Albertville – La Toussuire-Les Sybelles
Distance: 148km
Highest point: 2,067m
Category: High mountains
A day for the big guns
It may have become a hackneyed phrase but it’s certainly apt to describe this as a day when the Tour can’t be won but can certainly be lost. The only day in the heart of the Alps also features the first high mountain finish, at the resort where Michael Rasmussen won in 2006. It’s a stage that is cut out for specialist climbers. The Madeleine and the Croix de Fer, which is tackled via the Glandon, are both very tough 2,000-metre passes that will sap everyone’s reserves. The riders will have to take care on the descent of the Mollard, where the hairpins are tightly packed. The finish will reveal the real GC contenders.
Allan Peiper: "This is a very typical Tour de France stage and most of the climbs have been ridden before. Mountain top finishes are the only chances that the climbers who don’t time trial that well can get some gaps before the final stages."
Maps and profiles courtesy of ASO
-
Jérôme Gauthier powers through rain and reduced breakaway to victory at the Canadian Road Championships
21-year-old captures both under-23 and elite national titles, Luke Valenti second and Léo Roy third in Saint-Georges -
How to watch 2026 pro cycling in the US – A streaming guide for global races
FloBikes, HBO Max and Peacock offer all the options for summer programming -
Alec Segaert earns tri-colour jersey as new Belgian elite men's time trial national champion
Tim Wellens falls six seconds short of a second TT title on course sliced in half to 20.7km -
Lotte Claes unseats Lotte Kopecky as the new elite women's time trial title at the Belgian Road National Championships
Kopecky denied an eighth consecutive title after finishing fourth place in Etikhove
