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Diari de Catalunya

Barcelona to Host Unprecedented Start of Tour de France 2026

The Catalan capital will be the setting for the start of the prestigious cycling race, with changes to the second stage route to avoid Collserola.

Image of a bicycle with the city of Barcelona in the background
IA

Image of a bicycle with the city of Barcelona in the background

The city of Barcelona will host the official start of the Tour de France on July 4, 2026, an unprecedented event for the Catalan capital, which had previously hosted stages of the competition on three occasions.

This edition of the Tour, which will bring together 184 cyclists from 23 teams, will feature another significant novelty during the second stage. Initially, the route planned to pass through the Collserola mountain range, but the Generalitat de Catalunya requested a modification. This change is due to current restrictions related to an outbreak of African swine fever in the area, aiming to ensure safety and facilitate public presence.
As a result, the riders will depart from Tarragona and finish in Plaça d'Espanya in Barcelona, passing through L'Hospitalet. The new route will avoid Collserola, with cyclists leaving Molins de Rei and continuing along the N-340 to Barcelona, crossing the Collblanc road. This alteration also implies a reduction in the stage distance, from 182.4 kilometers to 168.4 kilometers.
L'Hospitalet, which will be part of this route, has a recent history linked to cycling. In recent years, the city has hosted national competitions, including several editions of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, with notable passages through roads such as Granvia or Collblanc. The Vuelta a España also passed through L'Hospitalet in 2023, with a large public turnout despite the rain.
Even in 2025, without hosting a stage, L'Hospitalet gained prominence in the Spanish tour thanks to the official song of the competition, performed by a singer from La Florida.

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