From "Mini Tour de France" Champion to the Pinnacle of Pro Cycling: The Lessons of Pogačar and the Tour de l'Avenir

What Is the “Little Tour de France”?

Tour de l’Avenir, literally “Tour of the Future,” is often called the Future Stars Race in Chinese, but in the cycling world it is better known by its nickname—the Little Tour de France.

It is a multi-day stage race exclusively for young riders, contested by national teams, with a race structure deliberately modeled on the Tour de France: flat stages, mountain stages, time trials, and a leader’s jersey symbolizing the overall classification. In other words, it is not a “junior race” but a scaled-down stress test for a Grand Tour.

In 2018, Tadej Pogačar won the overall title of this race.

Why This Race Is a Barometer for Future Grand Tour Champions

The cycling world has long regarded the Little Tour de France as a key reference for predicting future Grand Tour winners. The reason is not how hard it is, but that it tests exactly the same things a Grand Tour does:

1. It Tests “GC Ability,” Not “One-Day Explosiveness”

Many young riders shine in one-day races—strong climbing, fast sprinting. But the overall classification in a stage race demands something else entirely:

• No big time losses on any single day
• Not bleeding too much time in time trials
• Being able to follow when others accelerate on mountain stages, and accelerating yourself at the right moment
• Recovering from the previous day’s damage before the next stage

This is precisely the core skill set of a three-week Grand Tour, just compressed from three weeks into a little over one.

2. The National Team Format Strips Away Resource Advantages

On a professional team, a young rider’s results can be amplified by strong teammates, equipment, and tactical systems. But the Little Tour de France uses a national team format, and many countries have limited squad depth—riders must handle far more situations on their own: positioning themselves, choosing their own attack moments, and controlling their own pace.

An overall title won under these conditions carries a higher “purity” of individual ability, and therefore has greater predictive value.

3. It Simulates the Experience of “Being Marked”

Once you put on the overall leader’s jersey, you become the target of the entire peloton. For a young rider, this is often the first time they experience a race where “everyone is waiting for you to make a mistake.” Holding the overall lead under that pressure means your mental toughness has already passed a major test.

After 2018: How the Script Played Out

From the Little Tour de France in 2018 to a 5th Tour de France title in 2026, only eight years passed in between. His career Monument total now stands at 13 (2nd most in history), with six Grand Tour overall titles (5 Tours de France + the 2024 Giro d’Italia).

A junior race overall champion from 2018 eventually grew into a central figure in the GOAT debate—that is perhaps the most compelling case for the Little Tour de France as a “barometer.”

A Barometer Is a Barometer, but Don’t Overinterpret It

To be fair: winning the Little Tour de France does not guarantee a future Grand Tour title, and not winning it does not mean there is no chance. Youth race results are influenced by too many factors—physical development timing, national team resources, the year’s course design. It is a signal worth referencing, not a guarantee.

A more reasonable view is this: the Little Tour de France measures whether a rider “has the skeleton for GC in stage racing.” Whether that skeleton can grow into something like Pogačar’s still depends on the next few years of training, team support, injury luck, and personal choices.

Takeaways for Taiwanese Riders and Young Cyclists

Taiwan’s youth cycling system differs from Europe’s, but several concepts from the Little Tour de France can be applied here:

• Ride more stage races. No matter how many one-day events you do, they cannot train the ability to “perform day after day.” Taiwan’s multi-day races and long itineraries (such as consecutive days of mountain routes) can serve as similar tests.
• Treat recovery as part of training. Stage races are often decided not on your strongest day, but on how much you have left on your most exhausted day.
• Practice being “marked.” In group rides, take your pulls proactively and push the pace, so you get used to maintaining steady output under pressure.

These are general observations and directions. Actual training volume and intensity vary significantly between individuals—progress gradually, and stop and seek professional help if your body shows any warning signs.

Summary

In 2018, a 19-year-old Slovenian won the youth race known as the Little Tour de France. Eight years later, he truly stood at the summit of the Tour de France—and he did it five times.

The Little Tour de France is regarded as a barometer not because it manufactures champions, but because it is honest: it asks the same questions in the same way as a Grand Tour, so those who can answer them usually keep answering them later.

Related Reading

• Promoting Road Cycling in Taiwan Through the Pogačar Craze: What Star Power Can Bring and What We Lack
• Breaking Down Pogačar’s 2026 Tour de France Fifth Win: Five Stages, Four Mountain Zones, One Way of Winning?
• 26 Tour de France Stage Wins: Pogačar’s Harvest Route from 2020 to 2026
• Pogačar’s Fifth Crown: A 2026 Tour de France Overview, the Year He Tied Four Legends