 Tour of Catalonia went
The leading group of the day formed shortly after the start. Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché) and Unai Aznar (Euskaltel - Euskadi) were the first two, who were joined shortly afterwards by Aznar's brother Hugo (Equipo Kern Pharma), Tyler Stites (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling) and (Burgos Burpellet BH).
The quintet was able to draw on a maximum lead of four minutes. A good 30 kilometres before the finish, there was still one and a half minutes left. Veistroffer was relentless on the way and secured all the intermediate sprints and the mountain classifications, which means he will also start in the mountain jersey tomorrow. The group then split up on the rollercoaster-like waves shortly before the finish and Burnett was the last breakaway rider to be dropped eleven kilometres before the finish.
What followed was the descent to the finish, where UAE controlled the pace. A largely isolated Vingegaard also appeared at the front in the meantime. Evenepoel was also well positioned, who then forced his sprint onto the finishing straight. While Pidcock was already at the 500 metre mark and thus clearly too early in the wind, Evenepoel waited a little longer. However, it was not enough for his seventh win of the season.
