FILE PHOTO: Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 12 - Roanne to Belleville-En-Beaujolais - France - July 13, 2023 General view of the Tour de France logo in the Le Scarabee arena ahead of stage 12 REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
(Reuters) - The 2026 Tour de France will begin with a team time-trial as the opening stage for the first time in the race's history, organisers said on Tuesday.
The "Grand Depart" of the 2026 Tour de France will take place on July 4 in Barcelona, Spain, kicking off with a 19.7-kilometre team time-trial.
This stage will feature a format first introduced on the 2023 Paris-Nice, where the team's time is determined by the first rider to cross the finish line.
However, individual general classification times will be based on each rider's actual time.
The following day's stage also finishes in Barcelona after a 178km ride from Tarragona, while the third stage begins in Granollers, with the format and finish line yet to be confirmed.
"It is a very special day for the city of Barcelona and the whole of Catalonia. Thank you for your trust and belief in Barcelona," Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni told a press conference.
"Finally, the city will be linked to this event forever. It will be the culmination of this love story between Barcelona and the Tour."
The last time the Tour began in Spain was in 2023 in Bilbao. The 2025 edition of the prestigious cycling race will start in the northern French city of Lille.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Toby Davis)
