STAGE 1 - 4/07 - BARCELONA > BARCELONA - Team time-trial - 19.7 KM
Stage classification will be based on the time of the first rider in each team. Times will also be recorded individually for the overall classification according to the formula validated for Paris-Nice. Watch out for gaps! After starting out from the beaches, the course will initially favour cyclists’ collective strength with a beautiful out-and-back along the seafront, followed by a series of flat, straight boulevards at the foot of the Sagrada Família taken on at full speed. The final stretch, punctuated by two successive climbs up to the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium, will reshuffle the cards as favourites lose sight of each other.
STAGE 2 - 5/07 - TARRAGONA > BARCELONA - 178,4 KM
Tarragona, a city with a population of 136,000 and an archaeological ensemble listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will showcase its historic setting for a stage that will start out by following the coastal road. The first half of the route, which is perfectly flat, passes through some popular beach resorts and then, after Sitges, known as the Spanish Saint-Tropez, follows a long coastline with stunning panoramic sea views. The second part of the stage becomes very hilly and challenging from the Begues climb onwards. Going through Barcelona will lead to a final circuit, taking place in lush parkland and dominated by the tough ascent to Montjuïc Castle (1.6km, including 600m at 13%), to be climbed three times for an uphill finish, identical to that of the previous day's team time trial.
STAGE 3 - 6/07 - GRANOLLERS > ? - ? KM
Granollers, the capital of Spanish handball and a stone's throw from the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit that regularly hosts the Formula 1 and MotoGP Grand Prix World Championships, is a large town of 65,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Barcelona. With its iconic Porxada, a 16th-century market hall, it will be the starting town for this stage heading north to the French border. This is an opportunity for Catalan spectators to cheer on the riders one last time, over a distance of more than a hundred kilometres, before they cross over to the other side of the Pyrenees. Whichever route is chosen, it won't be without challenges...
