As the Tour de France exits Barcelona and prepares to make landfall in France after a hot and sweaty Grand Départ, teams are in the dark over how – or if – stage three of the race will take place as a wildfire rages in the eastern Pyrenees.
The third stage of the 2026 race is slated to begin in Granollers, a town on the outskirts of Barcelona, before heading north, climbing to the La Molina ski station, and then crossing into France late in the day before a finish at Les Angles.
But a wildfire approximately 70 kilometres from Les Angles has forced the closure of a long section of the D66 road which forms part of the race’s hors course – the route that non-race vehicles are recommended to use. Around 700 firefighters are currently tackling the blaze.
At the end of stage two in Barcelona, which was won by Isaac Del Toro, the prospect of the following day going ahead as planned dominated the discussion.
All teams who Cycling Weekly spoke to said that it was a mystery what would happen, confirming that ASO, the Tour de France organisers, had not informed them of any developments.
But all expected that rather than cancel the stage, the final part of the route would be adapted. Some speculated that it might finish after the descent of the Collada de Toses, thus keeping the race within the Spanish borders.
This would avoid the race having to enter France where the local government has said it has the ultimate authority over whether or not the stage can go ahead.
Christian Prudhomme, the Tour race director, told France TV after stage three that the final 44km of the route would take place as planned but without any spectators, including on the climbs of Col du Calvaire and Les Angles. The publicity caravan would also stop on the French border.
“The teams of the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales and the Tour de France were in contact this afternoon,” Prudhomme said.
“I also spoke to the prefect on the phone in the afternoon and we agreed, given the exceptional and frightening conditions of the fire that reigns in the Pyrénées-Orientales, not to allow the publicity caravan to pass through the last 40km, the final part of the stage in France, to limit the road to only the riders and the organisation vehicles that are essential. And we ask the public not to come to roadside or to the finish.
“Adapting is daily life of organisers of cycling courses like the Tour de France. All of this is done in agreement with the state authorities. Again, we were in constant contact. The teams of the Pyrénées-Orientales prefecture and the teams of the Tour de France. And we will adapt again tomorrow, the next day. Next year if we need to, or in three years.”
An ASO source told CW that the situation remains fluid, while other stakeholders in the sport suggested that the decision to prohibit fans in France wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the story.
Zak Dempster, chief of sports at Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, admitted that the confusion will cause unrest and unease among the Tour participants, even if it’s not the first time that a Grand Tour stage has been in doubt; the Giro d’Italia often has a stage shortened due to snow.
“We don’t really have a choice, just have to do what you have to do,” Dempster said. “I’ve been involved in a few cancellations, one in particular [at the Giro d’Italia] on the Stelvio that really ran up to the last minute.
“There was a lot of angst, and I personally as a sports director that day I learned a lot about how to protect the group of riders from entering in too much. It’s complicated, mainly mentally.”
