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Stephen Farrand

'It's a Tour in crescendo' – 2026 Tour de France designed to limit early Tadej Pogačar dominance

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 23: Christian Prudhomme of France Director of Le Tour de France during the 113th Tour de France & 5th Tour de France Femmes 2026 - Official Route Presentation / #UCIWT / #UCIWWT / on October 23, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Billy Ceusters/Getty Images).

Race director Christian Prudhomme has admitted the 2026 Tour de France route has an "in crescendo" design, with the hardest stages to L'Alpe d'Huez arriving at the end, to ensure the race remains undecided and so without Tadej Pogačar dominating for three weeks.

"The word that best sums it up is a Tour in crescendo," Prudhomme told France Info after revealing the route of the men's 2026 race alongside Marion Rousse, who presented the route of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes.

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