2026 Tour de France Stage 14 Preview | The breakaway riders have 3,800 reasons, but does Tadej Pogacar have one, too?!

And so we’ve already reached weekend three of the 2026 Tour de France. We’ll kick things off with a mountain stage through the Vosges, where the riders will have to climb 3,800 meters of elevation gain over a course of just over 150 kilometers. IDL Pro Cycling breaks down what you can expect on Saturday from Stage 14 of the 2026 Tour de France!

The race starts in Mulhouse, not far from the tri-border area of France, Switzerland, and Germany. In fact, Mulhouse even shares an airport with Freiburg (Germany) and Basel in Switzerland.

Enough with the trivia—we also have plenty to say about the stage itself. It starts with the intermediate sprint, which comes just 12.6 kilometers into the race. In Wattwiller, the Mads Pedersens of this world will want to be on their toes right away for their first sprint of the day, which comes after a short, slightly uphill stretch.

The pace won’t let up after this intermediate sprint, because the riders will immediately tackle the Grand Ballon: a 21.5-kilometer climb averaging 4.8 percent, but one that’s divided into two distinct sections. The first section, at 8.4 kilometers with an average gradient of 6.5 percent, is quite challenging, followed by a five-kilometer plateau. The second section is 6.5 kilometers at 7.8 percent: even tougher.

Afterward, we’ll cross the finish line at Le Markstein—but in the opposite direction—and then descend 25 kilometers to Kruth: from there, we’ll immediately tackle the next climb: the Col du Page is 9.8 kilometers long, with an average gradient of 4.7 percent. It’s just a warm-up, because after passing through the valley, we’ll tackle Friday’s toughest climb: the Ballon d’Alsace, 8.9 kilometers at a 6.9 percent gradient.

After we’ve completed this climb and the descent that follows, we get a brief respite in the race. The Col du Hundsruck (3.6 km at 5.2%) is nothing more than a minor challenge compared to what comes next: the Col du Haag, a tough climb that serves as the finale of this Vosges stage.

The Col du Haag starts off steeply with a 3.9-kilometer stretch at a 9.1 percent grade, followed by a short descent. After that, the road begins to climb steadily again, with a final 1.6 kilometers at a gradient of more than 10 percent. At the top of the climb, which has an average gradient of 7.3 percent over its 11.2-kilometer length, there are still seven kilometers to go to reach Le Markstein.

We had finished there once before in the Tour de France, in 2023. Tadej Pogacar won that stage, after having definitively lost the Tour de France to Jonas Vingegaard a few days earlier. One year earlier, Le Markstein was also the finish line for the Tour de France Femmes, which Annemiek van Vleuten won at the time.

Times
Start: 1:10 p.m CET / 12:10 GMT / 07:10 ET
Finish: 5:45 p.m CET / 4:45 GMT / 12:45 ET

The weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse in the Tour de France. On Saturday, temperatures will be around 25 degrees Celsius, and there’s also a chance of a light shower in the afternoon.

The Tour de France is 13 days in, but the general classification is already taking shape. Tadej Pogacar doesn’t need to worry about the yellow jersey, but we know that the Slovenian from UAE Emirates-XRG is ambitious. The emotions surrounding Le Markstein might lead him to go for the stage win, though he has also mentioned that he’d like to let his teammate Isaac del Toro take an extra stage victory.

The breakaway riders had a chance on Friday, but they’re fervently hoping for another opportunity on Saturday. That will be for the riders who are strong climbers, though, because in a 150-kilometer stage with 3,800 meters of elevation gain, it will be incredibly difficult to be “gifted” a lead.

So who are we talking about? Take Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Tobias Halland Johannesen (Uno-X), Javier Romo (Movistar), Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS), and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step)—riders who have already shown their form in this Tour de France but who were notably reserved on Friday in a stage that could also suit them well.

Who did we see on Friday? Among others, Tom Pidcock ( Pinarello-Q36.5), Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), Brandon McNulty (UAE), Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), Kévin Vauquelin ( Netcompany INEOS), and Harold Tejada of XDS-Astana. The first three, however, are now in a position in the general classification that will immediately guarantee them freedom to ride as they please.

And how are Pogacar and Del Toro’s other general classification rivals supposed to win? Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) might be able to hold his own in the final seven flat kilometers, but he’ll have to stay with the pack on the climbs. He also has Florian Lipowitz by his side, just as Lidl-Trek can count on Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso .

For Jonas Vingegaard ( Visma | Lease a Bike), Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMAA CGM), and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), it’s harder to make an immediate impact on their own, but we’re also looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Top Favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)
Dark horses: Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), and Tobias Halland Johannesen (Uno-X)
Long shots: Juan Ayuso, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMAA CGM), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), Kévin Vauquelin, Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS), Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5), Javier Romo (Novistar), and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step)