a Grand Départ from Switzerland, return of the time trial, first for Mont Ventoux… Discover the route of the 2026 edition

A Grand Départ from Switzerland with few high mountains

The information was revealed in June: Switzerland will host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France women 2026, the second abroad after the Netherlands in 2024. A first stage of 137 kilometers is planned around Lausanne, with the promise, according to Marion Rousse, of a “elbow to elbow” between the favorites at the finish in the Côte Saint-François (2.5 km at 4.6%). The peloton will then set off from Aigle, headquarters of the UCI, towards Geneva for the second stage.

The most challenging stage of the Swiss triptych will undoubtedly be the third, departing from Geneva and heading towards France and Poligny, through the Jura massif. With 2,440 meters of positive altitude difference, and the ascent of the Col de la Faucille (11.4 km at 6.3%) from kilometer 24, then the Chaux-Champigny coast (1.8 km at 6.4%) 25 miles from the finish, it promises a beautiful playground for adventurers.

First passage through Mont Ventoux in the women’s Tour de France

This is a great first. For its fifth edition, the women's Tour de France will tackle one of the legendary summits in the history of the men's event: Mont Ventoux, finish of the 7th stage and roof of the Tour (1,910 m). In a 144 kilometer long stage starting from Voulte-sur-Rhône, in Ardèche, the peloton will set off towards the summit of the Monts de Vaucluse (15.7 km at 8.8%), climbed by Bédoin.

Placed at the end of the route, Mont Ventoux will allow the profiles of climbers but also the favorites to make a difference, in a general classification which may not yet have been settled. The peloton will then head towards Nice, with a first arrival in the city on the evening of the 8th stage. The next day, the runners will cover a fairly tough circuit around the city, with four passages at the top of the Col d'Eze (7.7 km at 5.9%). The final arrival will be on the Promenade des Anglais, already taken in the opposite direction the day before.

The return of an individual time trial

Absent from the 2025 edition, the time trial will make its return to the roads of the women's Tour de France in 2026, during the 4th stage. After the Grand Départ in Switzerland, the first 100% French stage will take the form of an individual time trial of 21 kilometers in Burgundy, between Gevrey-Chambertin and Dijon, with a bump and the Marsannay bends (1.8 km at 6.9%).

Above all, after having been reserved for the final in 2023 (last stage), then for the second day of racing in 2024, the clock is this time placed on the 4th stage, right in the middle of the course. A first opportunity for exercise specialists, like the Swiss Marlen Reusser, but also the favorites for final victory, like Demi Vollering, winner of the last time trial on the women's Tour de France in 2024, to explain themselves.