Barcelona will kick off the 2026 Tour de France, with organizers and local officials unveiling three days of racing on Tuesday that will showcase the beauty of the Catalan region.
The world’s most prestigious cycling event will race down Spain’s iconic La Rambla, passing crowds and landmarks, including Antoni Gaudi's famed modernist cathedral, the Sagrada Familia.
Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni expressed the city's pride in hosting the July 4 "Grand Depart," following its legacy of hosting the Olympics, the Men’s World Cup, and the America’s Cup.
"Today we fulfill a dream, the dream of seeing the Grand Depart of the Tour de France become a reality, a dream that Barcelona has pursued for years," he told gathered press in Catalan.
The motto for the city’s most famous football team is "More than a club," and the organizers latched onto this by calling their Grand Depart "Mes que una Cursa" ('More than a race').
A fierce struggle for the first yellow jersey will be decided in a 19.7km team time trial, passing by the Olympic port, the Sagrada Familia, and ending at the Olympic stadium.
This type of challenge would, on paper at least, suit Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma outfit rather than defending champion Tadej Pogacar’s Team UAE Emirates.
Stage two starts along the coast at Tarragona and runs back to the Barcelona Olympic stadium over 178km, while stage three starts at Granollers and heads toward France, with the finish to be revealed in October along with the rest of the 21-stage route.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme mentioned former Spanish cycling greats Miguel Indurain and Luis Ocaña and described Barcelona as a shining city. He said he could hardly wait to "see the fervor of the fans as the race climbs the slopes of Montjuïc," the mountain where Barcelona’s 1992 Olympic stadium stands and which is now the temporary home to Barcelona Football Club.
After Copenhagen in 2022, Bilbao in 2023, and Florence in 2024, Barcelona’s Mediterranean seaport provides the latest exotic backdrop for the globally broadcast extravaganza. The whole cycling world will gather in and around the city several days ahead of the race, with the cream of world cycling, fans, and curious onlookers alike, along with a huge tourist boom arriving quickly after the worldwide audiences that tune in to the 21-day race in 190 countries.
The remainder of the route will be unveiled in October and is likely to culminate July 28 on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
The 2025 Tour de France will be raced exclusively in France for the first time since the 2020 race, starting in the northern capital, Lille.
