Barcelona welcomes Tour de France teams with Sagrada Família presentation

Barcelona welcomed the Tour de France on Thursday with the presentation of all 23 teams participating in the Tour. 

The presentation was an opportunity for riders to greet the public in a festive atmosphere. 

The route to the stage started at the Modernist Site of Sant Pau and continued along Avinguda Gaudí until reaching the Sagrada Família. 

The presentation included sponsors who distributed gifts and merchandise to the public, including hats and fans to combat the sweltering heat. 

The event unfolded to the sound of applause, drums, horns and cheers for the riders.

The Tour wasn't the only focus of the event, according to the Barcelona City council: The presentation was an opportunity to show "the identity of a Mediterranean, creative, inclusive and vibrant capital" to the millions of spectators who will follow the Tour around the world.

The event also included Catalan and international cultural figures such as Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Lia Kali, the Orquestra de Músiques d'Arrel de Catalunya, and Castellers human tower groups from Vilafranca and Barcelona. 

The Tour de France officially kicks off in Barcelona with the team time trial on Saturday, July 4 through a 19.6km city-centre route, passing by iconic locations such as the Sagrada Família and the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium.

Sunday, July 5 will be a hilly, 168.5km second stage that will see riders race from the southern city of Tarragona back up to Barcelona, with three laps of the Montjuïc hill to finish. 

The third stage starts in Granollers, on Monday, July 6 in the broader Barcelona metropolitan area, and finishes 195.9km away, just over the French border in the mountain town of Les Angles.