2026 Tour de France: Route, 21 Stages, Contenders and Barcelona Grand Départ

Tour de France 2026: the key takeaways

Tour de France 2026 final standings

The composition of the top 10 tells its own story. Richard Carapaz climbed to eighth on the back of two Alpine raids, Tom Pidcock and Jordan Jegat both secured their places from breakaways rather than from GC racing, and Switzerland's Yannis Voisard paid for never getting into a winning move, ending eleventh. With Vingegaard and Lipowitz both out, only two riders — Evenepoel and del Toro — finished within ten minutes of the winner.

In green from his stage 4 win at Foix all the way to Paris, Mads Pedersen built his lead on versatility rather than pure speed, repeatedly riding into breakaways to mop up intermediate sprint points — including on the queen stage, between the Croix de Fer and the Télégraphe, where he mathematically sealed the jersey. He becomes only the sixth rider in history to have won the points classification at all three Grand Tours, after Eddy Merckx, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Laurent Jalabert, Alessandro Petacchi and Mark Cavendish.

Led for much of the final week by Valentin Paret-Peintre, the mountains competition swung on Alpe d'Huez, where Richard Carapaz took the jersey by a single point on stage 19. He removed all doubt 24 hours later by leading over the Croix de Fer, the Télégraphe and the Galibier before winning the queen stage. It is the Ecuadorian's first Tour KOM title.

The white jersey produced the tightest fight of the race: four different leaders (del Toro, Ayuso, Seixas, then del Toro again) and under 30 seconds between the Mexican and the Frenchman until the penultimate day. It was on the Col de Sarenne, on stage 20, that Paul Seixas finally cracked. Remarkably, the top four in this classification all finished inside the top seven overall.

Contents

1. 2026 final standings
2. The 2026 Tour in numbers
3. Rider by rider: how the contenders fared
4. Route and all 21 stages
5. Stage-by-stage report
6. History of the Tour de France
7. Records and all-time lists
8. Prize money
9. 2025 final standings
10. FAQ

The 2026 Tour de France in numbers

The route: all 21 stages and their winners

A first in Tour history: the race started in Barcelona, the southernmost city ever to host a Grand Départ, with three stages in Spain. It then crossed the Pyrenees (Tourmalet, Gavarnie-Gèdre), the Massif Central (Le Lioran), the Vosges (Le Markstein) and the Jura, before a punishing Alpine finale: the debut summit finish at the Plateau de Solaison, Orcières-Merlette, and two ascents of Alpe d'Huez in 24 hours. The final stage, cut short at short notice, was run entirely inside Paris via Montmartre.

Stage-by-stage report

Stage 1 – Barcelona > Barcelona (TTT, 19.7 km)

Sat 4 July. The first team time trial to open the Tour since 1971 went to Visma | Lease a Bike, eight seconds clear of Ineos and twelve up on UAE on a technical city course featuring the Montjuïc climb. Jonas Vingegaard took a yellow jersey he had not worn since 2023.
Result: 1. Visma | Lease a Bike – 2. Ineos – 3. UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Stage 2 – Tarragona > Barcelona (168.5 km, hilly)

Sun 5 July. A show of strength from UAE on the Montjuïc circuit, controlled by McNulty and Yates: Isaac del Toro won at the top of the Castell de Montjuïc, the victory gifted by Pogačar (2nd), ahead of Evenepoel and Vingegaard. The Dane kept yellow but his lead shrank to six seconds.
Result: 1. Del Toro – 2. Pogačar – 3. Evenepoel.

Stage 3 – Granollers > Les Angles (195.9 km, mountain)

Mon 6 July. The first mountain test was raced without the publicity caravan or roadside crowds on the French side because of wildfires in the Pyrénées-Orientales. After the Col de Toses and a long UAE tempo, Tadej Pogačar struck 200 m from the line at Les Angles, ahead of Vingegaard and Carapaz, with Paul Seixas fourth. Level on time with the Dane, Pogačar took yellow on countback.
Result: 1. Pogačar – 2. Vingegaard – 3. Carapaz.

