Alpe d'Huez, Barcelona… Here's what you need to know about the next edition

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The spotlight of the 2026 Tour de France will this year be focused on Catalonia, with a big start planned in Barcelona on July 4. Already a stopover city on five occasions, including the last time in 2009, Barcelona will this time host the Grande Boucle for the 100th anniversary of the death of Gaudí, the city's emblematic architect, and the inauguration of his most famous work, the Sagrada Familia, after endless work.

A source of pride for the Tour boss. “Being in this city, shaped by a genius architect who was Gaudí, the fact that the authorities of Catalonia and Barcelona allow us to be in front of the monument is something wonderful. The biggest cycling competition in the world in a dream setting“, rejoices Christian Prudhomme.

After seeing the ramparts of Carcassonne, the Cirque de Gavarnie or the Lion of Belfort, the runners will end their journey with a double stage at Alpe d'Huez. First with the 21 legendary bends which lead to the Isère resort, then a final challenge with more than 5,000 meters of cumulative elevation gain. The fans are already salivating over it.

The Women's Tour will start in Lausanne on August 1, with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot headlining. The Frenchwoman will try to win the Grande Boucle for the second consecutive year, notably via the feared Mont Ventoux, a first in the history of the Women's Tour. “It will be the roof of the Tour, the queen stage with almost 3,600 meters of elevation gain. It will be a little more of a possibility of making women's cycling history.“, explains Marion Rousse, director of the women's Tour de France.

The Women's Tour will arrive in Nice on August 9 with one objective: to surpass the historic record of 26 million viewers established last year.