Tour de France Femmes 2026 Route stage 5: Mâcon - Belleville-en-Beaujolais

Wednesday 5 August – At 140 kilometres, the 5th stage of the Tour de France Femmes takes the riders from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais. It is a hilly race featuring eight climbs and 2,800 metres of elevation gain.

First published 28 July 2026

For: attackers, puncheurs
Key feature: steep ramps of Mont Brouilly mark the finale

Actually, the riders face more hills than eight climbs, but only those eight count towards the mountains classification. The first one comes shortly after the start. The Côte de Cenves offers 9.6 kilometre of climbing at an average gradient of 4.4%. After a mini-descent, the (uncategorised) Col de Boubon adds another 3.9 kilometres at 3%, before the road heads downhill to the foot of the Col de la Croix de l'Orme: 2.1 kilometres at 5.5%.

When they crest the Croix de l'Ormet after 28.4 kilometres, the riders will have a pretty good idea of what the day has in store. Up and down, up and down. Via the 2.7-kilometre Côte de Saint-Christophe – averaging 4.5% – they continue over the Col de Crie (4.3 kilometres at 4%, uncategorised) and Col de Fontmartin (3.6 kilometres at 5.7%) before tackling the Col de Gerbet (4.6 kilometres at 6.5%) and Côte de Pruzilly (1.6 kilometres at 6.6%).

By the time they pass through Pruzilly, the 5th stage is only just past the halfway mark. Around 30 kilometres of rolling terrain follow, before the Col de Durbize puts the climbing legs to the most brutal test until then. At 3.6 kilometres averaging 5.8%, it looks like a relatively straightforward challenge on paper, but in reality it is something else entirely. Alternating flat sections with ramps of up to 16%, the Durbize is indcredibly irregular climb.

From the summit, with 31.3 kilometres remaining, roughly half that distance is downhill – initially a proper descent, followed by a false flat. Then comes the final climb of the day. Mont Brouilly is a real leg-breaker, 3 kilometres long and averaging 7.7%, with the second half serving up little but double-digit gradients. The summit comes 11.6 kilometres from the finish.

As before, roughly half of that distance is a proper descent, after which the route continues to drop on a false flat towards the finish.

Fancy riding the route yourself? Download GPX stage 5

Stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes starts at 13:45 and the race is expected to finish around 17:40 - both local times (CEST).