Tadej Pogačar is on the verge of one of the most dominant performances in modern Tour de France history, with the Slovenian all but locking up his fifth yellow jersey as this year’s race enters its final two days. Here are 10 things to know about the 2026 edition of cycling’s biggest event.

1. The race started in Spain for just the third time ever

The 113th Tour de France opened in Barcelona on July 4, marking the first time the Grand Départ has been held in Catalonia and only the third time Spain has hosted the race’s start, following San Sebastián in 1992 and Bilbao in 2023. Barcelona is the most southerly city ever to launch the Tour. Race director Christian Prudhomme said the route was built to keep the overall competition unsettled deep into the final week. “It’s designed to maintain the suspense until the end,” Prudhomme said when the route was unveiled last October.

2. It opened with an unusual team time trial

Stage 1 featured a 19.7-kilometer team time trial through Barcelona, including two climbs up Montjuïc — a rare choice for a Tour opener. It was the first time the race began with a team time trial since 1971, when Eddy Merckx’s Molteni squad won an 11-kilometer test in Mulhouse. This year’s version also introduced a new scoring wrinkle: rather than every rider on a team receiving the same time, each individual’s own time counted toward the general classification. Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma–Lease a Bike squad won the stage.

3. The route covers 3,333 kilometers and finishes in Paris

Running from July 4 to July 26, the race spans 21 stages and roughly 3,333 kilometers, with about 54,450 meters of total climbing — a genuine test of endurance built around the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, the Vosges and the Alps. After skipping northern France almost entirely this year, the route finishes, as it has since last year, beneath the Arc de Triomphe following three ascents of the cobbled Rue Lepic in Montmartre.

4. Pogačar has been nearly untouchable

The UAE Team Emirates–XRG rider seized the yellow jersey on stage 3 with a decisive move on the climb to Les Angles and never relinquished it. He extended his advantage through the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the Alps, and comfortably held off his closest challengers in the race’s lone individual time trial. Pogačar is chasing his fifth Tour title in six years, a run interrupted only by Vingegaard’s back-to-back victories in 2022 and 2023.

5. His stage-win total is closing in on cycling history

Pogačar’s victory atop the brutal, mountain-heavy 20th stage — his fourth stage win of this year’s race — pushed his career Tour de France stage tally to 24, leaving him one shy of the all-time record shared among the sport’s most prolific winners. With one more opportunity in Paris on the final day, Pogačar has a chance to add to that mark before the race concludes.

6. Remco Evenepoel has emerged as the clearest challenger

While Vingegaard entered the race as Pogačar’s most credible rival, a crash mid-race dropped the Dane out of serious GC contention. Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel capitalized, winning the race’s individual time trial and consolidating second place overall. Mexico’s Isaac del Toro, Pogačar’s UAE teammate, has held third, giving the team a rare shot at a 1-2 finish in Paris.

7. A teenager has been one of the breakout stars

Paul Seixas, a 19-year-old from Lyon riding for Decathlon CMA CGM, became the youngest rider in the Tour in nearly nine decades and quickly established himself as a legitimate climbing talent. Seixas arrived off a breakthrough spring that included a win at La Flèche Wallonne and the Tour of the Basque Country, and he has spent the mountain stages trading blows with the sport’s biggest names while targeting a podium finish in the young rider’s white jersey classification.

8. Alpe d’Huez was climbed twice in as many days

For the first time, organizers routed the Tour up the legendary Alpe d’Huez on both stage 19 and stage 20, part of a brutal Alpine finale designed to reward attacking racing over defensive tactics. Stage 20, a 170.9-kilometer route from Le Bourg-d’Oisans finishing atop the Alpe, included more than 5,600 meters of elevation gain and was widely described by riders and organizers as one of the toughest single days in the race’s modern history.

9. Sprinters and breakaway riders still found their moments

Even with the general classification battle dominating headlines, sprinters including Mads Pedersen, Jasper Philipsen and Olav Kooij collected stage wins along the flatter and rolling stages, while riders such as Richard Carapaz and Mathieu van der Poel scored victories out of breakaways. Pedersen has held the green points jersey for much of the race, while Carapaz has led the mountains classification, giving the race multiple storylines beyond the yellow jersey fight.

10. The race wraps up with a decisive final weekend

With Pogačar’s overall lead considered all but insurmountable heading into the final stages, attention has shifted to the fight for the remaining podium spots and the young rider’s classification, along with the traditional processional-turned-competitive finale into Paris. The 21st and final stage on July 26 will once again send riders through Montmartre before the traditional sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées, closing out a race that has been defined by an unusually southern start, a punishing mountain-heavy back half, and another commanding performance from cycling’s dominant rider of the decade.

