Tour de France Tour de France 2026 route rumours

[Libertine Seguros]

What is your solution then? I don't really get it.

I suspect Red Rick might be thinking of something like the 1930 Giro d'Italia.

 

[ice&fire]

I suspect Red Rick might be thinking of something like the 1930 Giro d'Italia.

That might end up in a 1973 Tour de France scenario.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Details of the last 3 laps in Barcelona:
Laps
Extremely hard.

Looks outstanding!

 

[Valv.Piti]

Definitely. Think I will be planning my vacation around that as will a bunch of other people probably. A bit different than watching a sprint in Lille, isnt it?

 

[Red Rick]

I mean that's just the regular Montjuic circuit with a slightly different approach into the steep section and then an uphill finish, no?

 

[Red Rick]

So what we are saying is we can't have any interesting stages because Pogacar is pretty much the best at everything?

You can very easily have interesting stages. They just don't put any effort into designing them, and instead let everything revolve around uphill finishes, be it big MTFs or short steep ones where the hilly stages get decided.

Instead of having an Amstel Gold race style stage, which was madness this year, they instead just add 3 Mur de Huy finishes a year and call it a day.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Seems a fair amount harder than the regular Catalunya circuit. But fair enough if you can't get excited for such a Grand Depart, but this has been an excellent trend starting from 2023 to actually get some very watchable and GC-relevant stages from the get go.

 

[houtdffan]

TTT is interesting. It has an easier Montjujic climb before the stadium climb.

However, it is basically an ITT with team help as times will all be the riders' individual times. Team time will be the first rider across the line.

 

[Red Rick]

I had succesfully erased the that TTT from my memory.

That TTT alone is the solution to the Fermi Paradox

 

[ashhutch1997]

Seems a fair amount harder than the regular Catalunya circuit. But fair enough if you can't get excited for such a Grand Depart, but this has been an excellent trend starting from 2023 to actually get some very watchable and GC-relevant stages from the get go.

I agree, the 2023/24 Grand Departs were brilliant, the first week of 2023 with the early Pyrenees was probably the best ever first weeks in terms of GC action ever IMO.

 

[Rob5091]

Hopefully next year in "Rate the Tour 2026" thread option 0 will be available so you could feel better when rating it.

0?! I want minus figures! A zero is sometimes too much! (wait a moment ... maybe that's not right) ...

 

[Unterlenkerfahrend]

There's a 10% section at Arcalis? Is this right after the village where Ullrich attacked?

Stage 2 looks good although right now I don't see anything else than a clear Pogacar win. That finish is tailormade for him, there's no way MVDP will have a chance.

 

[Gigs_98]

Interestingly the official website says that stage 3 goes from Spain to France which seems to rule out a stage to Andorra which I was kind of hoping for on that stage. Generally I would like a return of the early week 1 mountain stage but if the ASO is trying to keep the gc close for as long as possible I can also see them skipping the pyrenees at the start and returning there for week 3.

 

[Berniece]

I think the TTT can be interesting due to the individual times of riders combined with the profile of the stage. You can really launch your GC riders for those last 4 km's with ~2km's of climbing.

 

[Rob5091]

If they really want to make the TTT interesting then teams get the time of the last man across the line. Put the "team" back into the TTT and not make it a hybrid ITT.

 

[Red Rick]

Interestingly the official website says that stage 3 goes from Spain to France which seems to rule out a stage to Andorra which I was kind of hoping for on that stage. Generally I would like a return of the early week 1 mountain stage but if the ASO is trying to keep the gc close for as long as possible I can also see them skipping the pyrenees at the start and returning there for week 3.

All the worse.

French Pyrenees are the worst mountain range in GT cycling, it's all the same 6-12 climbs in all the same ways every time leading to one climb of racing.

 

[Mayomaniac]

All the worse.

French Pyrenees are the worst mountain range in GT cycling, it's all the same 6-12 climbs in all the same ways every time leading to one climb of racing.

Cries in French Euskadi...

 

[Valv.Piti]

All the worse.

French Pyrenees are the worst mountain range in GT cycling, it's all the same 6-12 climbs in all the same ways every time leading to one climb of racing.

2022 and 2023 don't really agree with that statement

The pessimism and negativity is just unrivaled.

 

[fenns]

A TTT MTF would be something to behold

 

[Red Rick]

2022 and 2023 don't really agree with that statement

The pessimism and negativity is just unrivaled.

Exact same climbs as this year in 2022, and the reason the action was there because the damage was done in the Alps. 2023 happened because Marie Blanque is basically the only good Cat 1 occasinally used as a final climb and then Tourmalet happens because Pogacar dropped like a brick the previous day. Tourmalet gets crawled up at 5.3 W/kg 90% of the time.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Exact same climbs as this year in 2022, and the reason the action was there because the damage was done in the Alps. 2023 happened because Marie Blanque is basically the only good Cat 1 occasinally used as a final climb and then Tourmalet happens because Pogacar dropped like a brick the previous day. Tourmalet gets crawled up at 5.3 W/kg 90% of the time.

Of course there are reason for the climbs being raced further out. Im not dumb, Im quite aware of the situations of both 2022 and 2023 and why it lead to great racing from further out. Thats quite obvious and thats the case every time someone tries further out than just the last climb. You and I both agree that its about giving the riders the opportunity to do so, and if they find themselves in a situation where that alternative is better than waiting for the last climb, all the better.

I just disputed your post saying that was always the case in the Pyrenees. Its clearly not, and I think there are quite a lot of climbs linking very well to each other that are also hard enough to create such racing - Pailheres/Ax-3, Spandelles/Hautacam, Val Louron Azet/Pla d' Adet, Tourmalet/Luz Ardiden just to name a few where we have seen that happen with no valley in between.

What I would in the classic French Pyrenees is to see more queen stages designs similar to 2005 and 2001. 200 km, 6 cols, perfectly linked up with Portillon, Peyresourde, Azet, Pla d' Adet. Even 2003 to Loudenvielle. Nothing wrong with these mountain stages at all.

 

[ashhutch1997]

What I would in the classic French Pyrenees is to see more queen stages designs similar to 2005 and 2001. 200 km, 6 cols, perfectly linked up with Portillon, Peyresourde, Azet, Pla d' Adet. Even 2003 to Loudenvielle. Nothing wrong with these mountain stages at all.

The 2007 Pyrenees stages were great too.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Yes, you can add Balés-Peyresourde as well. Might not be the most frightening climbs, but hard enough. But I think 2007 where bascailly just MTF shootouts (nothing wrong with that either) given that Marie Blanque doesnt link up that well to Aubisque and Pailheres doesn't link up that well with Plateau de Beille which is the latter's problem really. But there are lots and lots of opportunities, and we are only discussing the classic Pyrenees and not the West or Andorra

 

[gavia88]

there are already some serious rumours by the way

https://www.lejdc.fr/aurillac-15000...sur-le-trace-du-tour-de-france-2026_14725515/


-2 days in Barca
-early pyrenees??
-bergeac + stage finish in Ussel + rest day in Cantal + day after rest day Aurrilac - Le Loiran (I guess simular final as last year with Puy Mary) + Vichy

 

[ice&fire]

All the worse.

French Pyrenees are the worst mountain range in GT cycling, it's all the same 6-12 climbs in all the same ways every time leading to one climb of racing.

Spanish Pyrenees are so much worse than the French ones that nobody misses them when they're left out. And I bet most will wish they leave them out forever after we see Cerler and Belagua next month.
Both races are equal in the fact that for whatever reasons they skip some of the best parts of their side: the Tour rarely visits the Atlantic Pyrenees and the Vuelta never visits the Catalan Pyrenees
The Andorran cubicle needs to be treated separately.