Tour de France 2026 Favourites stage 8: For fast men #3

The route from Périgueux to Bergerac features just 1,150 metres of elevation gain. There are two category-4 climbs along the route, the last of which – 2.2 kilometres at 5.6% – is crested with 40 kilometres remaining. The remainder of the route is as flat as a pancake.

With 10 kilometres to go, the riders are already on the outskirts of Bergerac. Rather than heading straight into the town centre, however, they first loop around the southern side of town before approaching the finish from the opposite direction. The final 1.5 kilometres feature two right-angle bends, the last coming just under 500 metres from the line.

On paper, Olav Kooij, Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier are the strongest sprinters in this year's Tour. All three recently sharpened their form at the Baloise Belgium Tour, where they shared the spoils with one stage win each. Biniam Girmay also got on the scoresheet with a victory.

We’ll continue to update this article in the build-up to the Tour de France.

Favourites 8th stage - 2026 Tour de France

*** Jasper Philipsen, Olav Kooij, Tim Merlier
** Biniam Girmay, Arnaud De Lie, Dorian Godon, Jordi Meeus, Max Kanter
* Mads Pedersen, Pascal Ackermann, Pavel Bittner, Milan Fretin, Søren Wærenskjold

Another interesting read: route 8th stage 2026 Tour de France.