Where the Tour de France Crosses Continents
L’Étape Türkiye 2026 Brings 1,822 Riders—and Chris Froome—to the Roads of Istanbul
There are many ways to cross from Asia to Europe in Istanbul.
By ferry. By metro. By car.
On September 20, 2026, 1,822 cyclists from 23 countries did it on two wheels.
For the third edition of Visa | Maximiles Black L’Étape Türkiye by Tour de France, riders set out from Ümraniye (Anadolu) National Garden and followed a course that moved from Istanbul’s forested roads toward the Bosphorus before reaching one of the day’s defining moments: the crossing of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge from Asia into Europe.
The Tour de France may have been born on the roads of France, but for one Sunday in Istanbul, some of its most recognizable rituals—the yellow jersey, the sprint, the peloton, the race convoy, and the fierce battle for seconds—belonged to a city where geography itself became part of the competition.
And this year, one of the men riding among them knew that world better than almost anyone.
A Race Only Istanbul Could Stage
The 2026 edition offered three ways into the experience: a 97.6-kilometer Long Course, a 41.3-kilometer Short Course, and a 31.4-kilometer Intercontinental Experience Course, allowing riders with different ambitions and levels of experience to take part.
But the kilometers tell only part of the story.
The route shifted character as Istanbul itself does—from green corridors and quieter roads to the edge of the Bosphorus, then onto the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, where riders suddenly found themselves suspended between two continents.
The bridge was not merely scenery. It became part of the racing.
The Škoda Sprint transformed one of Istanbul’s most recognizable crossings into a high-speed contest, giving riders another reason to attack precisely where most visitors would instinctively slow down to take in the view.
It is difficult to imagine another L’Étape where the landscape can make such a literal claim on the experience.
One pedal stroke in Asia.
The next is carrying you toward Europe.
When a Tour Legend Joins the Ride
Then there was Chris Froome.
Four Tour de France titles. Two victories at the Vuelta a España. One Giro d’Italia. A place among the small group of cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours.
Yet in Istanbul, the most memorable statistic may have been much simpler:
It was his first time crossing from Asia to Europe by bicycle.
Froome rode across the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge before joining participants on the course, turning a day designed to give amateur cyclists a taste of the Tour de France into something more tangible: they were suddenly sharing the road with one of the riders who helped define an era of it.
It was also Froome’s first visit to Istanbul. He spoke afterward about the warmth of the people and the atmosphere surrounding the event, adding that he hoped to return.
That mattered.
Because L’Étape works best when the Tour de France does not feel like a distant television spectacle, but something riders can briefly step inside.
In Istanbul, that distance became very small indeed.
Away from the stopwatch, another message accompanied the peloton. Ahead of COP31 in Antalya, the event carried the call “We are on the same team for the climate. We pedal for change,” connecting cycling with a broader conversation about cities, nature, and shared environmental responsibility.
It did not need to dominate the weekend.
The bicycles themselves made the point quietly.
A Race Decided by a Second
For all the scenery and symbolism, this was still racing—and the Long Course delivered one of the closest finishes of the day.
Ömer Cumhur Boyraz reached the line in 2:35:31.
Just one second later, Martin Stefanov and Petar Dashev followed, both recorded at 2:35:32.
In the women’s Long Course, Gökçe Demirsoy won in 2:57:03, while the Short Course victories went to Recep Ünalan and Aylin Yüce. Remarkably, Ünalan, Cengiz Güner, and Murat Uslu were all officially recorded at 1:03:09 in the men’s Short Course.
Long Course — Women
🥇 Gökçe Demirsoy — 2:57:03
🥈 Züleyha Dikbaş — 3:01:33
🥉 Şeniz Pamuk — 3:02:56
Long Course — Men
🥇 Ömer Cumhur Boyraz — 2:35:31
🥈 Martin Stefanov — 2:35:32
🥉 Petar Dashev — 2:35:32
Short Course — Women
🥇 Aylin Yüce — 1:07:34
🥈 Zale Karakaş — 1:16:10
🥉 Özger Sınar — 1:17:46
Short Course — Men
🥇 Recep Ünalan — 1:03:09
🥈 Cengiz Güner — 1:03:09
🥉 Murat Uslu — 1:03:09
And, as with the race that inspired it, victory came in colors.
Boyraz and Demirsoy took the Yellow Jerseys. Erkan Güngör and Demirsoy earned green; Petar Dashev and Şeniz Pamuk claimed the polka-dot jerseys; and Lev Kocherov and Fatemeh Yousefi received white.
Back at Ümraniye National Garden, the competitive edge softened. The start-and-finish area became a gathering place of bikes, equipment, technical support, brand stands, and conversations between people whose shared language for the day required very little translation.
Why Istanbul Stays With You
Cycling races are usually remembered through numbers.
Distance. Elevation. Average speed. Finishing time.
Cities leave different measurements behind.
Maybe it’s the moment the trees open, and the Bosphorus appears ahead.
Maybe it’s the sight of hundreds of bicycles streaming across a bridge most people know from car windows, with Asia behind them and Europe waiting on the other side.
Or maybe it’s the unlikely pleasure of realizing that, for a few hours, you are riding the same road as a four-time Tour de France champion—through one of the few cities on Earth capable of turning a change of continents into part of the course.
For the fastest riders, Istanbul ended with jerseys and podiums.
For everyone else, the reward was harder to measure.
They came to ride a race.
They left, having crossed a city, a strait, and a continent.
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