Stage 9 around Nice on the final day of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes is a 99.2km circuit-style stage which will see a GC showdown between Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM), going into the stage with just eight seconds between them.
Then, on a seemingly insignificant climb in Nice on Saturday, Vollering made a stinging attack with 6.5km to go and converted her 15-second deficit to the Polish star into an eight second advantage, donning the maillot jaune with one stage to go.
Marlen Reusser (Movistar) may well face a challenge for third podium spot from Elisa Longo Borghini and her UAE Team L’IMAD.
Longo Borghini’s teammates Paula Blasi and Dominika Włodarczyk are 7th and 8th overall, but the Italian champion has emerged as the team’s strongest rider over the last two days and will be supported by strength in numbers.
It will not be easy for Longo Borghini to overcome her deficit of 1:53 minutes to Reusser, but that has never before stopped her from trying.
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The conclusion of the Tour de France Femmes will be one for the history books alongside Vollering's four-second loss to Niewiadoma-Phinney on l'Alpe d'Huez in 2024.
Stage details
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Profile of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes stage 9
(Image credit: ASO)
The stage consists of four laps of the Col d’Èze, well-known from the men’s Paris-Nice that often ends with a similar stage. On the first lap, the initial 2.8km are neutralised, with the race getting underway for real right at the bottom of the 7.7km, 5.9% climb on the so-called Grande Corniche, built by Napoleon on the route of the Roman Via Aurelia connecting the provence to Italy.
Classified as a category 2, the first 2km are the steepest at 7.5-8.5%. The gradient becomes a bit less punishing at an average 6-7% as the Mediterranean Sea disappears from view behind the Mont Gros with the observatory at the top, but there are still some ramps of up to 9% on this 1.5km stretch.
After turning south and riding toward the sea, the next kilometre until the road to the observatory branches off is almost flat, then the road kicks up to a steady 4.5% for a kilometre until the Col des Quatre Chemins. The last 2.3km start steep at 8%, including a short ramp at 9%, and continue at 6-7% before the road begins to flatten out just before the QOM point.
After the QOM, there is a 2.3km plateau until the 11km descent begins. The first 2km of the downhill are the steepest, first on the Boulevard du Maréchal Leclerc, then on the Moyenne Corniche. The latter road continues with a few almost flat sections, even climbing a few altitude metres at one point, before getting steeper again after 5km. Another flattish section of about 800m to the Col de Villefranche leads into the last 2.5km, descending to the harbour of Nice.
The race then follows the Mediterranean coast for 2km, approaching the finish line on the Promenade des Anglais from the opposite direction compared to stage 8. 110m from the finish, a right turn leads onto the Boulevard Jean Jaurès where the day’s intermediate sprint will be held after the first lap.
The second and third lap follow the same route, beginning with 2.8km of flat road through the city of Nice before hitting the Col d’Èze again. On the fourth and final lap, however, the riders turn right at the bottom of the climb and instead climb the Boulevard des 2 Corniches and Chemin du Vinaigrier towards the Col des Quatre Chemins.
This climb, 6km at 7.6%, is classified as a cat. 1, begins with a kilometre at 7.5%, flattens out to less than 5% for 500 metres. After another 300 metres at almost 9%, riders reach the Col de Villefranche and turn left onto the Chemin de Vinaigrier, soon hitting an average gradient of 12% for 1.4km, including ramps of more than 16%.
The last 400 metres to the Col des Quatre Chemins climb at less than 3%, then the race returns to the Grande Corniche for the last 2.3km to the QOM, already well-known from the previous laps.
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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