The first event of the event – the presentation of the runners at the foot of the basilica – brought the Catalan city to life on Thursday, less than forty-eight hours before the start of the competition.
Published 07/02/2026 21:53.
Updated 02/07/2026 23:40
Reading time: 3min.
Visma-Lease a Bike team riders in front of the Sagrada Familia during the Tour de France rider presentation, July 2, 2026. (ANNE-CHRISTINE PUZZULA/AFP)
Was Sagrada Familia waiting to be honored at the biggest cycling event in the world to present itself in its best light, its most perfect version? At the foot of the Catalan basilica, which in June marked the beginning of the end of 140 years of work, the Tour de France symbolically opened its 2026 edition on Thursday, July 2, with a presentation of the riders in a warm atmosphere.
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In front of a motley crowd of yellow caps and T-shirts, sometimes handed out, sometimes purchased from store trucks set up along the route, and even a few residents on the balcony, the 23 teams and their runners marched down Gaudí Avenue toward the imposing monument to cheers and applause. “It’s incredible to come to such places, there are always a lot of people here, it’s a pleasure”– Frenchman from Cofidis Hugo Page relished.
The first team to enter the parade, Caja Rural, arrived on stage and set the tone for the presentation, where local runners brought the crowd to a standing ovation (sometimes with loud olas). But the loudest supporters have also saved some for the famous faces of the peloton’s followers, from Mathieu van der Pol to Magnus Cort Nielsen (and his tag as a man who escaped on the way to the Tour). And that was before the rock star met Tadej Pogačar and his bleached blond haircut, perhaps an homage to rapper Eminem, whom he was talking about in the mixed zone at the time.
In the shade of the Carrer de la Marina trees, several people cheered “good atmosphere” in the afternoon, according to Alex Bodin, who gave them a taste of the first days on Catalan territory. “The heat is here, it doesn’t bother me. We’re going to enjoy Spain before heading back to France.”– assessed Jordan Jegat, head of the training company TotalEnergies. Wearing his new French champion tricolor jersey, Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) “enjoy(And) every moment” this presentation with its necessarily special taste: “It’s really great, I’m trying to make the most of it. There are still two days before the race, we can relax a little and just enjoy it.”
I think it’s one of the coolest cities in the world, although I’d rather go there on holiday! I can’t wait to get started.
Tadej Pogačar
at a press conference
Behind the barriers, among the public, we obviously heard Spanish, but also German, Norwegian and even Flemish, the Belgian fans again responded in support of Remco Evenepoel, one of the stars of the peloton. Not forgetting the numerous French fans who came to combine vacation and tour, who made their presence felt when the Decathlon-CMA CGM team and Paul Seixas passed by. Like Max, who left Poe with his friends yesterday: “We love cycling, we were all available at the beginning of July, we told ourselves that surviving the start of the Tour de France and enjoying Barcelona was pretty cool.”
Barcelona has never hosted a Tour de France Grand Departure before. The 2026 version corrects this almost anomaly for a city that vibrates with cycling, to the rhythm of the Vuelta (38 times on the city stage), the Tour of Catalunya, and has also hosted the World Championships (1984) and the Olympic Games road events (1992). And it has already crossed Grand Bouclem three times: in 1957, 1965 and 2009.
The Catalan capital will breathe the Tour de France all weekend, with the first stage taking place 100% on its streets in the form of a team time trial on Saturday, from the coast to the Montjuic hill. The second stage, on Sunday, will also arrive at the foot of the Olympic Stadium, after a 168.5-kilometer route along the Mediterranean coast from Tarragona. As if to prolong the pleasure of the Grand Depart of Barcelona.