Presented a Tour de France 2026 that covers all the mountains of the country

Attractive route that the Tour de France has planned for its 2026 edition in which the mountains will be distributed regularly throughout the three weeks, although it will have a great finale with the return to the race of Alpe d'Huez, which will have a double role as the finish of stages 19 and 20. The success of the final stage with the ascent to Montmartre has led ASO to once again bet on the same design to close its 2026 edition in Paris. The few kilometers of time trial will once again be the weakness of the Grande Boucle.

Pyrenees, Central Massif, Vosges, Jura, Alps... all the mountains of France in a 2026 Tour with a double dose of Alpe d'Huez

From July 4 to 26, 2026, we will once again enjoy a new edition of the Tour de France, which has presented its route today. A route that opts for variety and distributes the toughness evenly throughout the three weeks instead of focusing an excess of it in the last week, which will still be decisive with the Alps as a reference and a double stage finish at the mythical Alpe d'Huez.

A Tour de France that has as its most outstanding characteristic of its 3,338 km a route that touches all the mountainous areas of the country, starting with the Pyrenees in the first week that will conclude in the Central Massif where the second week will also begin, followed by Vosges and Jura closing with a couple of spectacular stages. The last third of the race reserves the Alps where, if it has not happened before, the race will be decided.

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Many and varied mountains for an edition that will total 54,450 meters of positive elevation gain and that once again leaves us with a three-week race quite devoid of time trials, only the 19 of the team time trial that will start the Tour de France 2026 and, already in the last week, 26 kilometers of individual time trial at race altitudes where accumulated fatigue is more important than the qualities of each cyclist in this discipline.

As we already knew, the race will start in Barcelona with a 19-kilometer team time trial toughened by the climb to Montjuic in its final stretch. It will be followed by a stage that will start from Tarragona and return along the coast to the city of Barcelona where, once again, the Montjuic circuit will be the protagonist. The end of this Catalan journey will take the race from Granollers to Les Angles, the first of the mountain-top finishes of this Tour de France and which will be just a first test to measure the strengths of the favorites.

It will be followed by an attractive medium mountain stage through the Ariège region as a precedent to the great Pyrenean stage that will feature Aspin and Tourmalet as a prelude to the unprecedented climb to the Gavarnié station, a beautiful and tough ascent that will surely lead to significant differences in the general classification when the Tour de France is practically just beginning. The first week ends with the peloton entering the always treacherous Central Massif.

The mountains of the Central Massif will also be protagonists of the beginning of the second week in the always coveted stage of July 14, the French national holiday. From there, the second week will have a relatively calm route as a prelude to the weekend stages, two very tough days with Vosges and Jura as an unparalleled setting.

The Saturday stage, between Mulhouse and Le Markstein Fellering, has the Balloon d'Alsace as the protagonist with a route that includes four ascents, starting with the Grand Ballon before a first pass through the finish line followed by the Col du Page, the Ballon d'Alsace, and, as a dessert, the unprecedented and tough Col du Haag after which the cyclists will still have to pedal for another 6 kilometers on a hilly terrain before reaching the finish line.

The Sunday stage in the Jura massif is simpler in design but spectacular in its conclusion with the chaining of the very tough Col de la Croisette and Plateau de Solaison where the finish line will be located. Two tremendously demanding stages where the general classification should be very clear.

The third week of the Tour de France 2026 will begin with the only individual time trial, with pre-Alpine terrain as the protagonist of a stage that will seek the shores of Lake Leman. A 26-kilometer time trial with a tough profile in its first half that, at the altitudes of the Tour de France where it is located, will mean that the forces will be more important in its conclusion than being a specialist in individual time trial, so it is likely that the same riders who occupy the top positions in the general classification will also be the ones seeking victory.

The cyclists will have barely a quiet day after this time trial before facing three very tough stages. The first one with a classic finish that brings back memories of the battles between Merckx and Ocaña with the arrival at Orcières-Merlette in a stage that, despite the tough terrain that precedes this final climb, seems designed for not much to happen during the course of it.

It will be followed by two stages with Alpe d'Huez as the protagonist. The first of them, a stage, like the previous one, with scarce mileage, just 128 km and a strange design with a really demanding start chaining Col Bayard and Col du Noyer, a completely flat middle part before the finish where the gentle Col d'Ornon is followed by the 21 most famous hairpin bends in the world that lead to the top of Alpe d'Huez.

As a dessert, there will be a stage 20 with a tremendously spectacular design that practically copies the route of the famous Marmotte, one of the most famous cyclosportive events in the world, starting at the foot of Alpe d'Huez, in Bourg d'Oisans from where the peloton will head towards the mythical Croix de Fer, from there, climbing up the valley, the mythical chaining of Telegraphe and Galibier will be sought to descend again towards Bourg de'Oisans. However, there is the crux of this real stage, instead of resorting again to the classic ascent, the Tour de France has chosen the beautiful and tough climb of La Sarenne which, in addition, after being crowned, forces the cyclists to a few last kilometers on a narrow high mountain road and some very demanding ramps before reaching, descending, the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez with a route through it so that there is still a tough final stretch before reaching the finish line.

With the Tour de France 2026 already decided after this mountain stage, ASO has once again opted for the Paris stage to not be as bland as it traditionally was, and after the spectacle we enjoyed last year, they have managed to convince the Paris authorities to once again include the ascent to Montmartre in the route in an identical stage to that of 2025.

As we mentioned at the beginning, a very balanced Tour de France although the great toughness of the end of the second week may pose the risk that, as happened in 2025, the race may be decided too early if Tadej Pogacar, who will be seeking his fifth title to place him among the greatest, if he is not already, shows the same superiority he showed in this year's edition.