Bizarrely, Egan Bernal is wearing the first green jersey of the 2026 Tour de France. Here's why

Egan Bernal of Netcompany INEOS is the surprise wearer of the green jersey heading into stage two of the Tour de France. The Colombian climber took the points classification lead thanks to a fast start from his team in Saturday's team time trial through Barcelona. Bernal has worn (won) yellow and white at the Tour de France before. Green never seemed to be part of the plan.

Netcompany INEOS set the pace early on stage one, posting the fastest time through the day's first intermediate checkpoint. Points for the green jersey are awarded there, just as they would be on a normal road stage. Whether it was by design or not, Bernal was the first Netcompany INEOS rider across the line.

That put the 2019 Tour winner top of the points table before the race had even reached its selective finish on Montjuïc.

"It's a jersey I never thought I'd wear!" Bernal said afterwards. He credited his teammates rather than himself, calling the Netcompany INEOS squad "crazy" for the power on show over a technical Barcelona course. "Team time trials are super hard, and these guys are crazy – they have so much power!" he added. "It was a good performance."

The stage didn't quite go to plan. Filippo Ganna held the fastest time for long stretches, but a late puncture for Kévin Vauquelin, five kilometres from the line, cost Netcompany INEOS the win. Visma | Lease a Bike took the stage instead, with Jonas Vingegaard claiming the race's first yellow jersey.

Bernal was honest about the mixed emotions. "Of course, we came here to win and we missed out on the victory," he said. "But at the same time we're in good shape and the team is in a great vibe."

Don't expect Bernal to keep it. The points classification favours sprinters over three weeks, and the likes of Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen will rack up bigger totals once the road stages start. A fast split in a team time trial rarely survives the first bunch sprint.

For now, though, the mood is good. "We're definitely going to fight for everything," Bernal said. "Every stage is an opportunity. We're here to enjoy the race and we have nothing to lose, so we'll try on every stage."