Description
With 171 km and 5,600 m of ascent, the 20th stage of the Tour de France 2026 promises to be a thrill ride! After the descent of the Col de la Croix de Fer and before the ascent of the Galibier, come and watch the riders pass through Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne!
Christian Prudhomme's comments on the stage: Le Bourg d'Oisans > Alpe d'Huez
"The Tour's biggest mountain stage, with 5,600 m of accumulated vertical drop, takes place for the first time on the eve of the final finish. And the list of climbs already makes you dizzy: after climbing the Col de la Croix de Fer, you'll have to tackle the Télégraphe and the roof of the Tour, the Galibier. Then the ascent to the Isère resort will take place on a road only used in 2013 in the downhill direction, via the Col de Sarenne. Uncharted territory, history to be made.
Km 61.6: SAINT-JEAN-DE-MAURIENNE (pop. 8,200)
Although the Tour had shunned Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne until 2006, it has since become a regular fixture here, with stages in 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2019. The finishes have smiled on the French, with victories for Sandy Casar in 2010 and Romain Bardet in 2015. To win his first stage in the Grande Boucle, the rider from Auvergne attacked on the Glandon before demonstrating his exceptional downhill skills to win solo, 33 seconds ahead of Pierre Rolland. In the end, 9th place overall for the Frenchman, and the red super-combat bib. In 2019, the town was the starting point for the famous stage to Tignes, which never reached its destination due to a hailstorm and mudslide. Egan Bernal nonetheless took the definitive Yellow Jersey that day. Finally, in 2024, the peloton set off in the direction of Saint-Vulbas, where Mark Cavendish won his 35th and final stage to break Eddy Merckx's record.
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is a town where sports tourism is king, both in winter at the Maurienne ski resorts, and in summer, when the town boasts the world capital of cyclo climbers, with 48 cycle routes, 1,600 km of itineraries and ten major passes, including six hors catégorie. (Source A.S.O)
