For the first time since 1971, the Tour de France will start with a team time trial, this time of 19km in Barcelona. It will cover 3,333km with 54,450m of climbing before finishing in Paris.
Once again, the final stage in Paris will include the climb to Montmartre to spice up the final laps of the Champs-Elysees.
But the highlight must be the two ascents to summit finishes on the iconic Alpe d’Huez on Stage 19 and Stage 20, with the latter throwing in the Col de la Croix de Fer, Col de la Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier for good measure in a stage with 5,600m of climbing.
In the interim, the Tour will visit the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, the Vosges and the Alps, with new climbs in all four French mountain ranges. There's a 26km individual time trial along the shores of Lake Geneva on Stage 16, too.
Here's a stage-by-stage guide to how the 2026 Tour de France route will unfold.
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Stage 1: Barcelona to Barcelona
- Saturday 4 July
- ITT 14km
The opening team time trial won't be easy, with the climbs up to the Olympic stadium testing the teams' ability to stay together on the climbs. Individual finish times will be taken, so riders will want to stay with their teammates.
Stage 2: Tarragona to Barcelona
- Sunday 5 July
- 182km
The second-stage start in Tarragona marks the furthest south that the Tour has ever travelled, while the stage finish is one for the puncheurs.
Tour boss Christian Prudhomme points out that the last three winners on the final climb of Montjuic in Barcelona, when it has featured in the Tour of Catalonia, were Primož Roglič (2025), Tadej Pogačar (2024) and Remco Evenepoel (2023). However, the Tour's GC contenders may want to lay low this time for what's in store.
Stage 3: Granollers to Les Angles
- Monday 6 July
- 196km
With Barcelona's proximity to the Pyrenees, it's no surprise that the Tour has headed straight there. There's 3,950m of elevation gain, although Prudhomme reckons this is more a stage for a breakaway, with GC hopefuls again keeping their powder dry.
Stage 4: Carcassonne to Foix
- Tuesday 7 July
- 182km
This could be another day for a breakaway, according to Prudhomme, although he reckons it could be chased down by the sprinters who have survived the hills on the approach to the finish.
Stage 5: Lannemezan to Pau
- Wednesday 8 July
- 158km
Prudhomme thinks this is the first stage marked out for a bunch sprint. It comes unusually late, with most Tours offering something for the sprinters earlier on the parcours.
Stage 6: Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre
- Thursday 9 July
- 186km
The last stage in the Pyrenees is also the most demanding, with the Col d'Aspin and Col du Tourmalet both featuring. Prudhomme reckons this could provide the first big GC battle or, if they again decide to hold their fire with 40km still to ride after the Tourmalet, a climbers' breakaway.
Stage 7: Hagetmau to Bordeaux
- Friday 10 July
- 175km
Another stage for a breakaway/sprint battle, as it passes through the forests of the Landes. It's most likely to end in a sprint finale on the banks of the Garonne river, though.
Stage 8: Périgueux to Bergerac
- Saturday 11 July
- 182km
It's two potential sprint stages in a row, with only 1,150m of elevation gain today as the Tour passes along the Dordogne river.
Stage 9: Malemort to Ussel
- Sunday 12 July
- 185km
The sprinters will have to return to the autobus on this stage, with its two major climbs in 3,300m of elevation gain. Prudhomme marks out the climb of the Suc au May as the point at which a selection might be made.
Rest day
Monday 13 July
Stage 10: Aurillac to Le Lioran
- Tuesday 14 July
- 167km
Bastille Day is another climbers' day, with the Col de la Griffoul, the Pas de Peyrol, the Col de Pertus and the final climb to the ski station at Le Lioran. It may be one for a breakaway, rather than a GC battle, though.
Stage 11: Vichy to Nevers
- 15 July
- 161km
Prudhomme reckons this is another sprinters' day, with the odds not in favour of a breakaway surviving. It's the first visit by the Tour to the home of Look bikes since 2003.
Stage 12: Circuit Magny-Cours to Chalon-sur-Saône
- Thursday 16 July
- 181km
Helping to assuage the sprinters after their meagre start to the race, this looks like another bunch finish, as the race heads into the vineyards. Chalon-sur-Saône was also the site of Great Britain's first Tour stage win, when the late Brian Robinson took the stage solo back in 1959.
Stage 13: Dole to Belfort
- Friday 17 July
- 205km
The longest stage of the 2026 Tour takes in the Ballon d'Alsace, before its downhill run to the finish in Belfort.
Stage 14: Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering
- Saturday 18 July
- 155km
A double loop through the Vosges sees the Tour cross the Grand Ballon before the finish line at Le Markstein for the first time. The second loop includes the Col du Haag, an 11.2km-long bike path with an average gradient of 7.3%. Prudhomme picks it out as a highlight of the 2026 Tour route, where major gaps could emerge.
Stage 15: Champagnole to Plateau de Solaison
- Sunday 19 July
- 184km
The Tour heads to the Alps to start its journey through its final mountain range, with this stage marked out by Prudhomme as likely to be the start of the final GC shake-out. With the final climb of 11.3km to the summit finish averaging 9.1%, it should draw out the gaps to the final winner.
Rest day
Monday 20 July
Stage 16: Evian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains
- Tuesday 21 July
- 26km ITT
The only individual time trial in the 2026 Tour offers a mix of climb, descent and flat roll-in to the finish along the shores of Lake Geneva.
Stage 17: Chambery to Voiron
- Wednesday 22 July
- 175km
Prudhomme reckons the climbs on today's route shouldn't be enough to stop the sprinters from contesting the finish – if they've survived the climbing stages up until now.
Stage 18: Voiron to Orcieres-Merlette
- Thursday 23 July
- 185km
With what's to come on the final two days in the Alps, Prudhomme has marked this stage as one for a battle between the climbers, rather than the GC contenders, but don't rule out Pogačar proving a point.
Stage 19: Gap to Alpe d’Huez
- Friday 24 July
- 128km
Yep, we're into the finale now, with the first of two days finishing on Alpe d'Huez. There are three climbs before the Alpe, though, which may again tempt the climbers to show their mettle.
Stage 20: Le Bourg d’Oisans to Alpe d’Huez
- Saturday 25 July
- 171km
With 5,600m of elevation gain, the penultimate and queen stage of the 2026 Tour takes in three iconic Tour climbs before it has even reached the foot of Alpe d'Huez, which is taken via the Col de Sarenne, a route that has only ever been used in the 2013 Tour, and then as a descent.
Stage 21: Thoiry to Paris
- Sunday 26 July
- 130km
It may have taken the 2024 Olympics to discover the Rue Lepic climb to Montmartre, but the Tour is back for a second time in 2026, taking on the climb three times. But whereas Wout van Aert had a short run from the climb to the finish line in 2025, in 2026 the last ascent is 15km from the line, which Prudhomme reckons will put the final stage in the balance between a puncheur and the sprinters.
