Tour de France 2026: Stage-by-Stage Guide
The 113th edition of the Tour de France will commence in Barcelona on Saturday 4 July 2026, marking the first time the race has started in Spain. The opening stage is a 19.6km team time trial through the city's iconic landmarks, including La Rambla and the Sagrada Familia. The format is novel: riders' times will be taken individually at the uphill finish, meaning teams will shed non-climbers early and have lighter riders peel off one by one at the finale. According to race organisers, this replicates the usual approach to a summit finish in a road race. Jonas Vingegaard's Visma, Remco Evenepoel's Red Bull, and Tadej Pogacar's UAE Emirates are expected to excel in this discipline.
Stage 2: Tarragona to Barcelona (168.5km)
Sunday 5 July brings a tough day with the scenic Costes de Garraf and the second-category Côte de Begues 70km out. The three closing loops of the classic Montjuïc circuit in Barcelona, featuring a climb every 12km, will provide real spectacle. The riders know this circuit well as it is the traditional finale of the Tour of Catalonia. This stage suits punchy riders like Mattias Skjelmose or Mathieu van der Poel, but Pogacar, Evenepoel, and Primoz Roglic have all won here recently.
Stage 3: Granollers to Les Angles (195.9km)
Monday 6 July heads into the south Pyrenean foothills over a first-category pass and a third-category climb longer than the first. The finish atop a 1.7km climb at 7% presents a risk for overall contenders, as any gap in the bunch means seconds lost. A tactical battle between breakaway teams and those with a climbing sprinter is expected. Biniam Girmay is a potential winner if his NSN team can control the break.
Stage 4: Carcassonne to Foix (181.9km)
Tuesday 7 July features a gruelling run through the Pyrenean foothills with two second-category climbs in the second half. For contenders, it is a day to avoid trouble; for breakaway specialists, it is a major opportunity. A final little climb at Le Pradet with 12km remaining may not prevent a sprint from the break. Magnus Cort is a master at this if he can get over the climbs, along with wily campaigners like Michal Kwiatkowski.
Stage 5: Lannemezan to Pau (158.3km)
Wednesday 8 July passes the home of French rugby hero Antoine Dupont after 20km, but the big scrum will be at the finish where sprinters finally get a target. Mass finishes are expected to be all-Belgian affairs: Jasper Philipsen (10 Tour stage wins) versus Tim Merlier (three). Philipsen has the best lead-out (Van der Poel and Kaden Groves), but Merlier's Soudal team are seasoned operators, having won three stages at the Giro with Paul Magnier.
Stage 6: Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre (186.2km)
Thursday 9 July includes the Aspin and Tourmalet before the second-category drag up to Gavarnie, concluding the Pyrenees. Organisers argue stages 2-4 are demanding enough to avoid claims the race is watered down. The stage winner should come from the break, a climber with no overall threat such as Lenny Martinez.
Stage 7: Hagetmau to Bordeaux (175.1km)
Friday 10 July sees Bordeaux as a prestigious sprint stage, with a history of 82 finishes including Mark Cavendish, Freddy Maertens, and Erik Zabel. Since the Paris finale now includes the Montmartre climb, the Bordeaux finish is the most prized sprint this year. Philipsen won here in 2023, pipping Cavendish, and is odds-on to repeat.
Stage 8: Périgueux to Bergerac (180.4km)
Saturday 11 July is another day for the fast men, with only fourth-category climbs. Expect a doomed early escape by teams lacking a sprinter or GC rider, swept up late. Sprint trains now play a poker game in the final kilometres. Merlier's Soudal are masters of this. Potential winners include Philipsen, Merlier, Girmay, or Mads Pedersen.
Stage 9: Malemort to Ussel (185.5km)
Sunday 12 July is a lumpy day in the Corrèze region with 3,300m of climbing and only four ranked climbs, but many additional ascents and likely heat. Contenders should be safe barring punctures or crashes. This is an obvious breakaway stage. The likely outcome is a solo move off the final climb of Mont Bessou, with potential winners including Pello Bilbao or Richard Carapaz.
Monday 13 July: rest day in the Cantal region.
