The 2026 Tour de France will start with a Grand Depart in Barcelona. It will be the 113th edition of the grand tour.
- Finding accommodation for the Tour de France
- Finding bike hire for the Tour de France
- Tour de France road closure information
- Advice for watching the TDF in person
- Advice for watching the TDF in Paris
- Beginner's guide to the Tour de France
- Riding Etape du Tour
- Race Guide and Official Program
The 2026 Tour de France will start in Barcelona, the capital of the Catalonia region of Spain, on July 4, 2026.
It will be the third time the Tour de France has started over the border in Spain following the Bilbao Grand Depart as recently as 2023 and a San Sebastian start back in 1992 (the year Spain also hosted the Summer Olympics in Barcelona).
It's not the first time Barcelona, the Catalan capital, has hosted stages, though. The Tour previously held regular stages there in 1957, 1965 and 2009, and many of the roads used in 2026 will be familiar to fans of the Vuelta a España and the Volta a Catalunya races.
Here's what else we know so far about the 113th edition of the great race.
Stage 1 Grand Depart – Saturday, July 4: Barcelona, 19.7km team time trial
For the first time in a while, stage one of the Tour de France will be a team time trial. Who gets the first yellow jersey? The first rider in the fastest team. A system already used for the Paris-Nice race will be used to work out the rest of the individual classification. The stage starts near the beach Barcelona and do a lap of the seafront. Gaudi's Sagrada Família will be showcased before the teams take on two climbs up to the city's Montjuïc Olympic Stadium.
Stage 2 – Sunday, July 5: Tarragona to Barcelona, 178.4km
Tarragona is famous for its history – it's home to an archaeological site listed by UNESCO. The route will no doubt showcase that as it follows the coastal road back towards Barcelona. Sitges – known as the Spanish equivalent to Saint-Tropez – is on the route, along with beautiful panoramic sea views that will no doubt be a feature of the TV coverage. The flat roads then give way to hilly and challenging section from the Begues climb. The stage finished with an ascent to Montjuïc Castle (1.6km, including a 600m section that goes up to 13%). That will be climbed not once but three times before the riders cross the line in the same spot as the stage one time trial.
Stage 3 – Monday, July 6: Starts Granollers
And that's all we know. Granollers – on the outskirts of Barcelona – is famous for Spanish handball and it's also home to the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit that hosts Formula 1. Could the riders do laps of the famous track? The stage will start in the Porxada, a 16th-century market hall, before the race looks to the north and the French border.
We will add all the information about other stages in here once the full route is unveiled.
Bike hire for watching the Tour de France
A reminder that if you need bike hire during the Tour de France you should book early. It ALWAYS sells out and it can be very hard to find quality carbon road bikes closer to the time. More info here
