For the first time since 1971, the Tour de France will begin with riders racing against the clock as a team. On July 4, 2026, the peloton will roll out of Barcelona’s Fòrum along the Mediterranean coast, surge through the Olympic Port, and finish at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys—the stadium that hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics.
This isn’t just another Grand Départ. The 113th edition of the Tour de France brings 3,333 kilometers of racing, 54,450 meters of elevation gain, and a final weekend that cycling fans will be talking about for decades: back-to-back summit finishes on Alpe d’Huez.
Here’s everything you need to know about what’s shaping up to be one of the most dramatic Tours in recent memory.
Barcelona Makes History as First Spanish Grand Départ
The Tour de France has started in 12 different countries over its 122-year history, but never in Spain—until now. Barcelona’s selection as the 2026 host city represents a significant shift in the race’s geography and ambitions.
Stage 1 covers 19.7 kilometers as a team time trial, but don’t let the format fool you. After a flat opening section along the coast, the finale rises sharply toward Montjuïc, Barcelona’s iconic city hill. Each rider’s individual time will be recorded at the finish, meaning the yellow jersey could be decided by seconds on the very first day.
Stage 2 keeps the race in Catalonia with 2,400 meters of climbing packed into 178 kilometers. The finishing circuit loops around Montjuïc, giving sprinters and puncheurs alike a chance to attack on terrain that rewards explosiveness over pure endurance.
By Stage 3, the race crosses into France and immediately hits the Pyrenees. Nearly 4,000 meters of climbing and an uphill finish mean that anyone hoping to contend for yellow needs to arrive in Barcelona already at peak form. There’s no easing into this Tour.
The Pyrenees Come Early and Hit Hard
Race director Christian Prudhomme has designed a route that punishes hesitation. The opening week includes some of the race’s most iconic climbs, starting with Stage 6’s brutal combination of the Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet before the peloton descends toward the Cirque de Gavarnie.
That stage alone packs 4,150 meters of climbing into 186 kilometers—numbers that would typically appear in week three. The message is clear: if you’re not ready on day one, you won’t survive to Paris.
The early Pyrenean stages offer both opportunity and danger. Riders carrying good form from spring can establish gaps that prove decisive. But the climbs are equally capable of destroying the ambitions of those who peaked too early or underestimated the route’s severity.
The Quiet Middle and a Tactical Time Trial
After the opening mountain salvos, the race settles into a pattern familiar to Tour veterans. Flat stages through the French countryside offer sprinters their moments in the sun while general classification contenders mark each other closely, conserving energy for battles ahead.
The Massif Central provides intermediate challenges, rolling terrain that rewards opportunistic attacks without the decisive difficulty of the high mountains. The Vosges appear later, adding another layer of tactical complexity as the race moves toward its dramatic conclusion.
Stage 16 delivers the Tour’s only individual time trial: a rolling 26-kilometer test finishing in Thonon-les-Bains. At this point in the race, fatigue weighs heavily on every rider. The course suits time trial specialists, but two weeks of accumulated climbing will have taken their toll. Expect this stage to reshuffle the general classification—possibly by significant margins.
Plateau de Solaison and an Unprecedented Climb
Stage 15 introduces something genuinely new: the first-ever Tour de France ascent of Plateau de Solaison. Located in the Haute-Savoie region, this climb has never appeared in the race’s history, adding an element of uncertainty that even the most experienced riders can’t fully prepare for.
Whenever the Tour introduces a new climb, chaos tends to follow. Riders can study profiles and watch footage, but nothing substitutes for racing experience on specific terrain. Those who’ve reconned the climb during training will hold an advantage. Those who haven’t might find themselves on the wrong side of a decisive split.
Alpe d’Huez Twice in Three Days
And then comes the finale.
Stage 19 covers just 128 kilometers from Gap to Alpe d’Huez—short by Tour standards, but brutally intense. The traditional 21 hairpins await riders whose legs have already absorbed 18 stages of punishment. This isn’t a day for conservative racing. Expect attacks from the bottom.
