The Tour de France 2026 is ready to start, and excitement is building with today's departure in Barcelona with a 19.7-kilometer team time trial. This edition marks a unique moment, as it represents only the third time Spain has hosted the start of the race, after San Sebastián in 1992 and Bilbao in 2023.

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The time trial will depart from Parc del Forum, located along the coast, and will head towards the Port Olímpic, then make a U-turn and return to the starting point. The route will touch some of Barcelona's most iconic areas, such as the Sagrada Familia and Parc Joan Miró, concluding with a final challenge on Montjuïc, characterized by a demanding 7% climb.

This year the team time trial regulations introduce a significant innovation: each rider's time will be recorded individually, rather than being based on the fourth-placed rider, as happened in the past. This modification not only makes the competition more thrilling, but also allows for an overall classification immediately after the first stage.

With several top teams ready to compete for victory, expectations are high. Among the main favorites is Visma | Lease a Bike, which presents itself with a well-coordinated team, captained by Jonas Vingegaard and for the first time there will also be two Italians together, Edoardo Affini, recovering from a bad crash at the Italian championships, and Davide Piganzoli, ready for his first Tour. The team has demonstrated strong performances in team time trials, and their cohesion could prove decisive. With Kuss, Jorgenson, Campenaerts, Armiral and Hagenes, the Dutch team can achieve great things.

UAE Emirates XRG with Tadej Pogacar is another team to keep an eye on; the collective, rich in talent, could very well claim the first yellow jersey. They have proven to be more than competitive in time trials and today could be the opportunity to demonstrate their superiority. Alongside the world champion will be Del Toro, Wellens, Yates, McNulty, Politt, Vermeersch and Grosschartner.

The spotlight is also on Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, led by Remco Evenepoel, the Belgian has made it clear from the start: he wants to win the first stage and wear the yellow jersey. It will also be interesting to see how Lipowitz performs, who in this Tour will be captain alongside Evenepoel.

Also Lidl-Trek, with time trial specialists like Mads Pedersen and Mathias Vacek, will be able to put on a good race. Then there's Netcompany INEOS with an impressive roster, featuring Filippo Ganna and Joshua Tarling as main protagonists.

While the top teams are ready for battle, surprises cannot be ruled out. Teams like Decathlon CMA CGM and EF Education-EasyPost could prove to be dangerous outsiders, with talented riders ready to surprise.

The Barcelona team time trial is not just an exciting start to the 2026 Tour de France, but also an opportunity for teams to demonstrate their capabilities in an innovative format. With each rider's time counted individually, team strategies and dynamics will be crucial. Who will succeed in this first challenge? The answer will come shortly when the curtain rises on the 2026 Tour de France.

OFFICIAL START LIST

(First stage, Barcelona-Barcelona 19.6 km)

1 | 17:05:00 | CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA (Spain)

2 | 17:10:00 | TEAM PICNIC POSTNL (Netherlands)

3 | 17:15:00 | TOTALENERGIES (France)

4 | 17:20:00 | TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM (Switzerland)

5 | 17:25:00 | GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED (France)

6 | 17:30:00 | PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM (Switzerland)

7 | 17:35:00 | COFIDIS (France)

8 | 17:40:00 | LOTTO INTERMARCHE (Belgium)

9 | 17:45:00 | MOVISTAR TEAM (Spain)

10 | 17:50:00 | NSN CYCLING TEAM (Switzerland)

11 | 17:55:00 | UNO-X MOBILITY (Norway)

12 | 18:00:00 | TEAM JAYCO ALULA (Australia)

13 | 18:05:00 | ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH (Belgium)

14 | 18:10:00 | SOUDAL QUICK-STEP (Belgium)

15 | 18:15:00 | NETCOMPANY INEOS CYCLING TEAM (Great Britain)

16 | 18:20:00 | BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS (Bahrain)

17 | 18:25:00 | XDS ASTANA TEAM (Kazakhstan)

18 | 18:30:00 | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM (France)

19 | 18:35:00 | EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST (United States)

20 | 18:40:00 | LIDL-TREK (Germany)

21 | 18:45:00 | RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE (Germany)

22 | 18:50:00 | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE (Netherlands)

23 | 18:55:00 | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG (United Arab Emirates)