Tour de France 2026 Route Presentation
The route of the 2026 Tour de France was announced today. There’s a route video.
Grand Départ in Barcelona (Stages 1 and 2)
We already knew about the Grand Départ in Barcelona.
Stage 1 is a team time trial. The stage winning team is based on the time of the first rider to cross the line, but for the General Classification each rider’s actual finishing time is taken.
Stage 2 is a hilly road race from Tarragona to Barcelona.
The Pyrenees and Around (Stages 3 to 6)
The last day of the Grand Départ on Stage 3 sees the Tour go over the Col de Toses then into France. There’s a climb of the Col du Calvaire before a summit finish at Les Angles in the Pyrenees.
There follow two stages on the periphery of the Pyrenees – Stage 4 from Carcassonne to Foix and Stage 5 from Lannemezan to Pau.
Stage 6 is another mountain stage in the Pyrenees, from Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre. It takes in the Aspin and the Tourmalet before the 20km final climb to Gavarnie-Gedre.
The South West (Stages 7 and 8)
Stage 7 takes the race from Hagetmau north through Les Landes to Bordeaux.
Stage 8 is a race from Périgueux to Bergerac.
The Massif Central (Stages 9 and 10)
Stage 9 is a 185km hilly stage from Malemort to Ussel. The Suc au May is the hardest climb on that parcours.
Stage 10 on Bastille Day is largely a route that has been used before, taking in the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol and the Col de Pertus, with the finish at Le Lioran.
Transition from South West to North East (Stages 11 and 12)
Stage 11 is from Vichy to Nevers, and Stage 12 from the Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours to Chalon-sur-Saone.
These flat stages take the race towards the Vosges mountains.
The Vosges (Stages 13 and 14)
Stage 13 is from Dole to Belfort, and it includes a climb of the Ballon d’Alsace.
On Stage 14, the peloton has to climb the Grand Ballon, the Col du Page and the Ballon d’Alsace. Then the Col du Haag comes just before a finish at Le Markstein Fellering where a Tour stage also finished in 2023.
The Alps (Stages 15 to 20)
Stage 15 is from Champagnole in the Jura via the Montée de Saleve to Plateau de Solaison in the Alps.
Stage 16 is an individual time trial from Evian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains.
Stage 17 is a flat stage from Chambéry to Voiron.
Stage 18 starts in Voiron and takes the riders to the southern Alps for a summit finish at Orcieres-Merlette.
The race’s stay in the Alps ends with a double dose of Alpe d’Huez. Stage 19 includes early climbs of the Col Bayard and Col du Noyer, and a late climb of the Col d’Ornon before the summit finish at Alpe d’Huez.
On Stage 20, there are hard climbs including the Col de la Croix de Fer, the Col du Galibier and the Col de Sarenne, before another finish at Alpe d’Huez.
The Finish in Paris (Stage 21)
The final stage is in Paris as usual.
After the success of the Montmartre-Champs Elysées circuit in 2025, the race organisers will do something similar on Stage 21 in 2026.