Stage 20 might be the hardest single day in modern Tour de France history. The route includes 5,600 meters of climbing across 145 kilometers, featuring the Col de la Croix de Fer, the Télégraphe, and the mighty Col du Galibier before approaching Alpe d’Huez from the back via the Col de Sarenne.
The Galibier tops out at 2,642 meters—the highest point of the entire race. From there, riders descend before beginning the final push up Dutch Corner and through those famous hairpins once again.
No Tour in recent memory has asked riders to climb Alpe d’Huez twice in consecutive days. The physical and psychological demands are almost unprecedented. Whoever wears yellow into Paris will have earned it on this mountain.
The Paris Finale Gets a New Twist
Stage 21 brings the race to its traditional conclusion on the Champs-Élysées, but 2026 adds a wrinkle: the peloton will tackle the Montmartre climb before the processional finish. At 15 kilometers from Sacré-Cœur to the finish line, there’s enough road for opportunistic attacks—though tradition suggests the yellow jersey holder will reach Paris unchallenged.
Who Will Win? The Contenders Assessed
Tadej Pogačar enters as the overwhelming favorite. The Slovenian phenomenon is chasing a fifth Tour victory, which would make him the first rider in three decades to reach that milestone. The route plays to his strengths: mountains where he can attack, limited time trial distance where he might lose time, and plenty of opportunities for the aggressive racing that defines his style.
Pogačar’s sole defeat of note in 2025 came at Jonas Vingegaard’s hands during a Critérium du Dauphiné time trial. That loss clearly lingers. But the 2026 Tour’s single 26km time trial, positioned late in the race when accumulated fatigue favors pure climbers, minimizes Pogačar’s vulnerability.
Jonas Vingegaard remains the only rider who has consistently challenged Pogačar in the mountains. The Dane plans to race the Giro d’Italia before the Tour—an ambitious double that could see him arrive in Barcelona with either supreme fitness or accumulated fatigue. Visma-Lease a Bike management expressed enthusiasm about the mountainous third week where Vingegaard historically excels. If he survives the early Pyrenees intact, those Alpe d’Huez stages could be his moment.
Remco Evenepoel has openly declared his intention to surpass Pogačar. The Belgian finished third at his Tour debut in 2024 and has since transferred to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, joining forces with Primož Roglič. Evenepoel’s time trialing ability gives him options, but he remains “several rungs behind” Pogačar and Vingegaard in pure climbing terms. The question isn’t whether he’ll attack—it’s whether his attacks can stick against the two riders above him in the hierarchy.
Juan Ayuso represents UAE Team Emirates’ depth. Should Pogačar falter, Ayuso has the talent to step into a leadership role. At 23, he’s part of the next generation already knocking on the door of Grand Tour victories.
What Makes This Route Special
The 2026 Tour de France features eight mountain stages with five summit finishes. Seven flat stages balance the route, offering sprinters their chances while allowing climbing specialists partial recovery. Four hilly stages and the two time trials complete the picture.
But it’s the distribution that makes this route remarkable. Mountains arrive early and never really relent. The Pyrenees, Massif Central, Vosges, and Alps all feature prominently. Two rest days (July 13 and July 20) provide brief respite, but neither comes before the hardest stages.
With 184 riders from 23 teams at the start, expect aggressive racing from kilometer zero. The combination of early mountains, limited time trial distance, and that unprecedented Alpe d’Huez double creates conditions for a Tour decided by attacks rather than time gaps accumulated against the clock.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 Tour de France isn’t designed for cautious racing. From Barcelona’s team time trial through the double Alpe d’Huez finale, every stage carries consequences. Pogačar starts as favorite, but this route offers Vingegaard and Evenepoel genuine opportunities to challenge.
Mark your calendars: July 4-26, 2026. The race of the year starts in Spain, ends in Paris, and promises to be absolutely unmissable.
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