2026 Grand Depart Cycling

Welcome to Spain! In the early afternoon, we will be meeting at our 4-star hotel in the city center of Barcelona. Our hotel is ideally located halfway between the start and the finish in Barcelona. There is a Metro station located just outside of the hotel making it easy to get to anywhere in the city.

We won’t waste any time and will get started on the bike fit. Your guides will assist you to get fitted and comfortable on your rental bike. The warm-up ride will be approximately 25-30km and will be a great way to check your bike fit and will help shake off the dust from traveling.

The non-cyclists in the group will have the opportunity to visit Sagrada Familia. This masterpiece was designed by famous architect, Antoni Gaudi and has been under construction for over 100 years. The light streams into the space and creates a unique experience that is difficult to replicate anywhere else in the world. After our tour, we may catch a glimpse of teams as they cycle towards the Team Presentation at Sagrada Familia.

Tonight we’ll enjoy a local and traditional welcome dinner in the hotel restaurant. In addition to meeting our fellow travel guests at dinner, we’ll go over the itinerary for our Grand Depart trip. Each guest will receive a gift from Custom Getaways. The cyclists in the group will also receive a jersey and water bottle.

Following breakfast, the cyclists will ride approximately 50km on rolling terrain and finish with a climb up to the Montserrat Monastery. The elevation gain will be approximately 900 meters. After the ride, we will change and freshen up before meeting up with the non-cyclists. You can choose to visit the Basilica with the famous black Madonna statue or the museum that houses works from famous artists such as Picasso, Degas and Dali. You will have the chance to enjoy lunch in this unique setting.

Today the non-cyclists are in for a treat as we bus up the mountain to the monastery of Montserrat. The mountain appears serrated, hence the name. Your guides will give the history of Montserrat before letting the group explore. You can choose to visit the Basilica with the famous black Madonna statue or the museum that houses works from famous artists such as Picasso, Degas and Dali. Hiking trails or a funicular ride are also options if you wish to explore the outdoors. You will have time for lunch while we’re at Montserrat.

Since you visited the mountains today, why not walk to the beach (30 minute walk) tonight where you can find a restaurant for dinner and a glass of sangria. You’ll be on your own tonight to explore and have dinner.

Welcome to Stage 1 of the Tour de France 2026! The cyclists will start the day with another awesome ride before heading into the VIP venue. The ride will be about 60 kms with a few hundred feet of elevation gain.

Before heading to today’s VIP, the non-cyclists will enjoy a classic walking tour of the Gothic Quarter, covering its Roman origins, medieval history and since Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia (region of Spain), we’ll learn more about Catalan history.

The entire group will meet at today’s venue, Relais Etape. The venue is located along the course and serves an excellent 4-course meal for lunch. It also offers snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee and water. Once the race finishes, champagne will be served to toast the stage winner. Another nice feature of this venue is that it has TV’s to watch the race until the racers pass right in front of us. This is a team time trial, which is not common and TV’s are a great way to follow the action.

We’ll watch live as the caravan parade passes in front of our venue prior to the racers passing. The caravan pumps up the crowds with colorful floats and the tossing of small prizes. Each Relais Etape guest will receive a gift from le Tour.

You’ll be on your own for dinner tonight.  See you in the morning!

Barcelona’s Montjuïc hill is one of the must-see locations in the cycling world, largely thanks to it being the traditional finale for the Tour of Catalonia. Today’s stage will cycle over the Montjuïc hill before reaching the finish line. We will also ride to the finish line. We won’t cycle the full 182kms that the pros will, but we’ll tackle approximately 50km before reaching the finish line. We’ll gain about 600 meters of elevation before crossing the finish line as a group.

The non-cyclists will have some free time this morning to explore the city before heading to the finish line.

Once the group is across the finish line, we’ll tour the official podium and have pictures taken individually and as a group. Today’s stage viewing will be in the Izoard VIP venue. TV’s are located within the Izoard where we will watch the racers before they pass us on the way to the finish line. This venue is a great way to see the race with snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee, water, TVs and private restrooms. Champagne will be served to toast the stage winner.

Following the race, we’ll head back to our hotel and will enjoy a group, farewell dinner tonight with local cuisine.