When does the Tour de France 2026 start: dates, favorites, route, and how to watch

The 2026 Tour de France will start on July 4 in Barcelona and will finish on July 26 in Paris after 21 stages, two rest days, and a route of 3,333 kilometers with 54,540 meters of accumulated elevation gain. The 113th edition of the Grande Boucle features a unique start in Catalonia, a team time trial to kick off the race, mountain stages from the third stage, and a spectacular final week that will culminate with two consecutive finishes at Alpe d'Huez.

The Pyrenees come early and Alpe d'Huez awaits at the end: Tour 2026 route

The 2026 Tour de France will cross five major mountain ranges this edition with the Pyrenees, Central Massif, Vosges, Jura, and Alps. Unlike other editions where the high mountains were reserved for the second half of the race, this year the favorites will have to show themselves from the beginning.

The race will start with a 19-kilometer team time trial in Barcelona before facing a second broken stage that also finishes in the Catalan capital. Just 48 hours later, the first major challenge for the general classification will arrive with the uphill finish at Les Angles, in the French Pyrenees.

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The first week will continue to accumulate difficulty with the stage to Foix and especially with the finish at Gavarnie-Gèdre, one of the new mountain finishes added to the Tour. The organizers have also opted for several unprecedented climbs such as the Montée de Gavarnie-Gèdre, the Col de la Griffoul, the Col du Page, the Col du Haag, the Plateau de Solaison, or the Col de Sarenne.

After the first rest day, the peloton will enter the Central Massif and then the Vosges and Jura. Stages like Le Lioran, Le Markstein Fellering, or Plateau de Solaison could cause significant differences before reaching the Alps.

The only individual time trial will come in stage 16 between Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains over 26 kilometers. It won't be an especially long time trial, but it could be decisive among the candidates for the yellow jersey.

The resolution of the race will be reserved for the Alps. Stage 19 will finish at Alpe d'Huez after climbing the legendary 21 hairpin turns of the most emblematic ascent of the Tour. But the big challenge will come the next day when the riders face the Galibier, the highest point of the race at 2,642 meters, the Col de Sarenne, and a second consecutive finish at Alpe d'Huez. On paper, it will be the queen stage and the last scenario to decide the general classification before arriving in Paris.

A high-voltage Tour with Pogacar, Vingegaard, Ayuso, Evenepoel & Seixas?

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) will once again be the favorite. The Slovenian will seek his fifth Tour de France, a feat that would allow him to match the historic record of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. After withdrawing from both the Giro and the Vuelta, his entire season is designed around July.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) appears once again as his main rival. The Dane remains the only rider who has proven capable of defeating Pogačar in a Tour and arrives backed by a team built specifically for the mountains and after a memorable Giro.

Behind them emerges a broader group of podium contenders than in previous seasons. Juan Ayuso will face his first Tour as leader of Lidl-Trek after leaving UAE Team Emirates-XRG and has shown great form at the start of the season. Remco Evenepoel will debut in the Tour with Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe as one of the big unknowns, while Florian Lipowitz will share leadership in the German squad.

We will also have to closely follow Isaac del Toro, who arrives as one of the fittest riders of the year after his victories in the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico; Oscar Onley, a new asset for the Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team for the grand tours; and Tom Pidcock, who faces the first Tour of his career with real aspirations for the general classification.

Among the possible surprises, the Frenchman Paul Seixas stands out. At just 19 years old, he is one of the great sensations of world cycling, and his participation generates enormous expectations in France, although there is still debate about whether the Tour is the right stage to take on responsibilities in the general classification so early in his career.

How to watch the 2026 Tour de France

The 2026 Tour de France will be available to watch live on Eurosport and HBO Max, which will broadcast the entire race with full coverage of each stage.

Dates and times for each stage

In the coming days, we will update this section with the start times and estimated arrival times day by day.

• 04/07 – Stage 1 (CRE): Barcelona - Barcelona | 19 km
• 05/07 – Stage 2: Tarragona - Barcelona | 182 km
• 06/07 – Stage 3: Granollers - Les Angles | 196 km
• 07/07 – Stage 4: Carcassonne - Foix | 182 km
• 08/07 – Stage 5: Lannemezan - Pau | 158 km
• 09/07 – Stage 6: Pau - Gavarnie-Gèdre | 186 km
• 10/07 – Stage 7: Hagetmau - Bordeaux | 175 km
• 11/07 – Stage 8: Périgueux - Bergerac | 182 km
• 12/07 – Stage 9: Malemort - Ussel | 185 km
• 13/07 – Rest day
• 14/07 – Stage 10: Aurillac - Le Lioran | 167 km
• 15/07 – Stage 11: Vichy - Nevers | 161 km
• 16/07 – Stage 12: Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours - Chalon-sur-Saône | 181 km
• 17/07 – Stage 13: Dole - Belfort | 205 km
• 18/07 – Stage 14: Mulhouse - Le Markstein Fellering | 155 km
• 19/07 – Stage 15: Champagnole - Plateau de Solaison | 184 km
• 20/07 – Rest day
• 21/07 – Stage 16 (CRI): Évian-les-Bains - Thonon-les-Bains | 26 km
• 22/07 – Stage 17: Chambéry - Voiron | 175 km
• 23/07 – Stage 18: Voiron - Orcières-Merlette | 185 km
• 24/07 – Stage 19: Gap - Alpe d'Huez | 128 km
• 25/07 – Stage 20: Le Bourg-d'Oisans - Alpe d'Huez | 171 km
• 26/07 – Stage 21: Thoiry - Paris Champs-Élysées | 130 km