Profile & Route Tour de France Femmes 2026 - Mont Ventoux and Col d'Èze circuit on brutal final Nice stage

The route of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes has been announced this morning in Paris and it features a very difficult route which differs quite a lot from this year's. The time trials are back at next year's edition and we will have a mythical first-time summit finish at Mont Ventoux, with a finale in Nice where we will have another GC showdown.

The race begins in Switzerland in the city of Lausanne where there will be a hilltop finish marking the opening day, a 2.5-kilometer climb which is not overly steep but will see a clash between the sprinters, puncheurs and climbers all at once for the first yellow jersey. Stage 2 finishes in Gèneve after starting in Aigle and will be a day for the pure sprinters whilst on the third day the race enters France directly with a mountainous course but with a flat finale where we will either have a breakaway victory or a bunch sprint finish. Stage 4 features a time trial in Dijon, one that is hilly but at the same time is 21 kilometers long and will be setting meaningful differences in the women's field.

Stage 5 sees the riders head into Belleville-en-Beaujolais where the riders find climbs all day long and we may see GC raids or attacks on a final 3-kilometer ascent close to the finish. Stage 6 is similar, with 2600 meters of climbing and ascents from start to finish before a downhill finish into Tournon-sur-Rhône. Stage 7 may be the queen stage of the race as the female peloton tackle the Géant de Provence, one of the hardest climbs in pro cycling: The Mont Ventoux.

The stage is mostly flat but the final 21-kilometer long climb will set colossal differences ahead of the final 2 stages into Nice - stage 8 being one for the sprinters, and stage 9 featuring 99 kilometers and four ascents to the Col d'Éze before the grand finale into the coastal city.