The Tour de France is set to welcome its fourth Grand Départ in five years in 2026 with Barcelona all-but-confirmed to host the start of the race in two years.
Following Grand Départs in the Danish capital of Copenhagen and the Basque city of Bilbao in 2023, the 2024 race will kick off in Tuscany this summer, and the race will head to Catalunya in 2026, according to a report by local newspaper El Periódico.
A deal has been reached to start the race in Barcelona after over a year of negotiations between the city's council and Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme, El Periódico reports, with the official announcement set to be made next month.
The deal means that Barcelona will host the start of a Grand Tour for the third time, following Gran Partidas at the Vuelta a España in 1962 and 2023. No Spanish city has yet hosted a Grande Partenza of the Giro d'Italia, while both San Sebastián and Bilbao have hosted Tour de France starts in the past.
Last year, Barcelona hosted an opening team time trial at the Vuelta, followed by a GC-neutralised hilly stage 2 won by Andreas Kron. The city also hosts the hilly closing stage of the Volta a Catalunya, while back in 2009 it hosted a Tour de France stage finish and start.
News of the agreement means that Grand Départs of the next three Tours de France are now set, with Lille hosting the start of the race in 2025. The race will begin with two sprint stages and a punchy uphill finish, with stages 2 and 3 both bringing the potential for crosswinds by the North Sea.
With the 2026 Barcelona Grand Départ yet to be officially confirmed, nothing is yet known about how the race's opening days will pan out in terms of route planning.
However, with the race likely having to pass the mountain passes of the Pyrenees to return to France, an early mountain stage could be on the cards, a la stage 4 of this year's race, which crosses the Alpine border from Italy, passing the high-mountain climbs at Sestriere, the Col de Montgenevre, and the Col du Galibier before a descent into Valloire.
Unlike the Tour, the starts of future editions of the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España have yet to be announced. The Spanish race will this year kick off with three stages in neighbouring Portugal, while a start in Monaco has been rumoured for the 2025 edition.
