Cycling: "Tour de France in 2026 will start from Barcelona
Kyiv • UNN
The Tour de France cycling race will start from Barcelona in 2026, and this will be the third time in its more than a century of history that it will start in Spain.
The Tour de France cycling race will start from Barcelona in 2026, which will be the third start from Spain in the event's more than century-long history, the organizing company Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) announced on Tuesday, UNN reports citing AFP.
Details
"Barcelona is a prestigious and sporty city," Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, told AFP, adding that Catalonia will host "two full stages and the start of the third stage.
This will be the third time since its launch in 1903 that the Tour de France will start from Spain after San Sebastian in 1992 and Bilbao in 2023.
It is also the fourth "big exit" from abroad in five years, after Copenhagen in 2022, Bilbao in 2023 and Florence in 2024, before Lille in 2025.
"These big rides allow the Tour de France to shine even more," Prudhomme defended the idea.
Details of the first stages will not be revealed until September. At this stage, Christian Prudhomme only indicates that there will be "two full stages and a third day's departure from Catalonia" before "heading to France.
The only hint about the route: climbing Montjuïc Hill in Barcelona "is obviously a definite advantage," he added.
AddendumAddendum
This year's Tour de France will start for the first time on June 29 from Italy, with an unprecedented arrival in three weeks in Nice, rather than Paris, due to the Olympic Games.
