Tour de France 2026 Favourites stage 13: For daredevil descenders

fotobureau Cor VosThe longest stage of the Tour is set to appeal to the breakaway specialists. It is a predominantly flat 205.8-kilometre route, but with two climbs in the final 40 kilometres. The Ballon d’Alsace, crested with just under 30 kilometres remaining, is likely to sit heavily on the legs of the sprinters. (Slideshow route/profile)

First published on 29 June - last updated on 17 July: weather forecast updated

At around 2,400 metres, the total amount of climbing should not pose a problem. But because the ascents come in quick succession and are packed into the run-up to the finale, the sprinters are likely to be out of contention.

The Ballon d’Alsace summit comes with just under 30 kilometres to go – a relatively long distance in terms of kilometres, but effectively much shorter in racing time, as roughly half of it is downhill. Riders dropped on the Ballon d’Alsace will have little opportunity to recover lost ground.

The route is fairly straightforward: around 150 kilometres of flat terrain before the Col des Croix (5.1 kilometres at 4.8%) offers a warm-up for the Ballon d’Alsace, an 8.9-kilometre climb at an average gradient of 6.9%. From the summit, there are still 29.9 kilometres to the finish.

That begins with a 16-kilometre descent, followed by a false-flat section descending towards a 670-metre ramp at 5.1% in Valdoie. From there, the route continues to fall gently all the way to Belfort.

The key question beforehand is what the GC teams will decide to do. A breakaway is easy to control on a route like this, but will they believe they can make a difference on the Ballon d’Alsace and the subsequent descent? Probably not, although nothing is ever certain with Pogacar cum suis in this Tour.

Still, this looks set to be a day for the breakaway. The interesting twist is that the break is likely to form on the flat, while the decisive moves should come on the final climb and the descent afterwards. The winner will need to be a strong climber, a capable descender, and quite possibly a fast finisher as well.

Favourites 13th stage - 2026 Tour de France

*** Tom Pidcock, Matej Mohoric, Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen
** Romain Grégoire, Filippo Ganna, Mathias Vacek, Quinn Simmons, Kévin Vauquelin
* Tadej Pogacar, Magnus Cort, Michael Matthews, Pablo Castrillo, Quinten Hermans, Alex Baudin

Weather forecast:
The riders are in for a showery day followed by a fast, technical downhill finish. It's a potentially dangerous combination, with crashes a real possibility if the descent is wet, but it also creates opportunities. A golden chance for the brave and the bold. That's right. Just the sort of day Tom Pidcock relishes.

Start: 25°C, sunny, partly cloudy, southwesterly wind (12 km/h)
Finish: 25°C, rainy, southwesterly wind (11 km/h)

Another interesting read: route 13th stage 2026 Tour de France.