Stage 4 – Carcassonne > Foix (181.9 km, hilly)

Tue 7 July. The shock of the opening week. In extreme heat, a 34-rider breakaway representing 18 teams went clear with UAE unwilling to burn matches in pursuit, and finished 12:59 ahead in Foix. Mads Pedersen won the sprint — and took a green jersey he would never surrender — while Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility) claimed the first yellow jersey of his career and of his team's history. A powerful moment for the Norwegian, who was treated for cancer diagnosed in 2022.
Result: 1. Pedersen – Træen in yellow.

Stage 5 – Lannemezan > Pau (158.3 km, flat)

Wed 8 July. The first bunch sprint was disrupted by a crash just before the 5 km banner that split the peloton and briefly caught out Vingegaard, who was ultimately given the same time as the favourites. Olav Kooij, on his Tour debut, gave Decathlon CMA CGM its first ever Tour stage win ahead of Max Kanter and Tim Merlier. It would remain the only stage win by a French team all race.
Result: 1. Kooij – 2. Kanter – 3. Merlier.

Stage 6 – Pau > Gavarnie-Gèdre (186.2 km, high mountain)

Thu 9 July. The decisive day. After a heavy UAE tempo on the Aspin, Tadej Pogačar went clear on the Tourmalet for a long solo raid to Gavarnie-Gèdre, finishing more than 2:30 ahead of Vingegaard and del Toro. Paul Seixas was an outstanding fifth. It was a grim day for Torstein Træen: dropped on the Tourmalet, the race leader crashed heavily on the descent, suffering concussion and rib fractures, and left the race. Cian Uijtdebroeks (illness) and Arvid De Kleijn also abandoned.
Result: 1. Pogačar – 2. Vingegaard – 3. Del Toro. Pogačar back in yellow, and there he stayed.

Stage 7 – Hagetmau > Bordeaux (175.1 km, flat)

Fri 10 July. A blistering crossing of the Landes at 46.8 km/h, animated by Jakub Otruba and Baptiste Veistroffer, the day's combativity award winner. Tim Merlier dominated the sprint ahead of Søren Wærenskjold and Biniam Girmay.
Result: 1. Merlier – 2. Wærenskjold – 3. Girmay.

Stage 8 – Périgueux > Bergerac (180.4 km, flat)

Sat 11 July. Liam Slock, the last survivor of the break, held on until 1.4 km from the line. In the sprint, Tim Merlier came from a long way back to beat Biniam Girmay and Olav Kooij for a second win in two days.
Result: 1. Merlier – 2. Girmay – 3. Kooij.

Stage 9 – Malemort > Ussel (154.6 km, hilly)

Sun 12 July. A stage that made history before it began: with the Corrèze département under a red heat warning, ASO cut 30 km from the route — a first for heat in Tour history — and time limits were extended during the day, with temperatures near 40 °C. Mathieu van der Poel blew the breakaway apart on the Mont Bessou with 25 km to go, taking only Tobias Halland Johannessen, Tom Pidcock and Alex Baudin with him, then launched and won the four-up sprint — his third career Tour stage win.
Result: 1. Van der Poel – 2. Johannessen – 3. Pidcock.

Stage 10 – Aurillac > Le Lioran (165.6 km, medium mountain)

Tue 14 July. Bastille Day belonged to Pogačar. On a finale identical to 2024 (Puy Mary, Col de Pertus, nearly 3,900 m of climbing), Tadej Pogačar attacked on the last climb, was brought back, then went past long-time leader Richard Carapaz to win at Le Lioran. Remco Evenepoel, dropped at one point, came back on the descent for second. Paul Seixas was third and moved into the top five, while Isaac del Toro cracked and lost the white jersey to Juan Ayuso.
Result: 1. Pogačar – 2. Evenepoel – 3. Seixas.

Stage 11 – Vichy > Nevers (161.3 km, flat)

Wed 15 July. A transition stage raced at extraordinary speed — 50.9 km/h, the fastest road stage in Tour de France history, beating Mario Cipollini's 1999 record. The sprint produced an upset: Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) beat the specialists for his first Tour stage win, ahead of Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen — the latter relegated for an irregular sprint.
Result: 1. Wærenskjold – 2. Kooij – 3. Girmay (after Philipsen's relegation).

Stage 12 – Magny-Cours > Chalon-sur-Saône (179.1 km, flat)

Thu 16 July. A first-ever start from the Magny-Cours F1 circuit. A four-man break was reeled in, and in a finale marred by a heavy crash involving Fernando Gaviria, Tim Merlier completed his hat-trick ahead of Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen.
Result: 1. Merlier – 2. Kooij – 3. Philipsen.

