2026 Tour de France stage 17 preview | High-stakes showdown: sprinters vs. attackers!

The rest day was a welcome break, but the time trial must have really taken a toll on the riders’ legs at the start of week three. And it won’t stop there: expect a battle in the seventeenth stage. It will most likely be a blisteringly fast stage. IDL Pro Cycling looks ahead!

This is shaping up to be another treat. After the time trial, we’ll continue with a road stage, starting in Chambéry. From this Alpine city, we’d normally head into the high mountains, but that’s still a ways off. No, we’re embarking on a transitional stage that could go in any direction. The peloton will make a loop and head into the hills via Aix-les-Bains.

The opening stage is, in fact, the most difficult. The Côte de Bassa (1.5 km at a 5.5 percent grade) comes just 19 kilometers into the race. However, the road continues to climb. The Côte de Rossillon (1.7 km at a 5.3 percent gradient) comes at the 35.5-kilometer mark, and the Col des Prés (3.5 km at a 6.8 percent gradient) at the 49.6-kilometer mark. At 1,142 meters, that is the highest point of the day.

After a 10-kilometer descent, we’ll face one more short climb: the Côte de Saint-Jean d’Arvey (1.1 km at a 5.7 percent grade). This is the final climb of the day, but there will still be plenty of rolling roads ahead. The race passes through the starting point of Chambéry once more, after which the peloton heads southwest.

The Col de Couz is uncategorized, but it’s eight kilometers long with an average gradient of about three percent. So the course will continue to go up and down over the next few kilometers. The final stretch will start late. First, there’s an intermediate sprint in Colombe, just under thirty kilometers from the finish. This is followed by a fast descent with fifteen kilometers to go, after which the final kilometers in Voiron will be challenging.

That’s where there’s a 2.5-kilometer climb with a 4 percent gradient. It’s not super tough, but in the third week (and after a day like that), it’s grueling. If the sprinters still have the energy, they can hope for a good result—but they’ll have to survive it first. The final stretch is also very twisty, with four turns in the last 1.5 kilometers. The last one comes with 400 meters to go!

Times
Start: 1:35 p.m CET
Finish: around 5:40 p.m CET

At the start in Chambéry, the temperature will reach 30 degrees, with no chance of rain. A gentle northwest wind won’t cause any problems. Conditions will be the same in Voiron: 30 degrees, with a wind blowing straight from the north.

The pure sprinters will have their penultimate chance on Wednesday. The coming days will really be for the climbers, although some riders will also make a bid on Thursday. But for someone like Mathieu van der Poel, it has to happen on Stage 17 (or, of course, in Paris). The Dutch rider from Alpecin-Premier Tech has already won a stage on rolling terrain.

That race was a bit tougher than this one, so we’ll see some more tough riders up front. Feel free to expect Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) to be up front again, but he’s not his team’s only contender. Riders like Mathias Vacek and Quinn Simmons could also put on a good show. At Soudal Quick-Step, they can count on Jasper Stuyven. Visma | Lease a Bike will have to adjust their strategy and may take a chance on Victor Campenaerts or Per Strand Hagenes.

EF Education-EasyPost came to the Tour for stages like this. The American team has Kasper Asgreen, as well as Alex Baudin, Ben Healy, Michael Valgren... What a team! Jayco AlUla also has several contenders, with stars like Michael Matthews and Stage 13 winner Mauro Schmid. Uno-X Mobility is counting on Jonas Abrahamsen and Magnus Cort. Filippo Ganna is the man for Netcompany INEOS, but they also have Dorian Godon.

The Movistar attack team features Pablo Castrillo and Raúl García Pierna, while Lotto-Intermarché can count on Liam Slock. Also in contention are Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), Fred Wright (Pinarello - Q36.5), Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL), Mattéo Vercher, Nicolas Breuillard (TotalEnergies), Simone Velasco, Aaron Gate (XDS Astana), and Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) are also contenders.

But the sprinters want to give it a shot, too. Not the big, heavy guys, but riders who can handle a little climb. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) hasn’t won yet, but he’s getting in better and better shape. Biniam Girmay (NSN), Max Kanter (XDS Astana), Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla), Huub Artz (Lotto-Intermarché), Rick Pluimers (Tudor), and Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL) are all capable contenders.

Top Favorites: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
Dark horses: Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Dorian Godon (Netcompany INEOS), and Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek)
Long shots: Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Filippo Ganna (Netcompany INEOS), Biniam Girmay (NSN), Fred Wright (Pinarello - Q36.5), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility), Rick Pluimers (Tudor), Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL), Max Kanter (XDS Astana), Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL), Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), Nicolas Breuillard (TotalEnergies), Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step), Kasper Asgreen and Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost)