The Tour de France will avoid Collserola Park. The organization has finally accepted the request from the Generalitat, which had requested to change the route of the second stage —scheduled for July 5 and starting in Tarragona and ending in Barcelona-, due to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF). The objective was to ensure that there could be public in the entire section of the race, and to prevent some spectators from trying to access the park to see the cyclists despite the restrictions.

African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread – this Thursday 13 new positives have been confirmed, bringing the total to 297 cases – and there are already 19 municipalities with restrictions on access to the Collserola Natural Park. Faced with this situation, sources from the Generalitat confirm to el ARA that they have asked the organization of the Tour de France to consider a change of route in the second stage of the competition – at the beginning of July –, as it would have to pass through an area currently affected by safety and prevention measures against the infectious disease.

The 2026 Tour de France has unveiled its route in a special edition in Paris, as Catalonia will host the first three stages. Barcelona has never before hosted the start of the prestigious French race, which for 2026 is opting for a fast route that will include two ascents of Alpe d'Huez. The 2026 Tour will go "from the Sagrada Familia to the Eiffel Tower," as race director Christian Prudhomme said, referring to the fact that the team presentation ceremony will take place at the foot of the temple designed by Antoni Gaudí.

France hosts the 112th edition of the Tour de France. 3,338.8 km and a vertical drop of 52,500 meters spread over 21 stages, with two big favorites: Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, and a Catalan referee: Marc Soler. On Saturday, July 5, Lilla will kick off the competition with a stage finish at the same starting point. It will be three weeks of cycling through French soil, culminating on Sunday, July 27 in Paris. The Camps Elisis will once again be the final finish, after last year's Tour ended in Nice due to the Olympic Games.

Often the things that mark our lives are determined by chance. In 2019, just a few days before the Vuelta Ciclista a Catalunya, the UAE Team Emirates team was left without a chef. They made contacts and ended up reaching out to Esteve Ramírez (Barcelona, ​​​​1990), who had worked in the kitchens of large restaurants and had training in sports nutrition. It was supposed to be a temporary solution, but today this Catalan chef has ended up in charge of feeding the team during the most important competitions. And this also includes the food for Tadej Pogacar, the winner of three Tours de France in the last five years.