Stage 13 – Dole > Belfort (205.8 km, hilly)

Fri 17 July. The longest stage of the race and the only one over 200 km. A finale hardened by the Ballon d'Alsace — the first real climb in Tour history, 121 years earlier — rewarded the breakaway. Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) won the reduced sprint from Colombia's Harold Tejada and Tom Pidcock, whose aggressive ride moved him sharply up the general classification.
Result: 1. Schmid – 2. Tejada – 3. Pidcock.

Stage 14 – Mulhouse > Le Markstein (155.3 km, mountain)

Sat 18 July. A wet return to the Vosges: Grand Ballon, Ballon d'Alsace, Col du Hundsruck and the decisive Col du Haag, cresting 7 km from the line, for roughly 3,800 m of climbing. Tadej Pogačar waited until the final 7 km of the Haag before accelerating, caught the break and soloed in 38 seconds clear for his 25th career Tour stage win. Isaac del Toro beat Paul Seixas and Jonas Vingegaard for the bonus seconds, but Seixas took the white jersey and moved up to fourth overall.
Result: 1. Pogačar – 2. Del Toro – 3. Seixas.

Stage 15 – Champagnole > Plateau de Solaison (183.9 km, high mountain)

Sun 19 July. The day the race changed. The first Alpine summit finish of the edition ended on the Plateau de Solaison (11.3 km at 9.1%, hors catégorie), preceded by the brutally steep Col de la Croisette, for around 4,100 m of climbing. Visma | Lease a Bike were controlling the race perfectly to set up Jonas Vingegaard when, with about 20 km to go, the Dane's front wheel slid away on a roundabout and he went down alongside teammate Sepp Kuss. Pogačar narrowly avoided the crash. Vingegaard suffered a broken collarbone, needed surgery, and left the race — the first Grand Tour abandon of his career after five consecutive Tour podiums. On the final climb, Remco Evenepoel found an acceleration in the closing metres to beat Tadej Pogačar and Isaac del Toro: his first high-mountain road stage win at the Tour, and reportedly Belgium's 500th stage win in the race's history. Paul Seixas, a minute down, lost the white jersey but limited his GC losses.
Result: 1. Evenepoel – 2. Pogačar – 3. Del Toro.

Stage 16 – Évian > Thonon-les-Bains (ITT, 26.1 km)

Tue 21 July. The race's only individual time trial, rolling along Lake Geneva. Remco Evenepoel was dominant, beating Tadej Pogačar by 28 seconds, with Mattias Skjelmose a surprise third and Paul Seixas fourth at 1:16. The Belgian closed to 4:32 overall. But Red Bull-BORA lost their other leader: Florian Lipowitz, fifth overall, crashed heavily on a corner 6.4 km from the finish — the same bend where Pogačar had a scare — and abandoned with a broken collarbone. Juan Ayuso lost significant time and dropped out of the top 10.
Result: 1. Evenepoel – 2. Pogačar – 3. Skjelmose.

Stage 17 – Chambéry > Voiron (174.7 km, hilly)

Wed 22 July. A deceptive day: a hard start out of Chambéry and terrain that never truly flattened, leaving the outcome open between breakaway and sprint. Jasper Philipsen finally got his win, closing to within seven points of Pedersen in the points classification. No significant GC changes.
Result: 1. Philipsen – from a reduced bunch.

Stage 18 – Voiron > Orcières-Merlette (185.2 km, high mountain)

Thu 23 July. The first of three Alpine days, over the Côte d'Engins and the Col de Manse to the Orcières-Merlette summit finish (7.1 km at 6.7%). The peloton let the break go, allowing Valentin Paret-Peintre to stack up mountains points. With 4 km left, a second attack from Richard Carapaz caught out Mauro Schmid and Matteo Jorgenson. At 33, the 2021 Olympic champion won his first Tour stage in two years. Paret-Peintre was fourth; still no French winner.
Result: 1. Carapaz – 2. Schmid – 3. Jorgenson.

