The SNCF and the Tour de France formalize an unprecedented rapprochement.
Gathered on Friday, May 29, 2026, Jean Castex, chief executive officer of the SNCF group, and Christian Prudhomme, head of the Tour de France, announced the signing of a three-year partnership between the rail company and the organizers of the Grande Boucle.
As part of this agreement, the SNCF becomes the “official supplier” of both the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 editions.
For Jean Castex, this collaboration appears as an obvious one given the shared history and values of the two institutions.
“The Tour de France, like the train, is France’s countryside, France’s people, France’s landscapes“, he said to reporters.
The former prime minister also recalled that the route of the very first Tour de France in 1903 had been designed around railway stations to enable spectators and organizers to follow the race.
Gathered on Friday, May 29, 2026, Jean Castex, chief executive officer of the SNCF group, and Christian Prudhomme, head of the Tour de France, announced the signing of a three-year partnership between the rail company and the organizers of the Grande Boucle.
As part of this agreement, the SNCF becomes the “official supplier” of both the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 editions.
For Jean Castex, this collaboration appears as an obvious one given the shared history and values of the two institutions.
“The Tour de France, like the train, is France’s countryside, France’s people, France’s landscapes“, he said to reporters.
The former prime minister also recalled that the route of the very first Tour de France in 1903 had been designed around railway stations to enable spectators and organizers to follow the race.
The train and cycling at the heart of decarbonized mobility
Beyond the historical symbol, SNCF intends to highlight decarbonized mobility through this partnership. “Bicycling and rail travel are future forms of mobility,” emphasized Jean Castex, who also pointed to the group’s plan to further enhance bike-related services at stations and on trains.
Among the main announcements, SNCF Voyageurs will for the first time provide the teams and riders with a specially chartered TGV INOUI to ensure the transfer between the Alps and the Île-de-France region on July 25, following the Alpe d’Huez stage.
A train decorated in the colors of the partnership will then carry the cyclists to Paris before the final arrival on the Champs-Élysées.
Christian Prudhomme hailed “a partnership that makes sense“, underscoring the many historical ties between rail and the Grande Boucle.
“SNCF and the Tour de France bring people together and unite territories“, he stated. The Tour director also recalled that train transfers were part of the event’s history before being gradually abandoned in recent years, notably after the health crisis.
Among the main announcements, SNCF Voyageurs will for the first time provide the teams and riders with a specially chartered TGV INOUI to ensure the transfer between the Alps and the Île-de-France region on July 25, following the Alpe d’Huez stage.
A train decorated in the colors of the partnership will then carry the cyclists to Paris before the final arrival on the Champs-Élysées.
Christian Prudhomme hailed “a partnership that makes sense“, underscoring the many historical ties between rail and the Grande Boucle.
“SNCF and the Tour de France bring people together and unite territories“, he stated. The Tour director also recalled that train transfers were part of the event’s history before being gradually abandoned in recent years, notably after the health crisis.
Animations planned in French railway stations
This partnership will also be expressed through several events across the territories traversed by the races. Photo exhibitions will be organized at the Gare Bordeaux Saint-Jean, Chambéry and Dijon stations to highlight the landscapes and stages of the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift.
The women’s component of the competition has indeed been fully integrated into this agreement. In a video message shown at the press conference, Marion Rousse, director of the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift, lauded “an institution as prestigious as SNCF” for joining women’s cycling. “This demonstrates that gender parity matters and that women’s sport continues to grow,” she explained.
This rapprochement strengthens SNCF’s strategy around major sporting events, following the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2023 Rugby World Cup. For the Tour organizers, it also serves to reaffirm the event’s territorial and popular roots that bring together nearly 10 million spectators each summer on French roads.
The women’s component of the competition has indeed been fully integrated into this agreement. In a video message shown at the press conference, Marion Rousse, director of the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift, lauded “an institution as prestigious as SNCF” for joining women’s cycling. “This demonstrates that gender parity matters and that women’s sport continues to grow,” she explained.
This rapprochement strengthens SNCF’s strategy around major sporting events, following the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2023 Rugby World Cup. For the Tour organizers, it also serves to reaffirm the event’s territorial and popular roots that bring together nearly 10 million spectators each summer on French roads.
Published by Amelia Brille TourMaG.com Editor See all articles by Amelia Brille
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