Stage 9 of the Tour de France 2026 is the final day of action before the first of the year's two rest days, and it comes after a couple of flatter days designed to give the spotlight to the sprinters.
This one will push the teams to the limit and should leave them exhausted with the recovery opportunity ahead, but due to the extreme heat in France this week, the ride has been shortened by 30 kilometers, going from 185.5 to 155.5 kilometers. The race organizers accomplished this by cutting out a hilly loop at the beginning of the stage.
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Saturday's 180.4-kilometer ride from Périgueux to Bergerac, also in the sweltering summer heat, ended up being decided in a bunch sprint, though that nearly was spoiled heading into the final 3 kilometers of the race.
Belgian Liam Slock was part of the three-man breakaway that threatened what was expected to be another sprint finally. They rode together for more than 130 kilometers, before he went solo for another 40. He finally was forced to sit up as the stage neared its conclusion, turning things over to the sprinters.
For the second consecutive day, Belgian Tim Merlier beat Eritrean Biniam Girmay to the line. It was Merlier's fifth TDF stage win overall in three appearances at the event.
Once again, the General Classification remained unchanged, with reigning champion Tadej Pogačar maintaining his lead of 2 minutes, 42 seconds over two-time TDF winner Jonas Vingegaard. Young star Isaac del Toro is third and followed by Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso.
For viewers in Canada, FloBikes coverage of Stage 9 will begin at 7:20 a.m. Eastern and is expected to conclude around 12:30 p.m. EDT.
Here’s what to know about Stage 9 of the Tour de France 2026, a 155.5-kilometer ride from Malemort to Ussel that will have no flat spots or reprieve for the riders.
*Stage 9 was changed to 155.5 kilometers due to an extreme heatwave in the region.
Stage 9: Tour de France 2026
After two flat stages made for the sprinters, Stage 9 of the Tour de France 2026 couldn't be more opposite. It's considered hilly and not mountainous, but there's almost no flat terrain during the entire 185.5 kilometers from Malemort to Ussel (now 155.5 kilometers with a hilly loop removed from the front part of the stage).
The 3,400 meters of climbing is considered the most consistently challenging non-mountain stage of the 21 days, and the rolling route features four categorized climbs, with none longer than 4.8 kilometers, but each eclipsing 6% gradient.
For those who have the legs to lead this stage, it may take some strategy and an aggressive move in the final kilometers to lock this one up.
Kilometers To Miles: How Long Is Stage 9 Of The Tour de France 2026?
Stage 9 of the Tour de France 2026 is now 155.5 kilometers, or approximately 96.5 miles long.
Tour de France 2026 Stage 9 Profile
Here is what the route looks like for Stage 9:
How To Watch The Tour de France 2026 Stage 9
For Canadian viewers, the Tour de France 2026 is streaming on FloBikes and the FloSports app.
Stage highlights, replays and more breaking news, including recaps and rider interviews, will be on both platforms.
In the United States, the Tour de France will be on the NBC family of networks and will stream daily on Peacock. Select stages will air on local NBC affiliates, while others, plus stage reruns, will be shown on the USA Network.
In February 2023, NBC Sports, Peacock and ASO announced a six-year deal that will keep NBC Sports as the home of the Tour de France in the United States through 2029.
Who Won Stage 9 Of The Tour de France In 2025?
Sprinter Tim Merlier became a multi-stage winner after chasing down Mathieu van der Poel in the final kilometer and outsprinting Jonathan Milan to take Stage 9. His first win at the Tour de France 2025 came in Stage 3, where he first bested Milan.
In a unique twist, Merlier was led in by Remco Evenepoel, whom he was supposed to be helping during the TDF and expected to need to be fresh for later in the race when things move back into the mountains.
Van der Poel and teammate Jonas Rickaert built a huge lead during the 174.1-kilometer stage, and the aggressiveness helped Rickaert to the Combativity Award for the day, before he fell away from exhaustion.
While all of that was happening out front, overall leader Tadej Pogačar had to say goodbye to teammate and helper Joao Almeida, who suffered a fractured rib in a fall two days earlier.
Tour de France 2026 Results: Here’s Who Has Won Each Stage So Far
- Stage 1: Who Won Stage 1 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
- Stage 2: Who Won Stage 2 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
- Stage 3: Who Won Stage 3 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
- Stage 4: Who Won Stage 4 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
- Stage 5: Who Won Stage 5 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
- Stage 6: Who Won Stage 6 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
- Stage 7: Who Won Stage 7 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
- Stage 8: Who Won Stage 8 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
When Does The Tour de France 2026 Start?
The Tour de France 2026 starts July 4 and will conclude July 26.
The schedule includes 21 stages and two rest days (July 13 and July 20).
Every day, the cyclists start together. Every stage varies in distance and physical demand, and the characteristics of each stage determine what type of rider should excel or how the race should finish.
