Tour de France 2026 Favourites stage 9: Attackers in the Massif Central

A string of climbs dot the route from Malemort to Ussel. From the very start the road tilts upwards, and by the time the riders reach kilometre 77 they will already have tackled five ascents. Only the final one in the sequence is deemed KOM-worthy, but they will undoubtely have taken their toll. The pace is expected to be high from the start with attacks coming thick and fast, as this is the kind of stage that every rider with a sense of adventure has marked down as a chance for eternal glory.

Points for the mountains classification are on offer on the climb towards kilometre 77, the Côte des Naves (2.3 kilometres at 7.4%), and KOM contenders will need to be alert in the punishing mid-section that follows, with plenty of points still up for grabs on the Puy de Lachaud (3.6 kilometres at 5.3%), Suc au May (3.8 kilometres at 7.7%), the Côte de la Croix de Pey (7 kilometres at 4.9%) and Mont Bessou (900 metres at 7.3%).

Still 24.5 kilometres remain atop the Mont Bessou, which is a relatively straightforward section.

As GC contenders won’t be bothered by this kind of terrain – with little to gain or lose – the door will be wide open for a group of attackers to go all-in. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the break to go clear. It could easily be only halfway through the race, which would make it a must-see stage.

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

Favourites 9th stage - 2026 Tour de France

*** Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock, Ben Healy, Mathias Vacek
** Romain Grégoire, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Alex Aranburu, Kévin Vauquelin
* Giulio Ciccone, Julian Alaphilippe, Michal Kwiatkowski, Mauro Schmid, Pablo Castrillo

Another interesting read: route 9th stage 2026 Tour de France.