Stage 10: Aurillac to Le Lioran (166.6km)
Tuesday 14 July (Bastille Day) is a short but vicious stage through Aveyron and Cantal with seven categorised climbs including Puy Mary and Col de Pertus (14km to go). The ascents are short but steep, so cumulative efforts will eliminate one or two contenders. This is the first test for Pogacar and Vingegaard's rivals, including France's young hope Paul Seixas.
Stage 11: Vichy to Nevers (161.3km)
Wednesday 15 July heads north into flatlands, putting pressure on sprinters for the green jersey. The intermediate sprint is 27km in, so sprint teams will control until then. The only possible change is if the wind splits the race on exposed roads.
Stage 12: Nevers/Magny Cours to Chalon-sur-Saône (179.1km)
Thursday 16 July is the penultimate sprint stage. Three fourth-category climbs may allow teams with climbing sprinters to pressure Merlier, Pedersen, and Philipsen. Girmay's NSN team are best candidates to exploit this.
Stage 13: Dole to Belfort (205.8km)
Friday 17 July is the longest stage, with the intermediate sprint in Mélisey, home of retired French hero Thibaut Pinot. The first-category Ballon d'Alsace, the first mountain pass in the Tour (1905), is less than 15 downhill km from the finish. A win from the break by a climber who is also a superlative descender, like Tom Pidcock, is likely.
Stage 14: Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering (155.3km)
Saturday 18 July is brutal, with a 106km loop passing the finish twice: first at the Grand Ballon (43.9km), then via the Col du Haag, a steep narrow climb (11km at 7%) on a converted forest path. The Ballon d'Alsace is climbed for the second time in two days. Shorter mountain stages often prevent early escapees from contesting the win; this stage has Pogacar or Vingegaard written all over it.
Stage 15: Champagnole to Plateau de Solaison (183.9km)
Sunday 19 July heads southeast through the Jura, flirting with the Swiss border. Two horribly steep climbs in the final quarter: the Col de la Croisette (5km at 11%) and the super-category finish (11km at 9%). Contenders may wait until the Croisette (131km) to move, so a pure climber not in contention overall could win, such as last year's Mont Ventoux winner Valentin Paret-Peintre.
Monday 20 July: rest day in Haute-Savoie.
Stage 16: Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains (26.1km individual time trial)
Tuesday 21 July features a 26.1km time trial with a second-category climb and descent, favouring overall contenders led by multiple world champion Evenepoel. It will come down to seconds; the only drama if someone has a bad day, as Vingegaard did last year in Rouen.
Stage 17: Chambéry to Voiron (174.7km)
Wednesday 22 July is nominally the final sprinters' stage, but the first 50km is uphill through the Chartreuse. A rare opportunity for non-climbing breakaway specialists. A nasty little pull (2.6km at 4%) with 5km to go may hinder sprinters. Points to Girmay or Australian Michael Matthews.
Stage 18: Voiron to Orcières-Merlette (185.2km)
Thursday 23 July heads south to a famous Tour location: 55 years since Luis Ocaña beat Eddy Merckx, and 37 since Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond dueled. The stage is not tough enough to concern Vingegaard and Pogacar, so a breakaway climber who is an astute tactician, like Ben Healy, could win.
Stage 19: Gap to l'Alpe d'Huez (127.9km)
Friday 24 July is the most prestigious mountain finish. The short stage makes it touch and go for the escape. The opening 25km over Cols Bayard and du Noyer are tough enough for a decent move, then 60km to Col d'Ornon where teams may start moving. If the big two give leeway, the 21 hairpins suit a pure climber such as Thymen Arensman, a double stage winner last year.
Stage 20: Le Bourg d'Oisans to l'Alpe d'Huez (170.9km)
Saturday 25 July goes up Alpe d'Huez for the second time in two days, but uses the back way up the narrow Col de Sarenne, defying protests from local ecologists. The Sarenne is preceded by the Croix de Fer and Galibier, making this the hardest stage, potentially decisive for the overall or a final reshuffle before Paris.
Stage 21: Thoiry to Paris Champs-Élysées (133km)
Sunday 26 July includes the Butte Montmartre climb again, but the circuit is extended so there are 10km from the top to the finish. Without Wout van Aert, watch for Classics specialists like Pedersen or Van der Poel. Pogacar may take a back seat, but that is uncertain.
