It doesn't come much tougher than this - one Hors Categorie, four cat 1 cols and one cat 2 climb that adds up to 54km of climbing and an average gradient of 7.96% - that also adds up to plenty of pain! Riders will pass the monument to Fabio Casartelli, killed on the Col du Portet d'Aspet in 1995, where the peloton will most likely slow down to pay its respects as it rides past. It's then on to the Col de Mente, Portillon, Peyresourde, Val-Louron Azet before finishing up Lat-d'Adet in St-Lary - Soulan. The climbs are evenly spaced out, and it's pretty clear to see what everyone is in for - plenty of mountains that don't necessarily reach great heights, but do so very quickly.
Stage 15 will probably serve as the ultimate selection day, and look for Armstrong, Ullrich, Basso, and maybe Rasmussen to fight it out for the stage and GC honours.
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Tour de France Femmes stage 4 LIVE: 21km time trial sparks big time gaps and creates a new GC battle
August 4, 2026; Gevrey-Chambertin - Dijon, 21km, individual time trial -
The GC standings at the Tour de France Femmes 2026 – A massive shake-up in the race for yellow after the individual time trial
Marlen Reusser smashes stage 4 race against the clock to take the race lead with five stages to go -
On the back foot: defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot suffers major GC setback in Tour de France Femmes time trial
French star loses more than two minutes to stage winner and new race leader Marlen Reusser, and 1:55 to Demi Vollering -
Tour de France Femmes: Marlen Reusser rockets into yellow jersey with victory in Dijon on stage 4 time trial
Demi Vollering moves to second overall with third place in race against the clock
