Tour de France 2026 opens in Barcelona for the first time in race history

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The team time trial returns as this year’s Tour starts in Barcelona for the first time in its history

The first team time trial since 2019, past many of Barcelona’s prime tourist sites – La Rambla, Sagrada Familia – but with a novel format: riders’ times will be taken individually at the uphill finish. So rather than trying to finish four or five riders together, teams will wear out non-climbers early on, then have lighter men peeling off one by one in the finale – replicating the usual approach to a summit finish in a road race. Advance warning: Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma, Remco Evenepoel’s Red Bull, and Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Emirates are masters of this game.

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