Stage 9 of the Tour de France 2026 was shorter than expected to give the riders some reprieve in the sweltering summer temperatures in France, but the action during the remaining 155.5 kilometers remained red-hot, with a four-rider breakaway holding off a charging mob on a tough final climb into Ussel.
In the end, it was Mathieu van der Poel powering away from his fellow escapees to take the win, his third at the TDF and the 61st of his professional career. He also won stages in 2021 and 2025.
Now, Van der Poel and his teammates will hope to keep the momentum across the race's first rest day, which will be followed by a climb-heavy Stage 10 on Tuesday.
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- 5 Riders Who Could Challenge Tadej Pogacar At The TDF 2026
- Who Won Stage 9 Of The Tour de France 2026? See The Full TDF Results Here
When the Tour de France 2026 resumes, all of the teams will have had the opportunity to enjoy the well-earned rest day, and that usually means a healthy balance of relaxing and preparing for the next two weeks on the road.
The return to action won't fall on just any day, however.
July 14 in France is known as Bastille Day, the country's national day and a chance for celebration and reflection. It's a remembrance of the Storming of the Bastille in 1789 during the French Revolution and the unity of the French people one year later.
While the parties take over the towns, the only battle happening in France on Tuesday will be a 166.6-kilometer mountain stage at the Tour de France.
In the General Classification, reigning champion Tadej Pogačar leads two-time TDF winner Jonas Vingegaard by 2 minutes, 42 seconds. Young star Isaac del Toro is third and followed by Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso.
For viewers in Canada, FloBikes coverage of Stage 10 will begin at 7 a.m. Eastern and is expected to conclude around noon EDT.
Here’s what to know about Stage 10 of the Tour de France 2026, a 166.6-kilometer journey from Aurillac to Le Lioran:
Stage 10: Tour de France 2026
Hopefully the riders had the chance to rest and recover, because Stage 10 of the Tour de France 2026 is going to be a legitimate mountain test with seven categorized climbs, ranging from Category 1 to Category 3.
The timing of this stage is strategic. The holiday and peak patriotism mean some of the biggest crowds of any cycling event, so why not also make it one of the most challenging and exciting stages of the entire 21 days?
The 166.6-kilometer ride will begin in Aurillac and take them to Le Lioran. The first climb will serve as a warm-up at about 68 kilometers, and the intensity will kick up when they reach the debut climb of the Col de la Griffoul, a 5.9-kilometer obstacle that reaches 6.7% gradient.
The last 50 kilometers of the day feature two Category 1 climbs - Pas de Peyrol and the Col de Pertus, which hits 8.5%. That latter might be tough for many, but it will give the world's best climbers the chance to potentially ride away from their rivals.
However, much like the sprinters take every chance they can to fight for a stage win, Stage 10 could see the climbing specialists do the same thing with precious GC time on the line - a summit finish at the Le Lioran ski station. This is the second of five summit finishes.
This area of France has provided some epic showdowns, including Jonas Vingegaard catching and beating Tadej Pogačar in 2024, though Pogačar did ultimately go on to win the third of his four TDF titles.
Kilometers To Miles: How Long Is Stage 10 Of The Tour de France 2026?
Stage 10 of the Tour de France 2026 is 166.6 kilometers, or approximately 103.52 miles long.
Tour de France 2026 Stage 10 Profile
Here is what the route looks like for Stage 10:
How To Watch The Tour de France 2026 Stage 10
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 10 Of The Tour de France In 2025?
Stage 10 of the Tour de France 2025 was a little chaotic. It took the riders over eight grueling hills in the Massif Central.
Entering the day, Tadej Pogačar held a 54-lead over Remco Evenepoel in the GC, while Ben Healy was nearly four minutes down in 11th place.
The stage was won by Simon Yates, but he spent much of the day's journey in an escape with Healy, who had just won Stage 6. The breakaway began with 30 riders and ended with just five.
Yates took the win, Thymen Arensman was second and Healy's third-place finish was to launch him to the top of the GC standings, 29 seconds ahead of Pogačar, meaning that Stage 11 would be one of the few days the defending champion wouldn't be wearing the yellow jersey in his title defense.
Healy became the first Irishman since Stephen Roche in 1987 to take the overall lead at the TDF. Pogačar ended up winning Stage 12 to get back to the top of the standings and then won the time trial in Stage 13 for good measure.
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
- Stage 9: Who Won Stage 9 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.
A Swift Kick In The... Gears? Saves Tom Pidcock In Tour de France 2026 Stage 9
Tom Pidcock suffered a mechanical issue with 23 kilometers left to ride in Stage 9 of the Tour de France 2026 and was nearly dropped from the four-rider breakaway at the front of the race.
A few swift kicks of the bike got everything back in working order, and he was able to save the stage, while challenging for the win.
Pidcock finished third on the day behind Mathieu van der Poel and Tobias Johannessen.
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