Preview: Barcelona's Grand Départ Tour de France 2026
Barcelona will host the Tour de France’s 113th edition, adding another chapter to the city’s long relationship with cycling. The occasion will mark Spain’s third Grand Départ, following San Sebastián in 1992 and Bilbao in 2023; with the Catalan capital bringing its own unique personality to the kick-off of cycling’s most prestigious race.
Text: Juliana Reis. Photos: Volta a Catalunya & Getty Images
Barcelona has previously hosted Tour stages three times: in 1957, 1965 and 2009. The city has lived and breathed professional cycling for decades, especially around Montjuïc, a hill that has featured in the Vuelta a España, and regularly animates the final stage of the the Volta a Catalunya; as well as the UCI Road World Championships and the Olympic Games. Once again, the climb up to Montjuïc will play a deciding role in the opening drama. On 2 July, the team presentation will take place in front of the Sagrada Familia, before racing begins in full on Catalan roads.
Catalonia in yellow for the Tour de France
The home riders are also eager for the Grand Départ in Barcelona, and none more so than Carlos Verona, as he returns to the Tour de France for the chance to race at home. “As for the Grand Départ of the Tour in Barcelona, it’s something many people are really looking forward to, myself included. It’s actually one of the reasons why I am returning to the Tour this year.”
Barcelona Team Time Trial (19.7 km, July 4)
Stage 1, on July 4th, is a 19.7 km team time trial through Barcelona city centre, with the first rider across the line setting the team time, while individual gaps also count for the general classification.
The first Tour team time trial in 55 years promises pure, raw racing right from the start. The route starts on the seafront, from where teams race along the waterfront on a fast, exposed stretch before weaving through the city and past the Sagrada Família. At this point the riders are likely to be hitting speeds in excess of 50km/h as they surge towards Gaudí’s iconic masterpiece.
Nafent’s favourites for the prologue in Barcelona:
***** Netcompany – Ineos
*** Red Bull – Bora Hansgrohe, Visma Lease a Bike
* Lidl-Trek, UAE Team Emirates, Soudal – Quick Step
Then comes the sting in the tail: two climbs up to the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium – 1.1 km at 5.1% and 800 m at 7% – where the rhythm can break apart and the favourites may already start to separate.
Verona comments: “The team time trial will create the first gaps, though not very big ones, and then there will be nervous stages that won’t disappoint. This TTT will require careful planning by the teams, using the right riders for each part of the course while keeping their GC favourites fresh for the climbs on Montjuïc.”
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Stage 2 – Tarragona to Barcelona (178.4 km, July 5)
Stage 2 features a 178.4 km route from the city of Tarragona to Barcelona, which starts easily along wide roads hugging the shoreline of the Costa Daurada.
The first half of the stage is flat and scenic, passing beach towns as the peloton heads towards Sitges, before the road turns tougher around Begues. From here the race becomes far more selective, finishing with three ascents to Montjuïc Castle, part of which the riders will remember from the day before (including 600m ramps of up to 13%).
Verona is excited and believes the atmosphere will be euphoric: “In Catalonia, as we saw during the last Volta a Catalunya, there’s a huge passion for cycling. Playing host to the Tour there feels like a celebration, a real gift.”
Catalonia’s 397 km through 60 towns will carry a strong sense of history in the 2026 Tour de France, especially with a course like this, including a demanding second stage with repeated climbs on Montjuïc. It’s a brutal finale that should favour punchy riders and strong finishers, with the final climb proving too arduous for the pure sprinters.
Nafent’s favourites for the win on Montjuïc:
***** Tadej Pogacar
*** Remco Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock
* Dorian Godon, Juan Ayuso, Mathieu van der Poel
Stage 3 – Granollers to Les Angles (196 km, July 6)
One last Catalan hurrah, with fans packed along the roads before the French Pyrenees engulf the race. Stage 3 takes the peloton 196km from Granollers to Les Angles, crossing the French border around 40km before the finish.
Stage 3 is classified as a proper mountain stage. After a rolling opening 100 km, the route climbs Coll de Toses rising to 1,800 m, before a final ascent of 1.7 km at 7% to Les Angles (1,794 m). In total there’s around 3,950 m of elevation gain, largely stacked towards the end of the stage.
Nafent’s favourites for the last Tour stage in Catalonia:
***** Tadej Pogacar
*** Remco Evenepoel, Lenny Martinez
* Isaac del Toro, Mattias Skjelmose, Juan Ayuso
It’s the last chance for local fans to line the roads and feel the speed and tension before the race crosses into France, with the general classification likely to take its first real shape here.
Verona adds: “The third stage, finishing in Les Angles, will create the first real differences. It’s a tough stage, though not excessively demanding. Overall, I think the race will stay quite open and, above all, exciting to watch.”
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