2028 Tour de France Sees Super-Early Start to Avoid LA Olympics

The 2028 Tour de France is making special room for the Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Race organizers ASO revealed Monday the 2028 Tour de France will start at its earliest date since 1966 to avoid a clash with the Summer Olympic Games.

And when Tadej Pogačar, Wout van Aert, and Mathieu van der Poel have all circled Olympic gold on their to-do lists, that matters.

“The peloton will roll out of Reims for the inaugural stage on Saturday, 24 June 2028, with the event running on a modified schedule to accommodate the Olympics,” read a press note Monday.

The north-eastern region of Reims – or “Champagne Country” – will be the first home host of the men’s grand départ since 2025.

This year’s Tour de France rolls out of Barcelona on July 4 with a team time trial. Both the men’s and women’s races will start in Glasgow in 2027.

Three days between Tour de France stage 21 and Olympic time trials

The ASO’s decision to advance the Tour de France to June 24 follows multiple recent examples of cycling’s “Big Show” being forced to make way for the Games.

Racing started significantly earlier in 2012 and 2024 to avoid scheduling clashes with the one event some riders prioritize over Le Tour.

It’s one of the few situations where the cycling superpower that is ASO is forced to bend to others’ will.

For 2028, the Tour’s early start moves its 21st stage to July 16, two days after the official Olympic kick-off in LA on July 14.

Tour de France riders chasing Olympic medals then face a rapid turnaround and a brutal battle with trans-Atlantic jetlag. Road racing events fall particularly early in the program for LA 2028 – Wednesday 19 July for time trials, and 22 and 23 for road racing.

Full stage details for the 2028 grand départ will be revealed in due course.

The cities of Charleville-Mézières, Épernay, Metz, Reims, Thionville, and Verdun have been confirmed as hosts for stage starts and finishes.