ASEAN foreign ministers in Manila agreed to develop benchmarks for measuring Myanmar’s progress and discussed a longer-term special envoy, refining proposals from Bangkok talks. Officials will finalize details before November’s summit. Ministers reaffirmed the Five-Point Consensus, emphasizing measurable steps, while analysts view this as recalibration, not a fundamental policy shift.

Key Points

• ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Manila agreed to develop benchmarks for assessing progress in Myanmar and discussed appointing a longer-term special envoy, refining proposals from senior officials before November’s summit.
• Discussions reaffirmed the Five-Point Consensus, not a departure, despite Myanmar’s foreign minister disputing parliament’s rejection; a “non-paper” will define “demonstrable progress.”
• Analysts call it recalibration, not policy shift, amid ongoing conflict, humanitarian crisis, and calls for coordinated engagement.

ASEAN Moves to Strengthen Myanmar Peace Efforts

Manila outcomes: ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Manila on July 21 agreed to develop benchmarks for measuring progress in Myanmar and began discussing the appointment of a longer-term special envoy, replacing the current rotating role. These proposals will be refined by senior officials before being presented to ASEAN leaders at the November summit, according to Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro.

Bangkok origins: The Manila talks built on an informal Bangkok meeting on July 12, the first to bring together nearly all ASEAN foreign ministers with Myanmar’s foreign minister since the 2021 coup, where similar reform ideas were first floated, including a proposed ASEAN Secretariat unit to support the envoy’s work.

Reaffirming the Five-Point Consensus Amid New Proposals

Clarifying intent: Lazaro stressed these discussions do not signal abandonment of the Five-Point Consensus, ASEAN’s 2021 peace framework. She noted Myanmar’s foreign minister disputed claims that the plan had been rejected by Parliament, insisting it remains valid. ASEAN is now drafting a “non-paper” to define what constitutes “demonstrable progress” in Myanmar.

Collective reaffirmation: Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and fellow ministers reaffirmed the Consensus, calling for measurable steps—a permanent end to violence, release of political prisoners, and unimpeded humanitarian access. Ministers also addressed Middle East tensions, urging respect for international law and safe passage through key straits.

Analysts Weigh Recalibration Versus Real Progress

Cautious optimism: Experts, including ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Sharon Seah and Joanne Lin, described the shift as a “recalibration rather than a fundamental change.” They warned that bilateral engagement with Naypyitaw must remain coordinated and linked to clear expectations, cautioning that fragmented approaches could weaken ASEAN’s collective leverage and credibility as a regional institution.

Humanitarian urgency: With over 100,000 deaths and 22,400 political detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi, analysts see realistic progress markers as improved humanitarian access, envoy engagement, and localized violence reduction—not a full breakthrough. The bloc’s credibility, they add, hinges on translating dialogue into tangible, coordinated action across Myanmar and other regional flashpoints.

Source : ASEAN weighs benchmakrs to bolster Myanmar peace plan

Other People are Reading

A months-old video of Kate Middleton has resurfaced online with a misleading new caption, prompting a wave of criticism from royal watchers who say the clip has been stripped of its original context to suggest something it does not show.

The video was shared this week on X by an account belonging to Matt Wallace, which has more than two million followers. The post described the footage as showing the Princess of Wales “caught sneaking out the back door in all red,” adding that she “looks extremely nervous after she sees the camera.” The characterization quickly drew backlash from supporters of the Princess of Wales, who pointed out that the footage was neither new nor evidence of anything unusual.

Where the video actually came from

The clip did not originate this week. It first circulated in January, when the Princess of Wales was filmed during a rainy Changing of the Guard ceremony at Windsor Castle. In the footage, Middleton is seen hurrying across the castle grounds while holding an umbrella alongside an aide, dressed in a crimson outfit.

That red ensemble was not incidental. Middleton had worn it earlier the same day for a reception at Windsor Castle honoring England’s Women’s Rugby team, known as the Red Roses, following their World Cup victory. As patron of the Rugby Football Union, Middleton hosted the squad at the castle to celebrate their championship win, which came after England defeated Canada in the tournament final the previous September.

Video and photos from the reception itself showed a relaxed, engaged Middleton greeting players and posing with the World Cup trophy, dressed in the same red suit later seen in the misleadingly captioned clip. The rainy footage that circulated this week appears to capture her departure from the event, dashing across a courtyard to avoid the weather — a mundane moment recast online as something more dramatic.

