Best Rivalries in Tour de France History

It always comes down to two men, two philosophies, two legacies. The rivalries in Tour de France—supposedly a battle of hundreds—so often pivots on a rivalry, fierce and magnetic, that seems to seize the very soul of cycling. Rivalry is more than a theme; it is the greatest race on earth’s beating heartbeat, pulsing beneath every attack and collapse, every breathless finish atop an Alpine pass. The names change with each passing decade, but the drama never wanes.

In modern times, Le Tour currently has a battle on its hands that rivals anything world sport has to offer. Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo. Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic. And on two wheels, it’s Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.

The Tour de France – Source: Unsplash

The Modern Greats

The last six editions of the French showdown have been dominated by these two superstars in a see-saw battle for the ages. Slovenian prodigy Pogačar won the Tour in 2020 and 2021 and announced his arrival as a generational talent. Enter Danish metronome Vingegaard, who flipped the script with back-to-back victories in 2022 and 2023, triggering feverish debates among analysts about whether we had found cycling’s next great duel.

But it was Pogačar who reclaimed the upper hand, exacting revenge in 2024 and then—in a show of near-total mastery—clinching his fourth Tour title in 2025. Four minutes and 24 seconds: that’s the huge gap he opened to Vingegaard in year six of their rivalry, a number that barely does justice to the tension and brilliance on display. And in 2026, online betting sites think that the Slovenian sensation will continue streaking away.

The latest online sports betting at Bovada odds currently make the reigning back-to-back and four-time overall champion a mightily short 1/4 favorite to claim a record-equalling fifth title next year. His rival is right there with him, though, with Vingegaard currently listed at 3/1 and willing to spoil his greatest adversary’s crowning moment.

But Pogačar vs Vingegaard isn’t the first nor the last rival that Le Tour has showcased. Here are four of the greatest rivalries in Tour de France, from the races’ spectacular history.

Anquetil vs. Poulidor

Long before social media measured every pedal stroke, Anquetil versus Poulidor split not just cycling fans, but the very spirit of France. Jacques Anquetil, smooth and impassive, with an uncanny gift for suffering in silence, was the perfectionist and five-time Tour winner. Across from him stood Raymond Poulidor, a man defined as much by heartbreak as by heroics. The “Eternal Second” riding not just for himself but for the thousands who saw in him their own struggles: a nation’s underdog.

Their rivalry reached white-hot intensity on the volcanic hairpins of the Puy de Dôme in 1964. Anquetil and Poulidor climbed elbow to elbow, a study in mutual agony; with the latter surging as the crowd roared him on, face grim with exertion. He clawed back a mighty 42 seconds, but it still wasn’t enough. Anquetil, spent but stubborn, clung to yellow, winning the Tour by fourteen seconds—a gap that still seems both tiny and titanic.

Hinault vs. LeMond

If Anquetil and Poulidor embodied France’s soul, Hinault and LeMond embodied the Tour’s capacity for betrayal. In 1985, Bernard “The Badger” Hinault owed his fifth Tour win almost entirely to the sacrifices of American Greg LeMond. Promises were made: Next year, it would be Greg. But on the road, promises count for little. Despite promising to aid his teammate, Hinault repeated attacked once more in 1986 in a bid to defend his title, attacks that were as much psychological warfare as tactical maneuvers; he wanted the Yellow Jacket for himself, or at the very least, he wanted to test whether the new king truly deserved the throne.

Stage after stage, the drama mounted: LeMond was forced to chase his own leader up Superbagnères, to weep with frustration in front of the cameras, to doubt himself against the greatest Frenchman of all. Their handshake atop Alpe d’Huez—a moment burned into Tour legend—masked bruised feelings and broken trust. In the end, LeMond won the day and the year, becoming the first non-European to take the yellow in Paris, and no one could argue that he didn’t deserve it.

LeMond vs. Fignon

Sometimes, history pivots on a margin almost too small to comprehend. The 1989 Tour gave us the starkest possible illustration, pitting Greg LeMond, survivor and innovator, against Laurent Fignon, cycling’s philosopher-king. With one stage left—a time trial to Paris—Fignon led by 50 seconds. The experts called it over.

LeMond, shunning tradition for a new breed of aerodynamics, blitzed down the boulevards at a speed of 54.5kph—blindingly fast, impossibly relentless. The gap closed with every pedal turn, culminating as LeMond crossed the line, eyes wild, arms raised, not knowing what he had done. The verdict: eight seconds. That’s all that separated ecstasy from despair. Fignon crumpled in defeat, an image watched by millions as the only non-European champion in history returned to the summit once more.

Armstrong vs. Ullrich

The Lance Armstrong-Sven Ullrich rivalry is inseparable from the complicated legacy of an era. The American sensation was transformed by cancer survival and armed with an almost clinical need to control, faced off against the 1997 champion, who was determined to secure just one win against cycling’s greatest rockstar.

Their most infamous act came in 2001, on Alpe d’Huez, as Armstrong delivered “The Look”—a pivot, a glare, then a devastating attack that utterly broke Ullrich’s spirit. But there were moments of honor too: the 2003 Luz-Ardiden stage, when the German waited after Armstrong’s crash, has become a symbol of grace in the heat of battle. History will always judge them through the lens of cycling’s darkest scandals, but for a generation, their rivalry offered both spectacle and soul-searching, a reminder that greatness is as often forged in adversity as in triumph.