Next July 2026 Le Tour de France Grand Depart will be in Barcelona.
After quite a few years, Le Tour de France will be back to Barcelona. It will be the 4th time that Le Grande Boucle will visit us. Let’s remember the first three times:
– Tour de France 1957 July 15th stage: Perpignan-Barcelona 197 km, won by Rene Privat. In the afternoon was a second sector, a time trial in Montjuic mountain, won by Jacques Anquetil, who finally won the Tour.
– Tour de France 1965 July 2nd, 11th stage: Ax les Thermes-Barcelona, 240,5 km.
The stage was won by the spaniard José Pérez Francés after one of the longest solo breakaways of Tour de France history: 223 km. In a very hot stage, after climbing alone Col de Puymorens, he succeeded in the stage with over 6 minutes to the peloton. The day after, the peloton head from Barcelona to Perpignan in a flat stage, won by Jan Janssen.
– Tour de France 2009, July 9th, 6th stage. Girona-Barcelona 181,5 km.
In a hilly stage, the peloton kept together till Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, where the finish line was installed. Norwegian Thor Hushovd won the stage ahead of spaniards Oscar Freire and José Joaquín Rojas. Barcelona welcomed Tour de France in spite of the rain, with thousands of yellow cards saluting the most important cycling race in the world.
The day after, Tour de France head to Andorra in a high mountain stage 224 km long.
Le Tour in Barcelona, July 2026
Then, next July, Le Tour de France will have 3 stages in catalan territory:
- The first stage will be a team time trial in the city center. Starting at Barcelona Forum, close to the sea, the stage will be 19 km long, ending in Montjuic. It will be a nice way to discover most of the touristic spots in the city, as the course will be passing near Sagrada Familia and the city center.
- Second stage will start in Tarragona, southern Barcelona, and will finish again in Montjuic Mountain, by the Olympic Stadium. This stage will have 3 climbs before arriving to Montjuic. Very interesting medium mountain stage with the climbs to Begues, then Pla de Pelaig, and finally Creu d’Olorda. All of them, very known climbs for the locals in the weekend rides. There are plenty of nice climbs surrounding Barcelona!
- The third stage will start in Granollers, a big industrial town northern Barcelona, and then will lead to the Pyrenees in France. On the way, the climbs to Collada de Toses and Alt de Font Romeu, already in France.
All in all, a beautiful way to discover this amazing city, a great excuse to visit Barcelona next July!
