On Thursday, the ASO revealed the full routes for both the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes. Cycling fans have plenty to get excited about. Rumours were flying that the men might tackle Alpe d’Huez twice and that the women would take on Mont Ventoux. Looks like the whispers were spot on. Next year’s Tours look pretty awesome. Well, for fans at least.
2026 Tour de France
The men kick off on Saturday, July 4, in Barcelona with a team time trial. The route winds past the Sagrada Família and finishes at the Olympic Stadium on Montjuïc.
Stage 2: puncheurs’ stage from Tarragona back to Barcelona. Montjuïc gets climbed three times before the line. Sparks are expected.
By Stage 3, the Pyrenees appear. Les Angles is the first real test. Stage 4heads to Foix, with Col de Coudons and Col de Montségur along the way. Stage 6? Classic Pyrenees. Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, then Gavarnie-Gèdre. Over 4,000 m of climbing. Brutal. Stage 5 to Pau gives sprinters a short break, but mostly, the mountains dominate the opening week.
Then it’s through the Massif Central, Vosges, and Jura. July 14 to Le Lioran is a heavy day. Pas de Peyrol and Col du Perthus could shake up the GC. Sprinters will wait until Nevers and Chalon-sur-Saône. Stage 15 tops out at Plateau de Solaison: 12 km at 9 per cent. That’ll test the legs before the second rest day.
The final week starts with a 26-km individual time trial from Thonon-les-Bains to Évian-les-Bains. Then comes a mountain stage to Orcières-Merlette. And the big one: two back-to-back finishes on Alpe d’Huez. First climb: classic Le Bourg-d’Oisans side. Penultimate stage? The queen stage. 5,600 m of climbing over Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Télégraphe, Col du Galibier, and the Col de Sarenne variant of Alpe d’Huez.
Paris awaits, with Montmartre as the final kicker. Puncheurs will smile. Sprinters… less so. The final stage was awesome to watch this year. Wout van Aert took a huge win in a great stage to watch. Might we see Mathieu van der Poel alone on the Champs-Élysées this year?
Un moment légendaire de #Paris2024 devenu étape du Tour de France en 2025. Bonne nouvelle, on va revivre ça en 2026 ! 🚴♂️
📅 26 juillet#JeuxOlympiques | @LeTour pic.twitter.com/CB3hFM5sQB
— Jeux Olympiques (@jeuxolympiques) October 23, 2025
As far as favourites–if their spring goes well, look for another battle between Tadej Pogačarand Jonas Vingegaard. Remco Evenepoel has said he will…
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