2026 Tour de France stage 7 preview | Heavy legs, royal sprinting in Bordeaux

Short but brutal — that pretty much sums up the violence in the Pyrenees. Tadej Pogačar has already taken a first step toward overall victory, or is that still too early to say? Either way, the sprinters have survived the mountains and now get to work for their money again in Bordeaux. Who will take the sprint win in the wine city? IDL Pro Cycling previews the stage!

After the Pyrenees, it is once again the turn of the fast men. The stage starts in Hagetmau and heads toward Bordeaux. The wine city has featured in the Tour de France no fewer than 133 times, and more often than not it has been the scene of a bunch sprint. The most recent winner there was Jasper Philipsen in 2023, while names such as Mark Cavendish and Erik Zabel also appear on the Bordeaux roll of honour.

There are only 700 metres of elevation gain on the route. The riders head north, and you should not expect too much chaos: no strange twists, no mountains, and, at least for a long, long time, very little to disturb the sprint teams. Only after 120 kilometres does the sole intermediate sprint arrive, in Landiras. Not much later, the Côte de Béguey appears on the menu, a small fourth-category climb. Just one KOM point is available there, nothing more.

From that point, the race quickly heads toward the finale in Bordeaux. Even along the Garonne river, do not expect anything too crazy. The finale is not especially difficult either, with not too many corners in the final kilometre. The final bends come around the Pont Simone Veil, where the riders cross the river. That happens 4.5 kilometres from the finish, after which it is almost completely straight to the line. One warning, though: the road is not particularly wide in the closing kilometres.

Times
Start: 1:25 p.m. CET
Finish: approximately 5:10 p.m. CET

Another scorching day? You guessed it. Temperatures around Bordeaux are expected to reach about 35 degrees Celsius on Friday, with a light westerly wind. A few drops of rain may fall, but they will not bring any real cooling. It will stay hot.

After Wednesday’s sprint victory, Olav Kooij will have gained a huge amount of confidence. The Dutchman from Decathlon CMA CGM positioned himself well and had more than enough speed to finish it off. With Cees Bol and Daan Hoole as key lead-out men, the job in Bordeaux has to be completed again. But there are plenty of rivals waiting to spoil the party.

Tim Merlier of Soudal Quick-Step is one of them. On paper, the Belgian may be Kooij’s biggest rival, although he has lost Bert Van Lerberghe. Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech is hoping for his eleventh Tour de France stage win, but so far he has simply lacked the speed to really fight for the victory.

Biniam Girmay of NSN, on the other hand, has looked fantastic. The Eritrean, who won the green jersey in 2024, could not quite pull it off on stage five, but he has been right there at every intermediate sprint. If he gets his train properly on track, he has a very real chance. And what about Max Kanter? The German has surprised with his speed and has a solid lead-out around him at XDS Astana.

Beyond the biggest names, we need to look at the outsiders. Green jersey wearer Mads Pedersen</a> of Lidl-Trek usually lacks that final bit of top-end speed against the pure sprinters, but who knows? Milan Fretin of Cofidis finished eighth in his first Tour sprint, despite being boxed in somewhat. Søren Wærenskjold of Uno-X Mobility is also capable of mixing it in a fast finish.

One of the biggest surprises in Pau was Huub Artz, who finished fourth. The Dutchman from Lotto-Intermarché will be extra motivated after his little run-in with the jury on stage six. Following Arvid de Kleijn’s withdrawal, Rick Pluimers now has to take up sprint duties for Tudor. Dorian Godon of Netcompany INEOS is, together with Anthony Turgis of TotalEnergies, part of the French hope, while Pascal Ackermann is the designated sprinter for Jayco AlUla.

Other names to watch include Fernando Gaviria of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Phil Bauhaus of Bahrain Victorious and Pavel Bittner of Picnic PostNL. All three have enough speed, but they will likely have to do much of the work on their own.

Top Favorites: Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step)
Dark horses: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Biniam Girmay (NSN), Max Kanter (XDS Astana), and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
Long shots: Søren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility), Milan Fretin (Cofidis), Huub Artz (Lotto-Intermarché), Dorian Godon (Netcompany INEOS), Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL), Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), Rick Pluimers (Tudor), and Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies)

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]