A pattern of scrutiny

The episode is the latest example of a recurring dynamic surrounding Middleton’s public appearances, in which routine footage is reinterpreted and recirculated with dramatic or suspicious framing, often stripped of the context that explains it. Members of the public and royal commentators responding to the post noted that the video showed nothing more than the princess trying to stay dry, not a covert exit or a nervous reaction to being filmed.

Momentum around the clip built quickly given the size of the account that shared it. Accounts with large followings on X have periodically found renewed traffic recirculating older royal footage under new or misleading captions, a trend that has previously affected Middleton’s public image, particularly following a period last year when her public appearances were more limited during medical treatment. That earlier period fueled a wave of unverified claims and conspiracy theories about her whereabouts and health, several of which were later shown to be false or based on manipulated or misread images and footage.

Royal engagements continue as scheduled

Middleton has remained an active presence in her official role since the January reception, with Kensington Palace continuing to document her engagements through official channels, including social media posts marking events like the rugby reception itself. At the time, the palace shared images from the Windsor Castle gathering, describing it as a celebration of the Red Roses’ championship run.

The rugby reception marked one of Middleton’s early public engagements of the year and came shortly after a joint appearance with Prince William earlier the same month, their first public outing together since the previous Christmas. The pairing of engagements signaled a return to a fuller public schedule after a period of reduced appearances.

Why the claim spread

Misleading captions attached to genuine footage tend to spread differently than fabricated images or synthetic video, since the underlying visual material is real and can appear more credible at first glance. In this case, the video itself was authentic footage of Middleton at a legitimate royal engagement; the misrepresentation came entirely from the added narrative framing, which implied secrecy or distress where public records and prior reporting show neither.

Royal commentators and fans responding to the post highlighted the discrepancy between the caption and the documented record of the day, noting that the event itself, the outfit, the setting and the reason for Middleton’s brisk pace across the courtyard were all previously reported and photographed in detail at the time.

The broader context

The recirculation reflects a wider pattern in how royal-related content moves across social media platforms, where video clips can be detached from their original reporting and reframed to generate engagement, regardless of the accuracy of the accompanying claims. Large accounts with global followings can amplify such reframed content rapidly, often reaching audiences unfamiliar with the original event the footage depicted.

For Middleton specifically, the pattern has repeated periodically over the past two years, with various photos and videos drawing outsized scrutiny and speculative commentary before being clarified by contemporaneous reporting, official palace statements, or additional footage from the same events. This week’s episode follows that same arc: an old clip, a new and inaccurate caption, and a swift public correction from those familiar with the original context.

As of publication, there was no indication that Kensington Palace had issued a direct response to the specific post questioned this week. The palace has generally declined to comment on individual pieces of viral social media content involving the Princess of Wales, instead continuing to document her official engagements through its own channels.

The episode adds to an ongoing conversation about how quickly authentic but recontextualized footage can spread online, and how difficult it can be for accurate context to catch up once a misleading caption has already reached a large audience.

Shoppers weighing their next smartphone purchase this summer face an unusual comparison: one device that just went on sale and another that Apple has not yet announced. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 debuted this week at Galaxy Unpacked in London, while Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Max remains a rumored product expected to arrive in September. Here’s what is confirmed, what is still speculation, and what that means for anyone deciding between the two.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is real, priced and dated

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 8 on July 22 alongside two companion foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Flip 8, marking the first time the company has launched three book-style and clamshell foldables at a single event. The Z Fold 8 introduces a new “wide” form factor, shorter and wider than previous Fold models, designed to feel more like a standard phone when closed while opening into a broader, more landscape-oriented display for multitasking and media.

Pricing starts at $1,899.99 for the Z Fold 8, while the more traditional tall-format Z Fold 8 Ultra — the direct successor to last year’s Z Fold 7 — starts at $2,099. Samsung says the Fold 8 Ultra measures just 4.1 millimeters thick when unfolded and weighs 215 grams, which the company describes as the thinnest Galaxy Z Fold to date. Both phones opened for preorder the day of the announcement and go on general sale August 5.

Samsung’s newsroom described the Ultra branding as representing the company’s highest tier of performance and user experience within the Galaxy foldable lineup, a designation the company has not previously applied to a Fold-series device.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max exists only in leaks and supply-chain reports

Apple has made no official statements about the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Everything currently circulating — chip details, display size, camera configuration and price — comes from analyst notes, leaked component specifications and supply-chain sourcing rather than confirmed company information. That distinction matters for anyone trying to compare the two devices today: one has a verified price and ship date, and the other does not exist yet as a retail product.

