Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said during the presentation of the 2026 race route in Paris that the start times would not be changed for the time being. The idea had been raised after three stages were altered because of the heat.

Prudhomme said an earlier start was not a good solution, arguing that a 10:00 start would require riders to get up three hours earlier and assuming they all stayed near the start location, which he said was not usually the case.