When announcing the 2026 Tour de France route, race director Christian Prudhomme described it as a "crescendo" towards the finish. Starting in Barcelona and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, the route covers 3,333 kilometres with a total elevation gain of 54,450 metres, featuring seven flat stages, four hilly stages, eight mountain stages with five summit finishes, one team time trial and one individual time trial.
Here is our stage-by-stage guide to the 2026 route.
Stage one: Barcelona to Barcelona (19.7km)
The Tour de France starts with a team time trial for the first time since 1971, in a novel format first trialled by ASO at Paris-Nice in 2023 – times are taken individually at the finish rather than on the fourth or fifth rider across the line. The 19.7km test takes in rolling terrain early on before the Côte de Montjuïc and the Côte du Stade Olympique in the final 4km. Individual strength will come to the fore in the finale, where Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Paul Seixas and Remco Evenepoel will have a very early showdown.
Stage two: Tarragona to Barcelona (178km)
The first road stage takes in the Côte de Begues midway through the day, but the real action arrives in the streets of Barcelona, where the peloton will tackle two laps of a dramatic finishing circuit around Montjuïc hill. The sharp Côte du Château de Montjuïc at 1.6km averaging 9.3% precedes a shorter but steeper 600m climb to the Olympic Stadium.
Stage three: Granollers to Les Angles (196km)
On the third day, the Tour crosses from Spain into France and into the Pyrenees. The stage features nearly 4,000m of climbing, taking in the Collada de Toses and the Col du Calvaire before 24km of rolling terrain leads to a sting in the tail: the short climb to Les Angles at 1.7km averaging 6.5%.
Stage four: Carcassonne to Foix (182km)
Stage four offers the breakaway a chance on an undulating day through Cathar country. The Col de Coudins and Col de Montségur feature late in the day, with the final climb coming just over 35km from the finish. A sprinter who can withstand that kind of terrain has a shot at victory in Foix, but it will be a tall order.
Stage five: Lannemezan to Pau (158km)
With a tough opening week behind them, the sprinters' teams won't let this stage escape their grasp. There is some rolling terrain midway through, but the flat and fast run-in to Pau is a familiar one. Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Jonathan Milan will all be vying to get off the mark.
Stage six: Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre (186km)
The Tour returns for a full-impact encounter with the Pyrenees on stage six, featuring more than 4,100m of total climbing. The Col d'Aspin is followed by the Tourmalet, climbed via its Sainte-Marie-de-Campan approach at 17km averaging 7.3%, bringing the race above 2,000m for the first time. After a fast descent, the race climbs to a new summit finish at Gavarnie-Gèdre — the spectacular Cirque de Gavarnie making for a dramatic backdrop — over 18.7km at an average of 4%. With the Tourmalet in the legs, this final ascent should spark significant separation among the contenders.
Stage seven: Hagetmau to Bordeaux (175km)
After serving penance in the Pyrenees, the sprinters will have a clear opportunity on the road to Bordeaux, a traditional happy hunting ground for the fast men. A mass finish looks inevitable in the shadow of the Place des Quinconces.
Stage eight: Périgueux to Bergerac (182km)
The sprinters get another chance on stage eight, with momentum and confidence key on a second consecutive flat day. The fast men will be glad to bank stage wins before the climbing resumes.
Stage nine: Malemort to Ussel (185km)
A transitional stage as the race begins its move northeast towards the Massif Central. Rolling roads and punchy terrain will give breakaway specialists an opportunity, while GC teams take stock before the mountains return.
Stage 10: Aurillac to Le Lioran (167km)
Falling on Bastille Day, stage 10 delivers a Massif Central summit finish. The arrival at Le Lioran in the Cantal region has already featured on the Tour in 2016 and 2024 and delivered memorable racing on both occasions. The finale includes the Puy Mary-Pas de Peyrol and the Col de Pertus, where Vingegaard caught an attacking Pogačar in 2024.
Stage 11: Vichy to Nevers (161km)
Following the first rest day, the peloton eases back into racing with a flat stage finishing in Nevers. The sprinters should dominate on a relatively straightforward day.
Stage 12: Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours to Chalon-sur-Saône (181km)
Stage 12 begins at the historic Magny-Cours motor racing circuit before opening across Burgundy and the Saône valley, where wind can quickly change the race. If conditions are calm, a bunch sprint looks likely.
Stage 13: Dole to Belfort (205km)
The longest stage of the 2026 Tour connects the Jura to Belfort. The Ballon d'Alsace adds historic weight and tactical difficulty, and after a long day it can separate the strongest breakaway riders.
Stage 14: Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering (155km)
Stage 14 includes the Grand Ballon, the Ballon d'Alsace and the Col du Haag — a long, steep pass through remarkable woodland. A hard mountain day in the Vosges before the race turns its sights toward the Alps.
Stage 15: Champagnole to Plateau de Solaison (184km)
Stage 15 brings the race from the Jura into the Massif des Bornes for a new summit finish at Plateau de Solaison. With around 4,700m of total climbing on the agenda, the real showdown will be saved for the stiff final climb. The arrival at Plateau de Solaison is 11.3km long with an average gradient of 9.1%. This is a stage that will cause serious damage in the general classification.
Stage 16: Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains (26km) - ITT
The race's lone individual time trial is just 26km in length and it comes at the beginning of the third week, by which point residual fatigue can often count for as much as pure ability against the watch. Jonas Vingegaard put significant time into Tadej Pogačar on a comparable stage in 2023, and Remco Evenepoel will see this as one of his best opportunities to influence the race.
Stage 17: Chambéry to Voiron (175km)
With more than 2,000m of climbing on the menu, stage 17 is only notionally flat — but with the Alps to come, this looks like the last real chance for the sprinters in 2026. There is some rolling terrain in the finale, including a shallow 2.5km climb just before the line in Voiron, but a bunch finish of some description still seems likely.
Stage 18: Voiron to Orcières-Merlette (185km)
The final Alpine block kicks off with the mountain finish in Orcières-Merlette. The stage features two longer climbs in the first half before the peloton rolls over undulating terrain for around 90 kilometres to the foot of the final 7.1km climb averaging 6.7%.
Stage 19: Gap to Alpe d'Huez (128km)
This backloaded Tour ventures further into the Alps for the first part of a striking doubleheader. The tired legs will curse the Col Bayard right from the start, followed by the Col du Noyer at 7.3km averaging 8.2%. The Col d'Ornon then gives way to the legendary 21 hairpin bends of Alpe d'Huez — 13.8km at 8.1% — for the first Tour finish on the mountain since 2022.
Stage 20: Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez (171km)
Stage 20 is without doubt the queen stage of the 2026 Tour. The Croix de Fer, the Télégraphe and the Galibier all have to be climbed before the bunch even sees the lower slopes of the Sarenne — a back-route approach to Alpe d'Huez via its south-eastern flank, making its Tour debut. This is an absolute monstrous day in the mountains with 5,600 metres of climbing.
Stage 21: Thoiry to Paris Champs-Élysées (130km)
Like last year, the final stage will include the cobbled Montmartre rather than the standard Champs-Élysées circuit used for a number of decades. In 2025 Wout van Aert dropped the yellow-clad Pogačar on the slopes of the Montmartre on what was a wet day in Paris. We can expect similar drama this year.
Read more: 2026 Tour de France promises suspense until the end – but there are few obstacles for Tadej Pogačar