Based on the leaks, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is expected to launch in September alongside the standard iPhone 18 Pro and, notably, Apple’s first foldable phone. Reports suggest Apple is breaking from its usual pattern by launching only its premium lineup this fall — the 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and the foldable — while pushing the standard iPhone 18 and a budget iPhone 18e to spring 2027. If accurate, that would leave fall 2026 shoppers choosing exclusively among devices starting at $999 or more, with no lower-cost new iPhone available until the following year.

Rumored specifications point to Apple’s next-generation A20 Pro chip built on a 2-nanometer process, a roughly 6.9-inch display, and a triple 48-megapixel rear camera system. Price estimates vary by source, with some pointing to a Pro Max starting price in the $1,199 to $1,399 range, up from the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s $1,199 starting price last year.

A fundamentally different kind of device

The comparison itself blends two very different product categories. The iPhone 18 Pro Max, as rumored, is a conventional slab smartphone built around Apple’s established Pro design language, incremental camera improvements and a faster chip — the kind of yearly refinement Apple has offered across the Pro line for several generations. The Galaxy Z Fold 8, by contrast, is a foldable device built around a large inner display that opens like a small tablet, aimed at buyers who want more screen real estate for multitasking, note-taking or media consumption in a single pocketable device.

That difference means the decision often comes down less to raw specifications and more to how someone plans to use the phone. Buyers who want a familiar phone shape, a mature camera system and Apple’s software ecosystem are typically better served waiting for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Buyers interested in a larger working canvas, split-screen multitasking or the novelty and utility of a folding display — and who are comfortable paying a premium for it — are the more natural audience for the Z Fold 8 or its pricier Ultra sibling.

Price is not close

Even using the more conservative iPhone 18 Pro Max price estimates, Samsung’s foldables cost significantly more. The Z Fold 8 starts nearly $600 to $700 above the rumored iPhone 18 Pro Max starting price, and the Fold 8 Ultra pushes that gap even further. For buyers primarily driven by cost, that price difference alone may settle the decision before specifications are even considered.

Timing complicates any immediate decision

Because the iPhone 18 Pro Max has not launched, anyone who needs a new phone right now does not yet have the option to buy one. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is available for preorder immediately and ships in early August, giving Samsung roughly a two-month head start in the market before Apple’s Pro lineup — and its own long-rumored foldable — are expected to arrive in September. That timing gap is notable given that Apple’s rumored foldable iPhone is expected to compete directly with Samsung’s Fold lineup once it ships.

What buyers should do next

For shoppers who want a phone in hand this summer, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a known quantity with a confirmed price, release date and hands-on reviews already emerging. For those willing to wait, the iPhone 18 Pro Max remains an open question until Apple holds its expected September event, and any purchasing decision made today based on leaked specifications carries the usual risk that final pricing, camera performance or design details could shift before launch.

Until Apple confirms details, the more accurate framing may not be “iPhone 18 Pro Max versus Galaxy Z Fold 8” but rather a choice between a proven foldable available now and a traditional flagship phone that, as of this week, still exists only in rumor form.

Get ahead of the market by subscribing to Seeking Alpha’s Wall Street Week Ahead, a preview of key events scheduled for the coming week. The newsletter keeps you informed of the biggest stories set to make headlines, including upcoming IPOs, investor days, earnings reports, and conference presentations.

Wall Street’s major averages aimed to go higher on Friday as oil prices decreased. Nonetheless, the indexes are on track for another losing week. Oil prices rose above $100 per barrel on Thursday after Houthi rebels reportedly struck two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea. President Donald Trump is looking to resume major military operations in Iran, according to reports. Trump also said China and Russia had assured him they would not supply weapons to Iran.

The next week will be packed with major earnings and key economic data releases. The Fed’s interest rate decision on Wednesday dominates the earnings calendar, followed by the FOMC press conference on Thursday. On Thursday, various other data, including preliminary Q/Q GDP numbers, initial jobless claims data, and PCE price index data are also due to be released. Consumer confidence data for July will be released on Tuesday, while Chicago PMI for the month is due on Friday.

Big tech earnings, including Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Meta (META) are lined up for the coming week. Other major firms reporting their results next week include Mastercard (MA), Visa (V), Coca-Cola (KO), and Boeing (BA).

_______________________________________________________________

Earnings spotlight: Monday: AstraZeneca (AZN). See the full earnings calendar.

Earnings spotlight: Tuesday: Visa, Coca-Cola, Boeing, Ford (F). See the full earnings calendar.

Earnings spotlight: Wednesday: Microsoft, Meta, P&G (PG), Arm (ARM), Qualcomm (QCOM). See the full earnings calendar.

Earnings spotlight: Thursday: Apple, Amazon (AMZN), Mastercard (MA). See the full earnings calendar.

Earnings spotlight: Friday: AbbVie (ABBV), Chevron (