Stage 19 – Gap > Alpe d'Huez (127.9 km, high mountain)

Fri 24 July. The shortest road stage of the race and the most explosive: Col Bayard, Col du Noyer, Col d'Ornon and then the 21 hairpins of Alpe d'Huez (13.8 km at 8.1%). A 42-rider break formed on the Bayard. At the foot of the final climb, Tadej Pogačar was 3:20 down on the leaders — and erased all of it. He caught Lenny Martinez 1.7 km from the top, the pair then reeled in Richard Carapaz, and the Slovenian kicked clear under the flamme rouge. It was his first ever win on Alpe d'Huez and his 26th Tour stage victory, in 3h 17' 57". Martinez finished six seconds back, Carapaz nine — and the Ecuadorian took the polka dot jersey by a single point.
Result: 1. Pogačar – 2. L. Martinez – 3. Carapaz.

Stage 20 – Le Bourg-d'Oisans > Alpe d'Huez (170.9 km, queen stage)

Sat 25 July. The queen stage: 5,600 m of climbing over the Croix de Fer, Télégraphe, Galibier (2,642 m, the race's high point) and Sarenne, before a second ascent of Alpe d'Huez from its rarely used side. Sepp Kuss crested the Sarenne alone after a superb duel with Richard Carapaz, but crashed twice on the descent — sliding in a tunnel, then overcooking a right-hander. Carapaz came past and soloed to victory in 4h 59' 39", a second win in three days that locked up the mountains jersey. Behind, Remco Evenepoel turned the final climb into a time trial to take second at 26 seconds, passing Kuss (third). When Pogačar accelerated on the Sarenne, del Toro and Martinez followed but Paul Seixas could not — and the podium was gone. Mads Pedersen mathematically sealed green by winning the intermediate sprint at Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis, in the valley between the Croix de Fer and the Télégraphe.
Result: 1. Carapaz – 2. Evenepoel – 3. Kuss.

Stage 21 – Paris > Paris Champs-Élysées (88.7 km, Paris circuit)

Sun 26 July. A completely reworked finale. With wildfires in southern France drawing away police originally assigned to the race, ASO scrapped the start in Thoiry: after the team presentation, riders were bussed to Paris for a course held entirely within the city — six laps of the Champs-Élysées circuit followed by three loops over the Montmartre climb and the cobbled Rue Lepic, in light rain. GC times were frozen at the last passage of the line before the Montmartre laps. On the final ascent of the Rue Lepic, Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel went clear together and worked to hold off the chase. Under the flamme rouge their lead was down to five seconds — and Van der Poel dropped Pogačar around 400 m from the line. The yellow jersey was swallowed by the onrushing sprinters; the Dutchman held on by centimetres from teammate Jasper Philipsen, who won the bunch sprint, and Mads Pedersen. An Alpecin-Premier Tech one-two, and a fourth career Tour stage win for Van der Poel.
Result: 1. Van der Poel – 2. Philipsen – 3. Pedersen. Pogačar wins his fifth Tour de France.

A short history of the Tour de France

Created in 1903 by Henri Desgrange to boost sales of the newspaper L'Auto, the Tour reached the Pyrenees in 1910 and the Alps in 1911. The yellow jersey arrived in 1919, followed by green (1953), polka dots (1975) and white (1975, reinstated in 2000). The 2026 edition added its own chapters: the return of the team time trial, a Grand Départ beyond the Pyrenees, and Tadej Pogačar's entry into the exclusive club of five-time winners.

Records and all-time lists

Winning before his 28th birthday, Tadej Pogačar becomes the fifth five-time champion in Tour history. With 26 stage wins, he now sits two behind Bernard Hinault on the all-time list.

Two speed records also fell. The 2026 Tour was the fastest edition ever ridden: Pogačar covered the 3,197 classified kilometres in 73h 56' 26", an average of 43.227 km/h — the first time the race has gone beyond 43 km/h, and an improvement on his own 2025 record of 42.728 km/h. An initial figure of 43.389 km/h was published by the official timekeeper before being corrected, because GC times had been frozen before the Paris finale. Separately, stage 11 from Vichy to Nevers, won by Søren Wærenskjold, was completed at 50.9 km/h — the fastest road stage in Tour history, breaking a record held since 1999 by Mario Cipollini (50.355 km/h between Laval and Blois).

Tour de France 2026 prize money

2025 final standings – for reference

Tour de France 2026 FAQ

Who won the 2026 Tour de France?

