Cycling
Everything you need to know about the Tour de France's Grand Départ
From July 4-26, the Tour de France returns. From Barcelona to Paris, via the Pyrenees and the Alps, it's one of the most iconic events of the year. Here's all you need to know about the Grand Départ.
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The countdown is almost over. As the Tour de France gets underway with the Grand Départ in Barcelona, Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe rolls to the start line with big ambitions and a squad ready to take on cycling's biggest challenge. This is how the race begins as the battle for the yellow jersey gets underway.
01
Where and when will the 2026 Grand Départ happen?
The Grand Départ of the 2026 Tour will take place on Saturday, July 4 in Barcelona, Spain. The third time that the Tour has started in Spain in its history, it is the first time that it has visited Barcelona and the wider Catalonia region for the Grand Départ. Previously, its visits have been centred on the Basque Country, most recently in 2023. It’s not Barcelona’s first appearance in the Tour though, and it has hosted stages on three separate occasions (1957, 1965 and 2009).
Over the course of three stages, the riders will take in some of Catalonia’s highlights, including the city centre of Barcelona, coastal views of Tarragona and sample some of the Spanish Pyrenees before crossing over the border into France to complete the remainder of the route.
02
The history of the Grand Départ
The Tour takes the riders through narrow city streets
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
The Tour de France first ran in 1903. For the first two editions, it started in the town of Montgeron, part of the Seine-et-Oise region, now known as Essonne. The start was then moved to a location just outside Paris until 1914, when the First World War forced its cancellation. With the exception of the 1926 edition, which started in Évian-les-Bains, all the editions until 1950 began in the Paris region.
However, since 1951, the race has packed its bags and started in a different town or city each year, only returning to the French capital twice. In 1954, it started abroad for the first time, setting off from the Dutch capital of Amsterdam. Since then, it has started outside of France 26 times, and has ventured overseas more often than not since 2007.
In its 62 years of starting abroad, Belgium, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Ireland, Monaco, Denmark, Spain and Italy have all hosted the Grand Départ on one or more occasions, with the UK set to welcome the 2027 Tour for a third time next year before it returns to Reims in France in 2028.
03
How is the venue for the Grand Départ chosen?
Punishing climbs will be a key feature, as always
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
The organisation of the Grand Départ, even by the standards of an iconic competition like the Tour de France, requires a great deal of planning and preparation. Between the teams, the organisers, hosts, the media and public, bringing them all together in one town is a major logistical challenge.
From time-to-time, the organisers choose a destination based on other major events. In 1958, for example, Brussels was also hosting the Universal Exhibition and the Tour's passage was seen as a nod to the Europe that was being built at the time.
Before the Second World War, the Grand Départ was a big event, but it had far from the international profile it enjoys today. Since then, however, hosting the start of Le Tour has become both an honour and a political event. The race has now passed through 55 different cities, including capitals such as London, West Berlin (in 1987), Dublin, Copenhagen and Brussels.
In addition to neighbouring countries, a number of other nations are keen to host the Tour and, in much the same way as the FIFA World Cup or the Olympic Games operate, bids come in thick and fast from potential candidates. Negotiations with the Basque Autonomous Community began in 2016, for example, and the Tour eventually set foot there in 2023. In 2027, Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, has been selected.
04
What's happening at the Grand Départ 2026?
The Tour de France is a fixture of the summer sporting calendar
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
Barcelona, Spain’s second city and the capital of Catalonia will host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2026.
On July 2, ahead of the start on July 4, the teams taking part in the Tour will take to the streets of the city in the traditional team presentation, setting off from the iconic former hospital Sant Pau Modernista before riding along Avinguda de Gaudí to the main stage for the team presentation at the Sagrada Família. A fan park will also be set up in the city on Passeig de Lluís Companys, where fans can follow the race and take part in competitions, quizzes, workshops and other activities.
The route of the first three stages
Wout van Aert celebrates a stage win
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
As is often the case, the Tour will stay around the Grand Départ area for the first three stages.
The first is a 19.6km team time trial around the city centre of Barcelona. Starting at the Fòrum, all eight riders will have to ride in formation as they navigate the 90° turns around the city’s central grid system, passing the recently finished Sagrada Família as they go. The course isn’t plain sailing for a time trial either, and features two stings in the tail – Côte de Montjuïc (1.1km at 5.1%) and a summit finish on Côte du Stade Olympique – that could create notable time gaps on the first stage.
