June 11, 2026
After four days of waiting, the fast men should finally get their chance to sprint for stage honors. They'll have to work for it however because there are five climbs, two of which are categorized, all stacked in the first 90 km of the 195 km stage. The riders will leave Saint-Chamond and immediately climb two category four climbs, one right after the other. The 8 km, 3.4% climb to Aveize and the Saint-Laurent de-Chamousset, 5km at 4.6%, quickly follows. One more rise up to Ongt rounds out the climbing before the riders will loop North around the Lyon, cross the Rhône, and finish the last 70 km on flat roads into the village of Villars-Les-Dombes. The last corner comes with 3 km to go for a long, straight shot to the line. The road is straight as an arrow so the sprinters will have to be patient when they see the finish line in the distance. The finish town of Villars-Les-Dombes is known as the site of the largest bird park in Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of man-made lakes built in the 11th century for fish farming in the inhospitable marshy wetlands of l'Ain department. It's a unique stage and one that the sprinters will want to have on their palmares.
Race Summary
Patchy white clouds dotted the sky on what was another perfect early Summer day in Central France. The primary direction of travel during the stage was North, directly into a nagging headwind which made the going a bit slower than it otherwise would have been. Through the first 100 km, the average speed was 41 km/hr set by a break of six riders. With 90 km remaining, the front group consisting of Pepijn Reinderink of Soudal Quickstep, Thibault Guernalec of TotalEnergies, Julen Arriolabengoa of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Felix Engelhardt of Jayco AlUla, Robbie Dhondt of Picnic-PostNL, and Hugo Houle of Alpecin-Premier Tech had 2 minutes 10 seconds on the peloton who were cohesive in the chase with Visma-Lease a Bike, Cofidis, Tudor Pro Cycling, Bahrain Victorious, and EF-Education EasyPost all taking part.
Vineyards became more and more prevalent as the kilometers ticked by. The riders passed through Beaujolais in the fertile Rhône valley and were surrounded by stunning green hills, Châteaux, and perfectly manicured vines. The next 50 km were a slow burn. The gap crept down second by second and with 40 km remaining, the break had just 1 minute. There was no messing around by the sprint teams who all kept at least one rider in the rotation unlike yesterday when some teams disappeared and tried to bluff their way into the sprint.
The break was playing the game well however and clicked the gears down the cassette. With 25 km to go, the gap had stabilized at 55 seconds and a bit of urgency had built in the peloton. Enough was enough and the bunch put the hammer down to close the gap once and for all. 17 km from the finish, the break had just 15 seconds and were falling apart. Guernalec attacked which spit Houle out the back but the acceleration was short-lived and the race was back together with 12 km remaining.
Teams set up in full trains with Visma-Lease a Bike owning the right side of the road. Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe, Bahrain Victorious, Cofidis, and EF-Education EasyPost were the other teams organized across the road and waiting patiently for the lead outs to begin in earnest. The race for the line began just before the last corner at 3 km to go. Cofidis won the hole shot and took the lead as the rest of the peloton strung out through the bend. Cofidis kept the front through 1,700 meters to go but there were riders free-wheeling behind, waiting to drill it. The road widened to over three large lanes which split the group into multiple competing trains. Visma-Lease a Bike were the quickest so the other teams coalesced behind them to find shelter.
At 1 km to go, Visma-Lease a Bike had two riders in front of Wout van Aert. Lotto Intermarché were nicely organized with three riders while everyone else seemed to be fending for themselves. A swell came from behind, led by Netcompany-Ineos for Dorian Godon with 550 meters to go. One Netcompany-Ineos rider snuck in between van Aert and his last lead out man putting the Belgian in third wheel. At 200 meters to go, the last Visma-Lease a Bike rider swung off to the left as the road gradually curved right. The Netcompany-Ineos rider was forced to go around to the left which put Godon in a much slower lane. When van Aert kicked 20 meters later, he had a clear and straight run to the finish. Behind van Aert was Bauhaus then Hugo Hofstetter of NSN Cycling. They were each able to follow van Aert as the sprint opened but neither had the kick to come around before the finish line. Van Aert confidently crossed the line to take the win, continuing his successful season. Hofstetter was able to pip Bauhaus for second place on the line but was visibly disappointed with himself at the finish for just coming up short.
The GC riders have been able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show up to this point but that stops today. Tomorrow, the race moves into a harder phase that will require them to be present at the front and ready for attacks.