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) won the 113th edition in 73h 56' 26", 6:26 ahead of Remco Evenepoel and 9:42 ahead of Isaac del Toro. It was his fifth Tour de France, equalling the record shared by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin. He wore the yellow jersey continuously from stage 6 to Paris.

Who wore the yellow jersey in 2026?

Four riders: Jonas Vingegaard (stages 1-2, after Visma won the team time trial), Tadej Pogačar (stage 3), Torstein Træen (stages 4-5, the first yellow jersey of his career and of Uno-X Mobility's history), then Pogačar again from stage 6 to the finish.

Who won the stages?

Stage 1 (TTT): Visma | Lease a Bike. Stage 2: Isaac del Toro. Stages 3, 6, 10, 14 and 19: Tadej Pogačar (five wins). Stage 4: Mads Pedersen. Stage 5: Olav Kooij. Stages 7, 8 and 12: Tim Merlier (three wins). Stages 9 and 21: Mathieu van der Poel. Stage 11: Søren Wærenskjold. Stage 13: Mauro Schmid. Stages 15 and 16: Remco Evenepoel. Stage 17: Jasper Philipsen. Stages 18 and 20: Richard Carapaz.

Why did Jonas Vingegaard abandon?

Lying second overall at 4:30, the Dane crashed on a roundabout roughly 20 km from the finish of stage 15 to the Plateau de Solaison on 19 July, while his team was setting him up for the final climb. He suffered a broken collarbone and underwent surgery in the following days. It was the first Grand Tour abandon of his career, after five consecutive Tour podium finishes. Two days later, Florian Lipowitz (fifth overall) also broke his collarbone in a crash during the Thonon time trial.

Was this the fastest Tour de France ever?

Yes. Pogačar averaged 43.227 km/h over the 3,197 classified kilometres, the first time the race has exceeded 43 km/h and an improvement on the previous record — also his — of 42.728 km/h in 2025. According to L'Équipe, the last six editions all rank inside the all-time top seven. Stage 11 to Nevers, at 50.9 km/h, was also the fastest road stage in Tour history.

Why were two stages shortened?

Stage 9 was cut by 30 km after the Corrèze département was placed under a red heat warning — the first time in Tour history that a stage had been shortened for heat — with finishing time limits also extended during the day. Stage 21 was reduced to 88.7 km because wildfires in southern France drew away police resources: the Thoiry start was cancelled, riders were bussed to Paris, and the stage became six laps of the Champs-Élysées circuit followed by three Montmartre loops, with GC times frozen before the climbs.

What was the overnight doping control controversy?

On the night of 18-19 July, Jonas Vingegaard was woken at 2 a.m. and Tadej Pogačar at 5 a.m. for unannounced blood samples collected by the International Testing Agency — a rare procedure that requires judicial authorisation and, under UCI anti-doping rules, must be justified by serious and specific suspicion. The ITA stressed that authorisation for a night-time test should not be read as a finding of any anti-doping rule violation, and confirmed that a wide blood-testing operation for the athlete biological passport was carried out on the 20 July rest day. Several teams, including Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, criticised the impact on riders' recovery.

How did Paul Seixas do?

At 19, on his Tour debut, Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) finished fourth overall at 11:56 and second in the young rider classification, 2:14 behind Isaac del Toro. He wore the white jersey between Le Markstein and the Plateau de Solaison, took three stage podiums, and held a podium place on the road until the Col de Sarenne on the queen stage.

Which was the queen stage?

Stage 20 (Le Bourg-d'Oisans → Alpe d'Huez, 170.9 km): 5,600 m of climbing over the Croix de Fer, the Col du Télégraphe, the Galibier (2,642 m, the race's highest point) and the Col de Sarenne, before a second ascent of Alpe d'Huez from a side never previously used in the Tour. It was won by Richard Carapaz.

How many time trials were there?

Two: a team time trial (19.7 km, Barcelona, stage 1, won by Visma | Lease a Bike) and an individual time trial (26.1 km, Lake Geneva, stage 16, won by Remco Evenepoel).

How much did the winner earn?

€500,000 for the general classification, from a total prize pot of roughly €2.57 million, plus stage prizes and other bonuses.

Where does the 2027 Tour start?

The 2027 Grand Départ is scheduled to take place in Edinburgh, Scotland.