Montjuïc has previously hosted F1 races
© Getty Images
Stage 2 sees the peloton head 100km south along the coast to start in the historic city of Tarragona. From there, they make their way back along the Mediterranean in the direction of Barcelona on the 168.5km course, where a city circuit featuring three ascents of Côte du Château du Montjuïc awaits them.
The final day in Catalonia starts 30km north-east of Barcelona in Granollers. The first mountainous stage of the 2026 Tour de France, it heads into the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees, tackling Col de Toses (9.3km at 6.5%) and Col du Calvaire (11.4km at 4.1%) as it crossed the border into France before a short, sharp summit finish in Les Angles (1.7km at 6.5%).
05
Which teams will race the 2026 Tour de France?
At the other end of the tour, Paris
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
The Tour de France 2026 will see 23 teams and 184 riders competing. Two types of team can take part in the Tour: the WorldTour Teams, equivalent to the first division, and the ProTeams, corresponding to the second division. This year, 18 World Teams and five ProTeams are taking part.
Here are the 23 teams that will be leaving Barcelona on July 4:
World Teams
Pro Teams
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
Alpecin–Premier Tech
Cofidis
Bahrain-Victorious
Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
TotalEnergies
EF Education-Easy Post
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
Groupama-FDJ United
Netcompany INEOS
Lidl-Trek
Lotto Intermarché
Movistar Team
NSN Cycling
Soudal Quick-Step
Team Jayco AlUla
Team Picnic PostNL
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
UAE Team Emirates-XRG
Uno-X Mobility
XDS Astana Team
06
Which riders are the favourites for the yellow jersey?
Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz are ready to lead the team
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
Tadej Pogačar, who's already won the Tour four times, will obviously be in contention for the yellow jersey. Jonas Vingegaard of the Visma | Lease a Bike team and two-time winner should once again be his main rival. French prodigy Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM is unproven in a three-week race, but has the whole of France excited at the prospect of a first home winner since Bernard Hinault in 1985.
The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe team and their team leaders Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz will be in the hunt for the yellow jersey. The pair have both finished third in recent years (Evenepoel, 2024; Lipowitz, 2025) and won the best young rider white jersey in the process. A two-pronged attack for the GC could give the pair an advantage as the race enters the mountains.
07
What time does the Tour de France start?
Florian Lipowitz secured the white jersey in 2025
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
The first stage of the 2026 Tour de France will start at 5.05pm CEST (4.05pm UTC) on July 4.
Before that, there will be a host of activities, mainly in Barcelona’s Fan Park, which will be open from 10am to 6pm on the Passeig Lluís Companys. The start village will be at the Fòrum, while the finish will be at the Olympic Stadium.
If you're planning to make the pilgrimage to watch the Grand Départ for yourself, to make sure you don't miss out on anything it's advisable to arrive several days early, especially if you don't want to miss the team presentation parade on July 2. What's more, you can expect a host of celebrations in the city leading up to the start.
08
How does the Grand Départ impact the host town?
Crowds flock to watch the Tour de France
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
The Tour de France is a global event and one of the most watched sporting competitions in the world (if you add up the spectators for each stage). So the town hosting the Grand Départ inevitably benefits from this spotlight.
In 2023, the Tour set off from Bilbao and the Basque authorities invested some €12m to prepare the capital of Biscay to welcome all the riders. After analysis, it was announced that this initial investment had yielded a healthy return of €103.9m. What's more, a large proportion of this amount went to companies in the region, who had signed a whopping 113 contracts linked to the organisation of the event.
Over the course of the three stages through the Basque Country (Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz - San Sebastian, Amorebieta-Etxano - Bayonne), almost a million fans turned out to watch the race, 30 percent of whom were from outside the region, giving tourism a huge boost.
09
How to watch the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2026
Remco Evenepoel will be tackling his first Tour with his new team
© Twila Federica Muzzi/Red Bull Content Pool
In front of the television or in the street, watching the Tour de France is a very special experience.
If you want to attend the Grand Départ as a spectator, we strongly advise you to arrive as early as possible to avoid being caught up in any congestion, and to be able to choose a good spot to get a decent view. Don't forget to bring a hat and a good supply of water and sun cream.
If you can't make it to Barcelona, the Tour de France is televised widely around the world; check your local listings for details.
You can follow the 113th Tour de France and the progress of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe from July 4.
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