The curtain rises on the Strambino-Ceresole Reale stage, scheduled for Wednesday, August 26: after two years, the Tour de l'Avenir will return to the territory of the Turin Metropolitan City, the race that for 65 years has been signaling to cycling enthusiasts around the world the emerging talents of two wheels. The 62nd edition of the prestigious stage race, won in the past by champions of the caliber of Felice Gimondi, Greg LeMond, Miguel Indurain, Laurent Fignon and Tadej Pogačar, will take place from Thursday, August 20 to Wednesday, August 26, remaining faithful to its mission but renewing itself, in line with the overall evolution of international cycling. At the presentation held on Monday, July 27 in the Hall of Italian Unity of the Municipality of Strambino, the special guest was Bernard Hinault, winner of 5 Tours de France, an icon of world cycling and always close to the Tour de l'Avenir.

As in 2024, the Turin Metropolitan City has managed to obtain from the organizers that the Tour de l'Avenir concludes in Italy, on Provincial Road 50 of the Col du Nivolet, at 2,275 meters of Lago Serrù, in the territory of the Municipality of Ceresole Reale and the Gran Paradiso National Park, partially retracing the route of the 2019 Giro d'Italia stage that concluded precisely at Lago Serrù.

Explains the Metropolitan Councilor delegated to tourism and Mayor of Strambino, Sonia Cambursano: «We have proposed a stage that will enhance the hilly Canavese territory, touching for example Caravino, Romano Canavese, San Martino, Agliè. The riders will pass through Rivarolo, Pont and Cuorgné and will travel the entire Orco Valley. Thanks to the live broadcast on Eurosport, the final stage of the Tour de l'Avenir will be an unmissable opportunity for visibility and promotion for Canavese, the Orco Valley and the Gran Paradiso National Park».

In 2024, the Tour de l'Avenir interested the Turin metropolitan territory, thanks to the conclusion in Condove of the cross-border stage starting from Les Karellis, a prelude to an exciting final stage from Bobbio Pellice to Col delle Finestre. Enthusiasts were able to appreciate the brilliance of Spanish rider Torres and the strenuous defense of the symbol of leadership, the yellow jersey, by Englishman Blackmore. The ascent leading to Lago Serrù, with its series of spectacular hairpin turns, is a guarantee of selection: to reach the 2,247 meters of the finish, you must overcome the last 5 km with an average gradient of 9.2%, with a maximum peak of 13%, while the average gradient of the last 20.3 km is 6%, with peaks of 14% immediately after Noasca.

«The Turin Metropolitan City is once again hosting the race that highlights the promises of world cycling, committing financial and human resources, because our Department of Roads and Transport will have to guarantee the perfect passability of the provincial roads affected by the passage of the cycling caravan,» notes for his part the Metropolitan Vice-Mayor Jacopo Suppo, who has the delegation for public works.

AMONG THE EXPECTED PROTAGONISTS, WORLD CHAMPION LORENZO FINN

«Sunday's podium in Paris puts at the center the great value of this race as a forge of talents that go on to assert themselves within a two-year period on the world's maximum stage, the Tour de France. The 2026 edition, after the iconic start from Normandy, enhances territories that we thank for their sensitivity towards the Tour de l'Avenir, ready to make a return to the Turin Metropolitan City and in a suggestive setting like Ceresole Reale Lago Serrù,» explains the Director of the Tour de l'Avenir, Philippe Coillou. The list of twenty participating teams interprets the change of format, with openness to development teams from which come the new faces already ready to take flight in the World Tour. This is the emblematic case of Paul Seixas, winner of the Tour de l'Avenir last year and now a rising star of Alpine cycling. The conclusion in Italy represents one more reason to hope for an achievement by two-time world champion (Juniors and Under 23) Lorenzo Finn, the logical favorite of a race where the many top teams have many arrows in their quiver. «I predict a lot of spectacle and fiercely contested stages,» adds Bernard Hinault, always close to the Youth Tour. «In August 2019, I had the privilege of seeing Tadej Pogačar win the Tour de l'Avenir. Eleven months later, he was triumphing on the Champs-Élysées, at the end of the 2020 Tour de France. For me, the Tour de l'Avenir has the value of the perpetual discovery of new talents, and that is why I continue to be so close to the organizers, following all the stages.»