For example, some stages feature flat finishes, and that means the sprinters likely will be battling for those stage wins.
The three weeks of racing across Barcelona and France will feature eight mountain stages, including five summit finishes, seven flat stages, four hilly days, an individual time trial and a team time trial to kick things off on July 4.
How Long Is The Tour de France 2026?
The course for the Tour de France 2026 is 3,333 kilometers or just over 2,071 miles.
The race is 21 stages.
A map of the entire route can be found here.
What Is The Schedule For The Tour de France 2026?
- Stage 1 (TTT) - July 4: Barcelone - Barcelone (19.6km)
- Stage 2 - July 5: Tarragone - Barcelone (168.5km)
- Stage 3 - July 6: Granollers - Les Angles (195.9km)
- Stage 4 - July 7: Carcassonne - Foix (181.9km)
- Stage 5 - July 8: Lannemezan - Pau (158.3km)
- Stage 6 - July 9: Pau - Gavarnie-Gèdre (186.2km)
- Stage 7 - July 10: Hagetmau - Bordeaux (175.1km)
- Stage 8 - July 11: Périgueux - Bergerac (180.4km)
- Stage 9 - July 12: Malemort - Ussel (185.5km)
- Rest Day - July 13: Cantal
- Stage 10 - July 14: Aurillac - Le Lioran (166.6km)
- Stage 11 - July 15: Vichy - Nevers (161.3km)
- Stage 12 - July 16: Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours - Chalon-sur-Saône (179.1km)
- Stage 13 - July 17: Dole - Belfort (205.8km)
- Stage 14 - July 18: Mulhouse - Le Markstein Fellering (155.3km)
- Stage 15 - July 19: Champagnole - Plateau de Solaison (183.9km)
- Rest Day - July 20: Haute-Savoie
- Stage 16 (ITT) - July 21: Évian-les-Bains - Thonon-les-Bains (26.1km)
- Stage 17 - July 22: Chambery - Voiron (174.7km)
- Stage 18 - July 23: Voiron - Orcières-Merlette (185.2km)
- Stage 19 - July 24: Gap - Alpe d'Huez (127.9km)
- Stage 20 - July 25: Le Bourg d'Oisans - Alpe d'Huez (170.9km)
- Stage 21 - July 26: Thoiry - Paris Champs-Élysées (133km)
How Many Teams/Riders Compete In The Tour de France?
Traditionally, there are 22 or 23 teams and up to 184 competitors in the Tour de France. This year, there will be 23 teams.
Here’s the list for 2026:
- Alpecin - Premier Tech
- Bahrain - Victorious
- Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
- Cofidis
- Decathlon CMA CGM Team
- EF Education - EasyPost
- Groupama - FDJ United
- Netcompany INEOS
- Lidl - Trek
- Lotto Intermarché
- Movistar Team
- NSN Cycling Team
- Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
- Soudal Quick-Step
- Team Jayco AlUla
- Team Picnic PostNL
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- TotalEnergies
- Tudor Pro Cycling Team
- UAE Team Emirates - XRG
- Uno-X Mobility
- XDS Astana Team
Who Won The Tour de France In 2025?
Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar added to his growing legacy by winning the Tour de France in 2025.
It was his second consecutive victory at the event, and fourth overall (2020, 2021), making him the sixth rider in history to win four times.
Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain all have won five times, while Chris Froome joins Pogačar with four.
On his way to securing the yellow jersey in 2025, Pogačar was the pre-race favorite.
His title defense featured four stage wins (4, 7, 12, 13), and he finished more than four minutes ahead of runner-up Jonas Vingegaard. Florian Lipowitz was third, 11 minutes behind Pogačar, who also won the King of the Mountains jersey.
Pogačar owns five Grand Tour victories overall, including the Giro d’Italia in 2024, which was part of a historic Giro-TDF double, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since 1998.
In 2026, Vingegaard, a two-time Tour de France winner, will be looking to match the effort after claiming the GC title at the Giro d’Italia in May and becoming the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours at least one time.
Merckx has the most GC wins in Grand Tours with 11, followed by Hinault, who has 10.
Pogačar has maintained his elite form in 2026 and started the year with four wins in his first five events. He then added four stages wins on the way to the GC crown at the five-stage Tour de Romandie.
Quinn Simmons Looks Locked In For Tour de France 2026 Win
At the start of Stage 8 of the 2026 Tour de France, Quinn Simmons explained his role for Lidl-Trek and Mads Pedersen, saying his job is to drill it and help Mads collect as many points as possible.
But the bigger story is what comes next.
Simmons already is focused on Stage 9, one of his biggest chances yet to take a Tour de France stage victory.
In this report, we also hear from Jasper Philipsen, Pedersen and Biniam Girmay as the sprinters prepare for another fast day.
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