Saturday 4 July – Tour de France stage 1: Barcelona → Barcelona (19.6 km)
Route
The 113th Tour de France opens on Saturday 4 July with a team time trial of 19.6 kilometres through Barcelona. Start and finish are in the same city: teams depart from the Parc del Fòrum on the northern side of the coast and finish on the hill of Montjuïc. The stage is not a classic TTT: the team wins, but each rider records their own individual time.
From the starting point along the Mediterranean Sea, teams ride via the Port Olímpic along wide, straight city roads towards the centre. High average speeds are realistic on this section. At kilometre 10.3, the peloton passes the Sagrada Família, after which the route turns via Parc Joan Miró towards the Plaça d'Espanya. Three intermediate checkpoints: kilometre 5.1 (Carrer de Llull), kilometre 10.5 (near the Sagrada Família) and kilometre 15.9 (Passeig de Santa Madrona).
From the Plaça d'Espanya, the climb of Montjuïc begins at kilometre 14.6: 1.1 kilometres at 5.1%, followed by a false flat of 1 kilometre and 1 kilometre of flat road. The final climb is the Côte du Stade Olympique de Montjuïc: 800 metres at an average of 7%, finishing at 104 metres altitude in front of the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
Tour de France 2026 etappe 1 – hoogteprofiel
Tour de France 2026 etappe 1 – routekaart
Final kilometres
At kilometre 18.8, the final climb begins: 800 metres at 7% to the finish in front of the Olympic Stadium. The road rises straight up. Climbers may drop their teammates at this point to improve their individual finishing time. From the Plaça d'Espanya (km 14.6), there is first 1.1 kilometres at 5.1%, followed by a false flat and a flat section, and then the 800-metre finale.
Recent editions
A team time trial with individual time recording at the start of the Tour de France is new. Comparable TTTs with the same rules have already taken place in 2026:
Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026, stage 3 (28.4 km): 1. Visma-Lease a Bike (Matteo Jorgenson led the team across the line). Jørgen Nordhagen finished individually in second place.
Paris-Nice 2026, stage 3 (23.5 km): 1. Netcompany INEOS, 2. Lidl-Trek (+2"), 3. Decathlon CMA CGM (+11"), 4. Visma-Lease a Bike (+15"), 5. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe (+20"). Kevin Vauquelin led INEOS across the line. Juan Ayuso took the overall lead through his individual climbing time.
Last time Tour de France featured a Team Time Trial was in 2019, when Jumbo-Visma won in Brussels with Mike Teunissen in yellow. A start with a TTT was latest in 1971, when Merckx took yellow immediately.
Scenarios
Each rider records their own time. On the climb of Montjuïc (800 m, 7%), team leaders may drop their teammates for a better individual finishing time. The first general classification after stage 1 therefore depends heavily on the climbing performance on Montjuïc.
Based on the TTT performances earlier in 2026, Netcompany INEOS and Visma-Lease a Bike are the most consistent team time trial squads: INEOS won the TTT at Paris-Nice, Visma won the one at Auvergne. Lidl-Trek finished 2 seconds behind INEOS at Paris-Nice. Lidl-Trek managed to take the overall lead at Paris-Nice through Ayuso's individual climbing time, even though the team did not win the stage. Other favourite teams are UAE with Pogacar and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe with World Champion Evenepoel.
Teams with strong time-trial specialists ánd a GC-rider that is a good time-trialist benefit most from the final climb.
Local
Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and the second-largest city in Spain. Montjuïc was a central location during the 1992 Olympic Games, which were also held in Barcelona. The Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, the finish of the opening stage, served as the main stadium in 1992. The road race of those Games featured a circuit via Montjuïc.
Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates XRG) was born in Vilanova i la Geltrú in the province of Barcelona. In 2026, he is riding his ninth Tour de France. Soler is the most prominent Catalan rider in the 2026 TDF peloton.
Tour de France 2026 stage 1: favourites
Computer prediction 💻, Expected Win (xW):
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🦄 Mauro Schmid
*The unicorn is our joker, nice old-fashioned based on feeling
Luister ook
WielerOrakel Podcast (S5E22) - De Grote Tour Preview 2026
WielerOrakel Podcast (S5E21) - Voorlopige voorbeschouwing Tour 2026
WielerOrakel Podcast (S5E20 - Het WielerOrakel Wielerspel is LIVE!
WielerOrakel Podcast (S5E19) - Het parcours van de Tour de France 2026
Lees ook
Tour de France 2026 - voorspelling algemeen klassement
Tour de France 2026 - voorspelling puntenklassement
Tour de France 2026 - voorspellen bergklassement
Tour de France 2026 - voorspelling jongeren klassement
Tour de France 2026 - Onmisbare tips voor je wielerpooltje(s)
Het WielerOrakel Wielerspel is LIVE en zo werkt het