The 2026 Tour de France is scheduled to feature seven flat stages on paper according to organisers ASO , but Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) is counting only six after analysing the route, knowing that the sprinters will have to fight hard in the Alps to have any chance of winning the final stage in Paris.

Merlier, who won two stages at the 2025 Tour in a tight battle with Jonathan Milan (also a double winner and the green jersey winner), commented: "It'll be a matter of gritting our teeth until the fifth stage." The Belgian sprinter was referring to the fact that the sprinters' first opportunity won't come until the fifth stage, something that hasn't happened since 2015.

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The 2026 Tour will start in Barcelona with a team time trial and then tackle the Pyrenees. Sprint opportunities will be concentrated in stages 5 (Lannemezan-Pau), 7 (to Bordeaux), 8 (to Bergerac), 11 (finishing in Nevers), and 12 (Chalon-sur-Saône). After that, the Tour will tackle the Vosges and the Alps, with a double finale at Alpe d'Huez.

"A finish at Alpe d'Huez was more than enough for me..." joked Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen bitterly after seeing the route.

The final stage in Paris, traditionally a favourite haunt of sprinters, has also been modified to include the Montmartre climb, which will be tackled three times. The final stage will conclude 15km from the finish on the Champs-Élysées, making the possibility of a bunch sprint uncertain.

"I hope one day to be able to sprint on the Champs-Élysées , I haven't had the chance yet," Merlier concluded. "But it will be very difficult for us sprinters, especially after the very tough Alpine stages. I would have liked it if the organizers had returned to the classic finish."