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STAGE 1 OF 21Saturday 4 July

BarcelonaBarcelona

Team Time Trial19.7 KM

The most southerly Grand Départ in race history opens with a team time trial around Barcelona — the first TTT to start a Tour since 1971. Seconds lost here follow GC riders for three weeks.

KEY CLIMBS

Côte de Montjuïc

1.1 km · 5.1% avg

THE TACTICAL READ

WHO IT SUITS

The deep GC squads — UAE, Visma–Lease a Bike, Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe — whose eight riders can hold a brutal pace as one unit. A leader with a strong team takes time before he has pedalled in anger.

WHAT TO WATCH

The 1.1km Montjuïc ramp. A team that hits it together and regroups over the top keeps its line intact; one that splits loses the riders it needs to drive the flat run home.

ROADMAN PREDICTION

Expect 30 to 60 seconds between the best and weakest GC teams by the finish — a deficit some contenders will spend three weeks trying to claw back. The strongest squad puts its leader in the first yellow jersey.

THE ROADMAN TAKE

WHAT THIS STAGE DEMANDS

A TTT is the purest test of pacing discipline and turn-taking — eight riders holding one effort, nobody blowing the line. The same maths runs your club's chaingang: smooth, even pulls beat hero turns that shred the group. Hold a steady power, rotate clean, and the average speed takes care of itself.

WHAT DAN BIGHAM WOULD PUSH

The former Hour Record holder's whole case is that marginal aero and pacing decisions compound — start controlled, never spike over threshold into a corner, and let the back of the line recover before they rotate through.

THE DAILY DEBRIEF

Anthony’s daily Tour podcast lands here on the evening of the stage.

DAILY DEBRIEFSaturday 4 July

Stage 1 Debrief — Barcelona to Barcelona

Anthony breaks down the time trial — who paced it, who lost the Tour against the clock, and what it tells you about your own efforts.

Get it First in SkoolDrops on the evening of the stage.

PLAY THE FANTASY TOUR

Pick your nine riders, score every stage, and settle it on the community leaderboard. Coming for July inside the Roadman community.