Tour de France Femmes 2026 Route stage 6: Montbrison - Tournon-sur-Rhône

Thursday 6 August – The 6h stage of the Tour de France Femmes crosses the Ardèche. It is a 153.4-kilometre hilly race with more than 2,500 metres of elevation gain. Of the final 50 kilometres, the vast majority is downhill.

First published 28 July 2026

For: attackers, fast descenders
Key feature: finale likely to begin well before the finish

More precisely, 40 of the final 50 kilometres are downhill. This is likely to tempt strong descenders such as Cédrine Kerbaol, but it also means the finale is set to ignite early. The riders may even hit the gas so soon that we could be in for action from start to finish.

After a flat 13-kilometre run-in, the climbing begins with an uncategorised section, after which the Côte Périgneux serves up 1.4 kilometres at 6.2%. There is no descent to speak of, and a little later the Côte de Prunerie adds another 2.9 kilometres at 4.9%. By the summit, the riders have covered 26.6 kilometres.

Soon after descending into the Loire valley, it is time for the Côte d’Aurec - 3.3 kilometres at 6.1% - and although the road eases off slightly after the mountain sprint, it continues to rise steadily. Then it gives way to a rolling section before the climbing resumes on the Côte de Praneuf: 1.2 kilometres at 6.5%. Again, there is no descent. Quite the opposite, in fact: the road continues to climb for almost another 20 kilometres to the highest point of the day, at 1,148 metres above sea level.

Logic dictates that the road now heads downhill, and once back in the valley, the riders immediately tackle the Col de Lalouvesc, an 8.6-kilometre climb averaging 5%. The Col de Lalouvesc marks the last major summit of the day, and it comes 47.8 kilometres from the finish.

From the summit, it is 28 kilometres downhill, interrupted only by a false-flat section somewhere in the final stretch. From the Doux valley, just after Boucieu-le-Roi, the final climb of the day begins: 3.8 kilometres at 5%. Once over the top in Boucieu-le-Roi, there are 15.9 kilometres of mostly downhill riding to the finish in Tournon-sur-Rhône.

Fancy riding the route yourself? Download GPX stage 6

Stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes starts at 13:35 and the race is expected to finish around 17:40 - both local times (CEST).