Think you’ve got what it takes to ride cycling’s most iconic race?

The Tour 21 is the best way to test that out, offering amateurs the exclusive chance to follow every inch of the official Tour de France route, all 3,333km of the Grande Boucle, starting next summer in Barcelona. From there, fundraisers-come-Grand Tour hopefuls clip in for three weeks, mirroring the pro course with rolling road closures throughout the 21-day-long epic.

Not only do you get your own chance of feeling like Tadej Pogačar galloping through the Alps, but you’ll be supporting the fight against blood cancer by helping to raise funds for Cure Leukaemia, the official UK charity partner of the Tour de France.

All that’s left for you is to get in gear, raise funds and spread awareness for blood cancer.

Ride like the pros

Tour 21 provides an on-event experience that is as close to a professional rider’s journey as possible. For starters, you’ll be covering the exact same route as the Tour de France just one week ahead of the pros’ arrival next summer.

For that extra pro feel, you won’t be alone on the roads of France (or northern Spain). There will be comprehensive on-bike nutrition, mechanical support and motorbike outriders to ensure the rolling road closures, making this the only Tour-long sportive with these measures in place.

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To help you recover in the evening, sports therapists will be on hand on the bike and at the post-ride hotel, which is covered in the entry cost (£12,000) for the full 22-night-long event. Plus, you’ll be whisked around the continent on a dedicated team bus, taking you from finish line to start line, just like the pros.

What to expect

Dressed head-to-toe in Tour 21 gear, you’ll join a team of up to 25 Cure Leukaemia fundraisers in Barcelona on Saturday 27th June 2026, a week before the pros begin the Grande Boucle on the streets of the Catalan capital.

From there, the Tour 21 team will tackle every metre of the Grand Tour’s parcours, through the Pyrenees, Massif Central and Alps before a hero’s welcome in Paris three weeks later on Sunday 19th July 2026, leaving you plenty of time to soak in your herculean effort and catch the final throws of the men’s Tour de France before they return to Paris in seven days’ time.

Tour 21’s route highlights

The parcours for next year’s Tour 21 covers the same route as the men’s race, meaning you’ll be in the saddle for 3,333km, spanning three weeks and 54,450m of elevation, all in the name of raising vital funds for Cure Leukaemia.

Besides the sunny beaches and Sagrada Familia in start city Barcelona, next year’s route crosses five of France’s mountain ranges: the Pyrenees, Massif Central, Vosges, Jura and, of course, the Alps.

After an opening week spent covering the Col du Tourmalet, the oldest hors-catégorie in the race’s history, and Pyrenean classic, the Col d’Aspin, you’ll be served a bucket list of climbs in the Alps. Just like Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, you’ll be faced with the Plateau de Solaison and the mythical 21 hairpins of the Alpe d’Huez as you near Tour 21’s conclusion.

The pinnacle, however, will be on the ride’s 20th stage, which takes on an iconic, albeit gruelling, profile through the Alps. Totalling just over 5,500m of elevation gain, the stage tackles the Tour staples of the Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Galibier and the Col de Sarenne, the lesser-known backroad up to the finish line atop Alpe d’Huez.

Luckily, what’s waiting on the other side is a procession through Paris. Via the now-iconic Butte Montmartre, you’ll arrive arm-in-arm with the rest of the team onto the city’s most famous boulevard, the Champs-Elysées.

Preparing for the big ride

The Tour 21 is about raising funds for blood cancer while living out your wildest cycling dreams.

If fitness is a worry ahead of the three-week ride, your £12,000 entry fee covers a week-long spring training camp. A couple of weeks later, you’ll pull the Cure Leukaemia jersey on and help the fundraising efforts in reaching a target of over £1,000,000.

To help achieve that marker, the charity has set a minimum fundraising target for each participant of £30,000. However, for this Pogačar-like effort, you’ll be sure to receive the support of plenty of friends, family and colleagues on the build-up to the big ride.

The entry fee for the 2026 Tour 21 is £12,000, and each rider is required to raise a minimum amount of £30,000 for Cure Leukaemia.

Applications are now open for 2026, with the team already 75% full. Apply today at thetour21.co.uk