The teams at the start will be: XDS Astana Development Team, Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team, Development Team Picnic PostNL, Bahrain Victorious Development Team, Team Visma I Lease a Bike Development, UAE Team Emirates Gen Z, EF Education Aevolo, Hagens Berman Jayco Cycling Team, Red Bull - Bora-hansgrohe Rookies, DECATHLON CMA CGM Development Team. Along with them the national teams of Germany, Canada, France, Norway, Poland, USA, Italy, Indonesia and also the Centre Mondial du Cyclisme and a twentieth team.

A NEW ORGANIZATIONAL FORMAT

The race organized by Alpes Velo with the support of the ASO, organizer of the Tour de France, remains the reference event in the calendar for young Under 23 talents: a true Tour de France for young riders, won last year by Frenchman Paul Seixas, already a protagonist at the Grande Boucle 2026, despite his mere 19 years. The format has changed significantly in terms of participation, as from this year the race will also be open to development teams, including UCI WorldTour reserves. The 2026 Tour de l'Avenir will start from Caen-la-Mer; more precisely from Ouistreham-Riva Bella (Department of Calvados), a key location of the «Longest Day» as it was on the «Sword» beach that part of the Allied troops landed at dawn on D-Day, June 6, 1944, beginning the liberation of central-western Europe from Nazi occupation. It was also in this sector assigned to British troops that the first French commandos set foot on national soil. From the Normandy coast, the Tour de l'Avenir caravan will begin its journey to reach the Alps passing through Argentan (Orne), the ancient county of Perche (Nogent-le-Rotrou), the Loire Valley (Amboise), Sologne (Vierzon) and finally Burgundy, with the now customary finish in Saint-Vallier and Semur-en-Auxois. These two stages offer interesting opportunities for escape specialists on the roads of the Saône-et-Loire and Côte-d'Or Departments.

As tradition dictates, an Alpine trilogy will conclude the race, beginning with an individual mountain time trial between Les Carroz and Flaine in Upper Savoy, passing through Col de Pierre Carrée and ending on an unpaved route. On the eve of the final stage, the queen stage will conclude at the top of Col de l'Iseran, Europe's highest paved mountain pass at 2,764 meters, which dominates Upper Tarentaise and has become a fixed appointment of the race over the years.

THE STAGES AND NUMBERS OF THE 2026 TOUR DE L'AVENIR

- Wednesday, August 19: team presentation in Caen

- Thursday, August 20: Ouistreham-Riva Bella (Calvados Department)-Argentan (Orne Department) 152 km

- Friday, August 21: Nogent-le-Rotrou (Eure-et-Loir)-Amboise (Indre-et-Loire) 116 km

- Saturday, August 22: Vierzon (Cher)-Saint-Vallier (Saône-et-Loire) 232 km

- Sunday, August 23: Saint-Vallier (Saône-et-Loire)-Semur-en-Auxois (Côte-d'Or) 131 km

- Monday, August 24: individual time trial Les Carroz-Flaine (Upper Savoy) 16 km with positive elevation gain of 760 meters

- Tuesday, August 25: Châtillon-sur-Cluses (Upper Savoy)-Val d'Isère-Col de l'Iseran (Upper Tarentaise, Savoy) 149 km with positive elevation gain of 4,945 meters

- Wednesday, August 26: Strambino-Ceresole Reale-Lago Serrù (Turin Metropolitan City) 130 km with positive elevation gain of 2,556 meters.

Total kilometers: 926 km, total positive elevation gain: 13,316 meters.