Tour de France 2026 stage 13 preview
July 17, 2026; Dole - Belfort, 205km
- Stage 13: Dole - Belfort
- Date: July 17, 2026
- Distance: 205.8km
- Start time: 13:00 CET
- Finish time: 17:59 CET


At 205.8km, stage 13 is the longest stage of the Tour, and the only one over 200 kilometres. The profile, across challenging terrain, favours breakaways but it could take some time for that group to escape on the opening flat roads.
Heading east from Dole, the first 137 kilometres passes through the Jura, Doubs, and Haute-Saône, skirting Besançon before reaching in Mélisey, the hometown of Thibaut Pinot. There the road tilts upward for the first time, over the Col des Croix as the race crosses into the Vosges.
A brief descent follows, then comes the day's decisive challenge, the Ballon d'Alsace, 8.9 km at an average of 6.9%. The ascent, 121 years after it appeared on the Tour’s first mountain stage, will offer someone the chance to get a gap and dive down the 30 kilometres into Belfort to claim victory
Mountains
- Col des Croix (cat. 3, 5.1km at 4.8%), km. 157.4
- Ballon d'Alsace (cat. 1, 8.9km at 6.9%), km. 175.9
Sprints
- Mélisey, km. 137.8
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Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
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