Tour de France Stage 2 Predictions: Let’s talk about 18/1 Seixas, baby

It’s a first proper road day of the 2026 Tour de France on Sunday as Stage 2 takes us through 168.5km of Spain from Tarragona to Barcelona (live from 12:30pm BST on TNT Sports 1, highlights from 7pm on Channel 5).

After Jonas Vingegaard’s success in the Team Time Trial on Saturday, the history-seeking favourite Tadej Pogacar will be out to send a message up the hills to Montjuic. My Tour de France Stage 2 predictions follow.

Tour de France Betting Odds

Pogacar is the huge favourite to land a response on day two, with Betfred pricing him up at 10/11 for the win.

Mathieu van der Poel is the 9/2 second favourite, with a host of riders at 16/1. Mathias Vacek, Remco Evenepoel, Vingegaard, Romain Gregoire and Isaac del Toro are locked on that same price, while Paul Seixas is 18s.

Cycling Odds

There are only two categorised climbs on this stage, but the latter of the pair is negotiated three times over on the loops around the streets of Barcelona which form the end of the 168.5km trip.

The first mountain is the Category 2 Col de Begues, a 6.1km climb at an average 6.5% which comes just after the halfway point of the day’s action near Gava.

Then it’s undulating roads before they reach Barcelona for the final 33km of the stage, with the Col de Montjuic presenting a difficult climax.

The 1.6km trip up the famous hill which overlooks the capital of Catalunya is the peak of the 12.2km circuit around the city, and after the third trip up it there’s just a short 2.5km journey to the finish line outside the Olympic Stadium, with the final 500 metres being another sharp uphill effort.

If it looks familiar, that’s because it’s the same finish line as for Saturday’s TTT.

Tadej Pogacar @ 10/11

There’s just no betting against Tadej doing the business in my mind.

His 21 career stage wins are proof of his desire to really force his way to the front whenever the opportunity presents itself, and after losing 12 seconds to his great rival on Saturday he will certainly want to chip into that gap straight away.

The outstanding cyclist of this – and perhaps any – era should show once more why that moniker holds weight with a statement win up Montjuic.

Paul Seixas E/W @ 18/1

There’s been a lot said about Paul Seixas’ hopes at this Tour de France, and rightly so.

The Decathlon CMA CGM teenager was Pogacar’s closest rival at Strade Bianche in March and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April, and between those two classics he collected every single jersey at the Itzulia Basque Country stage race.

Could he make an early point in the greatest duel of them all? I’m willing to back him to be a major part of the conversation on Sunday, especially at generous odds of 18/1.