2026 Tour de France stage 15 preview | Almost time to rest, first Del Toro's playing field

One more to go! The final rest day comes at just the right time for many riders, but the Tour de France peloton will have to give it their all on a tough mountain stage. After the grueling stages in the Vosges, we’ll see an uphill finish a bit further south—a finish that many have already experienced earlier this year. Who will take the win? IDL Pro Cycling previews the stage!

After Saturday’s grueling stage in the Vosges, the peloton will head a bit further south. The real Alps are still a ways off, but we’ll keep climbing. We’ll start in the Jura and ride right along the Swiss border to Bonneville, about twenty kilometers north of beautiful Annecy. We’re entering familiar territory!

The race starts in Champagnole, and things there might not turn out much differently than in Stage 14. The breakaway riders held back and waited until after the intermediate sprint. Now there’s another sprint, but 17 kilometers after the start. Whether the sprinter teams will control the race or join the breakaway: we’ll see.

After a descent, we begin the first climb of the day: the Côte des Rousses. It’s a third-category climb (6.6 km at a 5.1 percent gradient). This marks the end of the hilly opening stage. The road then descends toward Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, after which it begins to undulate again. It’s neither steep nor long, so there are no hills on the route for the time being.

The next climb is about 47 kilometers from the finish line—and what a climb it is! The Col de la Croisette is only 4.6 kilometers long, but has a gradient of no less than 11.2 percent. It’s an absolute killer with no flat sections at all. Immediately after that comes the Côte du Mont (2.1 km at 8.3 percent), which is no walk in the park either. It doesn’t really kick off the final stretch, but it could prove crucial if a breakaway group is battling for the win.

The road will run slightly downhill from Arbusigny toward Bonneville. In Thuet, the final climb will begin: the Plateau de Solaison. That sounds familiar, because this climb was used just a month earlier! It was the final climb in the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, where Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) secured victory.

We could already tell back then that the climb wasn’t going to be fun. The first four kilometers, in particular, are steep: they have an 11 percent grade. If you think it gets easier after that, you’re in for a surprise. The climb is eleven kilometers long, with an average gradient of nine percent. It’s a steady climb, with only the final kilometer—at seven percent—being not too difficult. But it’s going to be a grueling final climb—that much is certain.

Times
Start: 1:20 p.m CET (12:20 GMT/ 7:20 ET)
Finish: 5:40 p.m CET (4:40 GMT / 12:40 ET)

Say hello to the rain again at the Tour de France. In Champagnole, the temperature at the start will be around 26 degrees, with not a cloud in the sky. The same conditions are expected a little further south. At the top of the Plateau de Solaison, it will be around 19 degrees.

The fourteenth stage looked set to be a race that could have gone either way, but Tadej Pogacar didn’t let that happen. The Slovenian yellow jersey wearer from UAE Team Emirates-XRG gave the breakaway riders no breathing space, and with such a beautiful uphill finish, it looks set to be another tough one for the attackers. His UAE team-mate Isaac Del Toro won here just last month,

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) looked strong on Le Markstein, but Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) also dared to attack. His team-mate Remco Evenepoel found it a lot tougher and had to let a gap open up. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) was also well positioned and made a good impression in the Vosges, as did Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek).

Speaking of breakaways: if it does turn out to be a race for the attackers, who will we see? You can count on Netcompany INEOS, with names like Thymen Arensman, Kévin Vauquelin and Egan Bernal. EF Education-EasyPost could also make another attempt, with Richard Carapaz. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) also looked a lot better in the breakaway on stage fourteen. Will he get another chance? Or is it Sepp Kuss’s turn? You can add Ilan Van Wilder and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) to the list too.

Top Favorite: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Dark horses: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek)
Long shots: Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step), Egan Bernal, Thymen Arensman, Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany INEOS), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike)