Tour de France 2026: stage-by-stage guide to this year’s race
The team time trial returns as this year’s Tour starts in Barcelona for the first time in the race’s history
Stage one, Saturday 4 July: Barcelona to Barcelona (team time trial), 19.6km
The first team time trial since 2019, past many of Barcelona’s prime tourist sites – La Rambla, Sagrada Familia – but with a novel format: riders’ times will be taken individually at the uphill finish. So rather than trying to finish four or five riders together, teams will wear out non-climbers early on, then have lighter men peeling off one by one in the finale – replicating the usual approach to a summit finish in a road race. Advance warning: Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma, Remco Evenepoel’s Red Bull, and Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Emirates are masters of this game.
Stage two, Sunday 5 July: Tarragona to Barcelona, 168.5km
A tough first day at the coalface, beginning with the run up the scenic Costes de Garraf. The second-category Côte de Begues, 70km out, may produce an initial selection, but the three closing loops of the classic Montjuïc circuit in Barcelona will provide real spectacle, a little climb every 12km, with 2.5km to the finish after the last ascent. The riders will know this by heart as it is the traditional finale of the Tour of Catalonia. A good stage for a punchy rider such as Mattias Skjelmose or Mathieu van der Poel, but Pogacar, Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic have all won here recently.
Stage three, Monday 6 July: Granollers to Les Angles, 195.9km
Into the south Pyrenean foothills over a first-category pass and a third category that is longer than the first category – go figure. The finish at the top of a 1.7km climb at 7% presents a risk for the overall contenders, as any gap in the bunch means seconds lost; expect a hectic fight for position approaching the finish. A tactical battle beckons between teams wanting to win from the break and those with a sprinter who can climb. Biniam Girmay is the name that springs to mind, if his NSN team are strong enough to keep a break in check.
Stage four, Tuesday 7 July: Carcassonne to Foix, 181.9km
A gruesome run through the foothills on the other side of the Pyrenees, with two second-category climbs in the second half of the stage. For the contenders, a day for keeping out of trouble; for teams with a breakaway specialist this will have a big asterisk on it. There is a final little climb at Le Pradet with 12km remaining, but chances are it will be a sprint from the break. Magnus Cort is a master at this if he can get over the climbs, and it will suit other wily campaigners such as Michal Kwiatkowski.
Stage five, Wednesday 8 July: Lannemezan to Pau, 158.3km
This stage passes the home of French rugby hero Antoine Dupont after 20km, but the big scrum will come at the finish where the sprinters finally get a target. This year’s mass finishes look likely to be all-Belgian affairs: Jasper Philipsen, with 10 Tour stages to his name, versus Tim Merlier, who has three. Philipsen has the best lead-out – Van der Poel and Kaden Groves – but Merlier’s Soudal team are the most seasoned operators irrespective of who they are dragging to the final 200m and picked up three stages at the Giro with Paul Magnier.
Stage six, Thursday 9 July: Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre, 186.2km
The Spanish Grand Départ means paring down the classic climbs in the Pyrenees to avoid the race being settled as early as day six; the organisers can reasonably argue that stages two, three and four are demanding enough to avoid claims the race is being watered down. This stage includes the Aspin and Tourmalet before the second-category drag up to Gavarnie and that is it for the Pyrenees. One or two riders will stake an early claim in the King of the Mountains prize; the stage winner should come from the break, a climber who is no threat overall such as Lenny Martinez.
Stage seven, Friday 10 July: Hagetmau to Bordeaux, 175.1km
In the past, Bordeaux was a hugely prestigious stage for the sprinters, on a par with the Champs Élysées; the roll of honour includes Mark Cavendish, Freddy Maertens, Erik Zabel, Rik van Looy and André Darrigade. That history of 82 stage finishes has acquired more meaning since the Paris finale has been jazzed up with the addition of the Montmartre climb: with the Champs no longer a guaranteed bunch gallop, the finish on the banks of the Garonne will be the most prized sprint this year. Philipsen won here in 2023, pipping Cavendish, and he will be odds-on to do it again.
Stage eight, Saturday 11 July: Périgueux to Bergerac, 180.4km
Another day for the fast men, with only a couple of fourth-category molehills along the way. Expect the usual pattern of a doomed early escape by teams lacking a sprinter or general classification rider: Uno-X, TotalEnergies, Caja Rural. They will be swept up by the peloton late on, but the twist now is that the sprint trains do not like to use up their riders until the last minute, so the final kilometres become a poker game and Merlier’s Soudal are the masters of this. For a winner, pick Philipsen or Merlier or an outside bet such as Girmay or Mads Pedersen.
Stage nine, Sunday 12 July: Malemort to Ussel, 185.5km
A lumpy day out through the Corrèze region with 3,300m of climbing; only four ranked climbs, but a wealth of additional little ascents and probably blistering heat to boot. The climbs should not panic the overall contenders barring any issues such as punctures or crashes on the twisting, narrow roads, so this is an obvious stage for a breakaway and the second-string teams will know there will not be many such opportunities. The likely outcome is a solo move from the break off the final climb of Mont Bessou, with many potential winners including Pello Bilbao or Richard Carapaz.
Monday 13 July: rest day, Cantal region
Stage 10, Tuesday 14 July: Aurillac to Le Lioran, 166.6km
A shortish but vicious stage through the luscious Aveyron and Cantal. A special steam train will convey fans to Le Lioran and Pogacar may well get his personal locomotives moving over the seven categorised climbs including the Puy Mary and the Col de Pertus, the latter coming at 14km to go. The ascents are short but steep so the issue is the cumulative effect of so many efforts; one or two putative contenders will lose the race here. The first test for Pogacar and Vingegaard’s rivals, including France’s bright young thing Paul Seixas, who will get plenty of reminders that it is Bastille Day.
Stage 11, Wednesday 15 July: Vichy to Nevers, 161.3km
Northwards out of the Massif Central into the flatlands and the sprinters will be feeling the pressure again. With stage-winning opportunities so limited, this affects the race for the green jersey; the sprinters will target the intermediate sprint if the terrain suits. Today’s is 27km into the stage, so chances are the sprint teams will control the race until then, after which the day’s doomed breakaway will form. The only possible change to the script is if the wind gets up – some of the roads are exposed enough to split the race.
Stage 12, Thursday 16 July: Nevers/Magny Cours to Chalon-sur-Saône, 179.1km
The penultimate sprint stage, with nearly half the race left. Today may have a little twist in it however; the three ranked ascents are fourth category, but team managers with sprinters who can climb a bit will look closely at the lumpy roads between 141 and 162km. The obvious tactic would be to pile on the pressure at this point and see if Merlier, Pedersen and Philipsen can be dislodged or discomfited so at least they burn up some matches before the finish – Girmay’s NSN are the best candidates depending on what reserves they have left.
Stage 13, Friday 17 July: Dole to Belfort, 205.8km
The first of three days of climbing in north-eastern France and the longest stage of the race, with the intermediate sprint in the village of Mélisey, home to the retired French hero Thibaut Pinot. There is plenty of distance to build a lead, so you would expect a win from the breakaway by a climber who is also a superlative descender, with the first category Ballon d’Alsace – the first mountain pass to feature in the Tour in 1905 – less than 15 downhill kilometres from the finish. With a finale like this, supreme bike handler Tom Pidcock may fancy his chances.
Stage 14, Saturday 18 July: Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering, 155.3km
A brutal day’s climbing including a 106km loop that goes through the finish line twice, at the top of the first-category Grand Ballon after 43.9km, then finally via the Col du Haag, a steep, narrow climb, 11km at 7% up what the manual describes as “a forest path which has been converted into a cycle path”. That is after climbing the Ballon d’Alsace for the second time in two days. The trend on the Tour’s shorter mountain stages now is that the early escapees do not get enough space to contest the stage win; this has Pogacar or Vingegaard written all over it.
Stage 15, Sunday 19 July: Champagnole to Plateau de Solaison, 183.9km
South east through the Jura flirting with the Swiss border for much of the stage and two horribly steep climbs in the final quarter: the first category Col de la Croisette is five kilometres at an average of 11% and the super-category finish ascent is 11km at 9%. This is a mountain stage where the break may stay away, as the overall contenders are unlikely to get moving until the Croisette, 131km into the stage. A pure climber who is not in contention overall should win: why not last year’s Mont Ventoux winner Valentin Paret-Peintre?
Monday 20 July: rest day, Haute-Savoie region
And breathe.
Stage 16, Tuesday 21 July: Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains (individual time trial), 26.1km
Time trials, remember those? Thirty years ago, with Miguel Induráin in his prime, a Tour might include three contre la montres totalling over 100km. Recently, they have been chopped to sex up the race, so this one lasts just over half an hour. With a second-category climb plus descent, it favours the select group going for the overall, led by the multiple world champion Evenepoel. It will come down to seconds, with the only drama if someone has a bad day as Vingegaard did last year in Rouen. Is this progress? Answers on a carte postale please.
Stage 17, Wednesday 22 July: Chambéry to Voiron, 174.7km
Nominally the final sprinters’ stage of the race, but the first 50km is basically uphill through the Chartreuse, plus this is a rare opportunity for non-climbing breakaway specialists. Expect a very intense first hour, when the sprinters will be under pressure, plus by this point their domestiques will be fatigued and possibly low on numbers, making the stage a nightmare to control. If the grosses cuisses get to the finish, they have to get over a nasty little pull (2.6km at 4%) with 5km to go. It all points to Girmay or perhaps the Australian Michael Matthews.
Stage 18, Thursday 23 July: Voiron to Orcières-Merlette, 185.2km
South to a famous location in Tour history: it is 55 years since Luis Ocaña put Eddy Merckx to the sword on these roads and 37 since Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond duelled here. Chances are this stage’s winner will emerge from a break, as the stage is not tough enough to concern Vingegaard and Pogacar. There are two serious climbs early on, but the final ascent to Orcières is more nagging than steep. The win will go to a climber who is an astute tactician: if Ben Healy is out of the overall picture, this will suit the Irishman.
Stage 19, Friday 24 July: Gap to l’Alpe d’Huez, 127.9km
This Tour’s most prestigious mountain stage finish; with a stage this short, it will be touch and go for the day’s escape to make it to the finish. That said, the opening 25km over the Cols Bayard and du Noyer are tough enough to allow a decent move to get established and then there are 60km until the Col d’Ornon, where Pogacar and Vingegaard will probably get their teams moving. If the big two give a move some leeway, the 21 hairpins to the finish will suit a pure climber such as Netcompany’s Thymen Arensman, a double stage winner last year.
Stage 20, Saturday 25 July: Le Bourg d’Oisans to l’Alpe d’Huez, 170.9km
Up the Alpe for a second time in two days, but this finish uses the barely used back way up the narrow and equally tough Col de Sarenne, defying protests from local ecologists concerned at the race passing through an environmentally sensitive area. The Sarenne is preceded by the classic Alpine super category double whammy of the Croix de Fer and Galibier, making this the hardest stage of the Tour, potentially decisive for the overall or, assuming Pogacar and Vingegaard have an iron grip on the race, at least a final reshuffle of the standings before Paris.
Stage 21, Sunday 26 July: Thoiry to Paris Champs-Élysées, 133km
The experiment last year with climbs of the Butte Montmartre was a success, an epic win for Wout van Aert in spite of rain meaning that the stage did not count for the overall; it’s back again, but the circuit is extended so there are 10km from the top of the climb to the finish on the Champs. No Van Aert this year so watch out for Classics specialists such as Pedersen or Van der Poel, if he is still in the race. That’s assuming Pogacar takes a back seat, but I’d be hedging my bets on that.