The 2026 Tour de France was the 113th edition of the Tour de France. The race began with a stage in Barcelona, Spain, on 4 July, and finished with the final stage at the Champs-Élysées, Paris, on 26 July.
Tadej Pogačar of won the general classification for the fifth time, and the third year running. His attack on stage 6, at the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees, established a lead over his main rival Jonas Vingegaard of . Pogačar extended his lead with victories on three mountain stages: stage 10 in the Massif Central, stage 14 in Vosges, and stage 19 to Alpe d'Huez in the French Alps. Pogačar's final margin of victory was almost six and a half minutes. It was the fastest race on record, with Pogačar having an average speed of over the three weeks of racing.
Second place overall went to Remco Evenepoel of , after Vingegaard withdrew from the race following a crash on stage 15. Evenepoel took his first mountain stage victory at Plateau de Solaison on stage 15 and then won the individual time trial to Thonon-les-Bains in stage 16. Third place went to Isaac del Toro, a Tour debutant. On stage 20, Pogačar assisted his teammate Del Toro, to ensure that Del Toro held off fellow Tour debutant Paul Seixas of for third place overall and the young rider classification as the best rider under the age of 26.
The race was affected by a heatwave, with two stages shortened and rules relaxed to allow for riders to stay hydrated. Prior to stage 15, both Pogačar and Vingegaard were woken in the middle of the night to take doping tests, which generated substantial debate.
The points classification was won by Mads Pedersen of . Pedersen won only one stage (stage 4), but consistently placed highly in the intermediate sprints and secured points in other sprint finishes. The mountains classification went to Richard Carapaz of , who won two mountain stages in the French Alps in the last week. Carapaz also won the award for the race's most combative rider. The teams classification was won by .
Teams
Twenty-three teams took part in the race. All 18 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited. They were joined by five UCI ProTeams: the three highest ranked UCI ProTeams in 2025 (, and ), along with two teams ( and ) selected by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organisers of the Tour. The teams were announced on 30 January 2026. had expected to be invited, however Caja Rural-Seguros RGA was chosen instead – which Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme explained was due to Caja Rural-Seguros RGA's performances in 2025, which included finishing fourth in the team classification at the 2025 Vuelta a España.
UCI WorldTeams
UCI ProTeams
A total of 184 riders from 27 nationalities participated in the race, with Belgium having the largest contingent (31 riders).
Route and stages
In February 2025, race organisers ASO announced that Barcelona in Spain would host the Grand Départ (first stage). This was the third time the Grand Départ was held in Spain, after San Sebastián in 1992 and Bilbao in 2023. The first two stages finished on the Montjuïc hill above Barcelona, next to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys used for the 1992 Summer Olympics. Following protests against the Gaza war that disrupted the 2025 Vuelta a España, the City Council of Barcelona expressed a desire to host the Grand Départ without the Israel–Premier Tech team, with protestors threatening to disrupt the Tour if they took part. The Israel–Premier Tech team subsequently rebranded as NSN Cycling Team for the 2026 season, and rode under a Swiss license.
The full route was announced on 23 October 2025 by Christian Prudhomme, who described it as having a crescendo towards the finish. There were five summit finishes, including Plateau de Solaison for the first time and two finishes at Alpe d'Huez. The race featured only of individual time trial, with a team time trial starting the Tour for the first time since 1971. The team time trial returned to the Tour for the first time since 2019, and used new rules previously introduced at the 2023 Paris–Nice. In this format, each rider is given an individual finish time, rather than all riders who finish together getting the same time. This format encourages tactical choices by general classification contenders – whether to ride with the rest of their team to save energy, or ride solo to achieve a better time.
Cyclist described the route as "ripe for breakaways" and Rouleur considered that it would suit Pogačar, because "the Slovenian superstar can do everything". Ned Boulting criticised the route, writing in Cycling Weekly that "there's no cobblestones, no obvious crosswind stages, and no gravel. [...] They have denuded this year [which] feels a little bit disappointing". Cycling News predicted that the pivotal stages would be stage 6 to Gavarnie-Gèdre (the first high mountain stage of the race in the Pyrenees), stage 14 to Le Markstein in the Vosges, the stage 16 individual time trial and the mountainous stages 19 & 20 to Alpe d'Huez in the French Alps. They described stage 20 as the queen stage, owing to its three hors catégorie climbs.
+Stage characteristicsStageDateCourseDistanceType Winner1 4 July Barcelona (Spain) Team time trial 2 5 July Tarragona (Spain) to Barcelona (Spain) Hilly stage 3 6 July Granollers (Spain) to Les Angles Mountain stage 4 7 July Carcassonne to Foix Hilly stage 5 8 July Lannemezan to Pau Flat stage 6 9 July Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre Mountain stage 7 10 July Hagetmau to Bordeaux Flat stage 8 11 July Périgueux to Bergerac Flat stage 9 12 July Malemort to Ussel Hilly stage 13 July CantalRest day10 14 July Aurillac to Le Lioran Mountain stage 11 15 July Vichy to Nevers Flat stage 12 16 July Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours to Chalon-sur-Saône Flat stage 13 17 July Dole to Belfort Hilly stage 14 18 July Mulhouse to Le Markstein Mountain stage 15 19 July Champagnole to Plateau de Solaison Mountain stage 20 July Haute-SavoieRest day16 21 July Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains Individual time trial 17 22 July Chambéry to Voiron Flat stage 18 23 July Voiron to Orcières-Merlette Mountain stage 19 24 July Gap to Alpe d'Huez Mountain stage20 25 July Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez Mountain stage 21 26 July Paris to Paris (Champs-Élysées) Flat stage Total
Pre-race favourites
Prior to the race, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard were widely considered to be the major contenders for the overall general classification (GC), with the pair having won the last six editions of the Tour between them. Leading up to the race, defending champion Pogačar won the Tour de Suisse, and Vingegaard won the Giro d'Italia. Other riders considered contenders in the included Remco Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz, Paul Seixas and Isaac del Toro.
Top competitors for the green jersey of the points classification were expected to be former winners Jasper Philipsen and Biniam Girmay, as well as Tim Merlier and Olav Kooij. Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas were considered favourites for the white jersey of the young rider classification.
Race overview
Grand Départ and first week in the Pyrenees
The first stage was a team time trial in Barcelona, Spain – with the finish atop the Montjuïc hill above the city. It used a new format where the time for each team would be determined by the first rider across the finish line – but each rider would receive their own time for the general classification. won the stage, with Jonas Vingegaard attacking the final climb to take the yellow jersey in the . was second fastest, 8 seconds behind, despite Kévin Vauquelin having a puncture. was third, 12 seconds behind . The second stage remained in Spain, finishing with three laps of a hilly circuit on the Montjuïc hill above Barcelona. On the circuit, the peloton gradually reduced in size due to a fast pace set by . In the uphill sprint to the finish, Tadej Pogačar () ensured that his teammate Isaac del Toro took the stage victory. Remco Evenepoel () finished third ahead of Vingegaard, whose lead in the was cut to 6 seconds.
Stage 3 took riders northwards into France and the Pyrenees, with spectators discouraged from attending the race owing to wildfires in the region. Pogačar attacked on the final climb into Les Angles, crossing the line 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard to take the yellow jersey. Stage 4 to Foix was held in temperatures of around . Mads Pedersen () won the stage in a sprint finish from a large breakaway, which gave breakaway member Torstein Træen () the yellow jersey. Pogačar predicted that Træen would hold the jersey for several stages, given the nearly 8 minute margin between him and other contenders. Stage 5 to Pau was won by Olav Kooij () in a sprint finish ahead of Max Kanter () and Tim Merlier (), with Pedersen finishing 7th to extend his lead in the points classification.
Stage 6 was the first high mountain stage of the Tour, with five climbs in the Pyrenees, including the hors catégorie climb of Col du Tourmalet (17.1 km at an average gradient of 7.3%, with the summit at an elevation of ). On the Tourmalet, set a fast pace, with Træen in the yellow jersey falling behind the main group with to go. With to the summit, del Toro attacked with Pogačar following. Vingegaard immediately began a solo chase, as the pace was too fast for Evenepoel, Paul Seixas (), and Florian Lipowitz () to maintain. Pogačar made a solo breakaway with remaining, reaching the Tourmalet summit alone. Pogačar descended at pace, and pushed on to the uphill finish at Gavarnie-Gèdre. He won the stage by 2 minutes 38 seconds, ahead of a solo chase by Vingegaard. Other contenders including del Toro, Evenepoel, Seixas and Lipowitz finished a further 45 seconds behind. Pogačar took the yellow jersey of the , with a lead of 2 minutes 42 seconds over Vingegaard, with del Toro (the new leader of the young rider classification) a further 45 seconds behind. Træen crashed on the descent from the Tourmalet, but continued after receiving medical attention; he finished around 30 minutes behind Pogačar. After the finish, stated that Træen had a "concussion and multiple rib fractures" and was dropping out of the race.
The next two stages to Bordeaux and Bergerac were won in sprint finishes by Merlier, with Pedersen maintaining his lead in the points classification. Stage 9 in the Massif Central was shortened due to a red warning of an ongoing heatwave in the Corrèze department. It was won by Mathieu van der Poel () from a breakaway.
Week two in the Massif Central, Vosges and Alps
After a rest day, the race continued in the Massif Central on Bastille Day. Pogačar attacked from the peloton on the first-category climb of Col du Pertus (4.4 km at an average gradient of 8.5%) with around to the finish line. Overtaking Richard Carapaz () prior to the summit, Pogačar rode to the finish line at Le Lioran to win his third stage of the Tour, extending his lead in the to over 3½ minutes. In the group behind, Evenepoel sprinted towards the line, finishing 32 seconds behind Pogačar and gaining a handful of seconds that moved him into third overall, ahead of Juan Ayuso () who took the white jersey of the young rider classification.
The next two stages to Nevers and Chalon-sur-Saône were won by sprinters. Søren Wærenskjold () won stage 11, which he completed in the fastest average speed in the history of the Tour, . Merlier won stage 12, with a large crash occurring behind him. Pedersen extended his lead in the green jersey of the points classification.