The capital of Catalonia and the Mediterranean, Barcelona is also at the heart of the opening stages of the Tour de France 2026. Following a team time trial that saw Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike crowned winners, the ‘magical mountain’ of Montjuïc will once again be the setting for the finish of stage 2. It will be relatively short – 168.5 kilometres from Tarragona – but certainly challenging, with four categorised climbs, including three ascents to Montjuïc Castle in the final 30 kilometres.
“Just wearing the Yellow Jersey is special,” smiled Jonas Vingegaard on Saturday, having not worn it since 2023. He will have to defend it against fierce rivals, starting with his nemesis Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG), who trails by 12 seconds. “The finish will be tense and things could get complicated well before then. We’ll need to stay alert and give it our all at the end,” warned the Slovenian. “I’m sure riders like Tadej will attack,” predicted the White Jersey wearer Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), who may well be inspired by this second and final finish in his hometown.
Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) are also eager to battle. They performed well on the steep finale of this first stage, with the Belgian clocking the third-fastest time in the final hilly section of the time trial, and he already conquered Montjuïc in the Volta a Catalunya 2024. But Sunday’s finale brings a twist, with a much more demanding road (1.6km at 9.3%) than the one used at the Volta.
Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United) also put in a convincing performance (fifth fastest) and could challenge for the top French honours against the young prodigy Paul Seixas (Décathlon CMA CGM) or Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany Ineos), who may be seeking revenge after a puncture ruined his chances on the opening day.
