Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Cycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly
Sport
Adam Becket

'I think the dream is dead this year' – Lewis Askey rode too well at the Tour de France to be lanterne rouge

Lewis Askey at the 2026 Tour de France.

As I beckoned Lewis Askey over to talk to me ahead of stage 17 of the Tour de France in Chambéry, he already knew what I wanted to talk to him about.

The NSN Cycling rider has had a solid Tour, the second time he has been here, now part of the team behind Biniam Girmay's challenge in sprints and the green jersey competition, but that's not what I was interested in. When we spoke on Wednesday lunchtime, Askey sat 163rd overall, 4:38:18 behind race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and only 21 seconds ahead of the man in dead last, Kamil Gradek (Bahrain Victorious). It meant he was almost lanterne rouge, the mythical position of finishing last at the Tour.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.