Tour de France 2026: the Alps celebrate!
A final week in the Alps where anything can happen!
5 stages in the Alps, 1 individual time trial, 2 climbs to Alpe d'Huez, 1 stage at 5600m D+ with 1 brand-new pass: the menu for the 3rd week of the Tour de France 2026 promises to be copious with the Route des Grandes Alpes® as the judge of peace!
On July 19, the Tour reaches the foothills of the Alps with an unprecedented finish at the Plateau de Solaison in Haute-Savoie, famous for its steep slopes and potato fritters! To get there, the peloton will have to cross the col de la Croisette which climbs to the heights of the Salève, a natural balcony over the Lake Geneva basin. Welcome to Haute-Savoie, the land of cycling that will host the 2027 Cycling World Championships!
Also in Haute-Savoie, on July 21, after a day of rest on the shores of Lake Geneva, a 26km individual time trial between Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains. This event could reshuffle the cards in the overall standings on the eve of the big climbs.
Alpe d'Huez coin toss
On July 24, the stage between Gap and Alpe d'Huez promises to be a real springboard to the top of the classification. The Col Bayard will serve as a warm-up before climbing the Col du Noyer (1644 m), then the Col d'Ornon (1371 m). To conclude, the mythic ascent of Alpe d'Huez with its classic slope, 21 bends and electric atmosphere will provide a foretaste of the grand finale.
On July 25, the eve of the final parade in Paris, the Tour will contest its queen stage between Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Alpe d'Huez. This out-of-the-ordinary stage totals 5,600 meters of positive ascent and will also support l'Étape du Tour 2026, open to amateur cyclists. The route begins with the ascent of the col de la Croix de Fer, long and irregular, then continues with the fearsome sequence of the col du Télégraphe and the col du Galibier the Tour's highest point at 2642 m.
The final climb to Alpe d'Huez this time takes in the wild, little-traveled side of the col de Sarenne, offering a finale as spectacular as it is demanding just a few hours before Montmartre and the Champs Elysées...