Holiday time is over (Madrid was brilliant, topped off with going to see Morrissey on Wednesday), it’s time for the women’s Tour de France. 9 stages, most of which are relatively long and demanding days in the saddle. All eyes will be on Ventoux, but most of the stages look well designed to me, perfect for attacking racing. In this preview, I’ll take a look at each of the stages and the different classifications you’ll see riders fight for over the next week.

Paris > Paris 89km The 21st and final stage of the 2026 Tour de France, and what a race it’s been. As usual, we end in Paris, and the organisers have persisted with the Montmatre climb in the lap circuit, but there’s been a route change as the emergency services are needed to help deal with the wildfires in the south. Most of the riders weren’t best pleased with this addition, but the watching fans loved it. They have tried to appease the sprinters a little bit, the distance from the last time up the climb to the finish is now...

Le Bourg d’Oisans > Alpe d’Huez 172km What an exhibition by Tadej Pogačar, poetry in motion from the world champion. I was delighted to see him attack at the foot of the Alpe, he knew what was required to catch the break and he did what was needed. I’ve been watching this sport for a long time; I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else who could have done what he did today. Onwards, stage 20 is the Queen stage of the 2026 Tour de France, 5560m of climbing is huge, this is a big day out for everyone in the...

Gap > Alpe d’Huez 128km Stage 19 and the race returns to Alpe d’Huez. This is the first of two consecutive stages finishing at the top of the mountain, but this is the only one where the full climb is done. Just 128km in length, it’s bound to be a crazy stage from start to finish. UAE have now lost Brandon McNulty and sickness is having an impact on some of his teammates, it’s going to be interesting to see how the other GC teams approach this stage. Stick or twist?

Voiron > Orcières-Merlette 185km Today was even crazier than expected, a stage where Captain Hindsight will come out to play. Why Pedersen decided to chase down the initial break is beyond me, a terrible decision made in the heat of the moment. He’s now only leading the points classification by just 7 points, so it’s not all doom and gloom for Lidl-Trek, especially as they’ve now bounced back into a big lead in the teams competition. Such a mental day, you’ve got to love the 3rd week of the Tour de France. Anyway, time to look at stage 18. This finish...

Chambéry > Voiron 175km Stage 17 looks like D-Day in terms of the fight for the green jersey. Going into the day, Pedersen has a 31-point lead over Philipsen, with Girmay a further 25 points down. There’s 25 points for the intermediate sprint, which is just 28km from the finish and another 50 points for the winner. The only other stage left with 50 points for the winner is the final day in Paris, but the Montmartre climb will make it very challenging for Philipsen to take the win, if he wants to win the green jersey, he really needs...

Évian-les-Bains > Thonon-les-Bains 26km ITT The 2nd rest day is over, and the final week is about to begin. Sunday had it all, both Vingegaard and Pogačar had a booty call from the drug testers, Vingegaard crashed out of the race at a roundabout, Evenepoel produced one of his best climbing performances and took a quite incredible win. UAE didn’t win the stage, but they ticked off their other objectives, the main thing being Del Toro is back on the podium and in the white jersey. Stage 16 is a battle against the clock, the race of truth, the Mexican will...

Champagnole > Plateau de Solaison 184km Another incredible day at the Tour de France. If you can’t enjoy Nils Politt keeping the break at 3 minutes, I think there’s something wrong with you. The big German was outstanding, the man of the match, Felix Großschartner wasn’t far behind. That’s the thing with this team, they are never short of one or two riders stepping up with huge rides. In terms of their objectives, the nailed all three of them. Pogačar took the win and extended his gap, Del Toro is back in the podium fight, and they took back more...

Mulhouse > Le Markstein 156km Stage 13 went the way of Mauro Schmid, what a season he’s having. UAE made big strides in the team classification and Pidcock jumped all the way up 4th on GC, but I wonder if he’ll feel today’s efforts in his legs tomorrow. Stage 14 is a proper mountain stage; you should really watch it from start to finish.

Dole > Belfort 206km Stage 13 is the longest day of the tour, not that 206km is long by professional standards. It’s a bit of a weird one in terms of the profile. Pan flat start which is good for the big engines, but the final climb ensures that you need to be a decent climber to take the win, or will UAE decide to go for another win from the GC group?