July 10, 2026
There will be many tired bodies rolling out of bed this morning but the spirits will be lifted when they flip through the road book and see the profile. Today's menu for the riders consists of 175 km between Hagetmau and Bordeaux with barely a blip of elevation. The bunch will say goodbye to the Pyrenees for another year and head due North for the world renowned city of wine and culture. Along the way, there is an intermediate sprint in Landiras with 55 km to go and the category four Côte de Beguey which rises from the banks of La Garonne. The race will gently change direction to follow the river Westward all the way into Bordeaux. The last 5 km are reasonably technical with another crossing of La Garonne and a chicane leading into 2 km from the finish. The line is situated along the river on a gently sweeping right corner making it very easy for the sprinters to get boxed in on the inside barrier. As always, positioning and timing are crucial in these full bunch sprints.
Race Summary
Before the stage, it was announced that former Yellow jersey wearer Torstein Træen of Uno-X Mobility would not take to the start. He fell on the descent of the Col du Tourmalet and broke four ribs with a possible concussion as well. After a short neutralized zone, the riders got going under hazy skies with two attackers going straight away. Baptiste Veistroffer of Lotto Intermarché went up the road again, but this time with Jakub Otruba of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. The gap went out to just 1 minute 20 seconds before Soudal Quickstep and Alpecin-Premier Tech came to the front to control.
The gap was kept incredibly tight at under 1 minute for a long time. With 112 km to go, Jonas Abrahamsen of Uno-X Mobility attacked to break the lull in the race. Alpecin-Premier Tech was straight on him and shut down the move but the acceleration brought the gap to just 20 seconds. Just as quickly as the race had ignited, it simmered back down and order was restored. Alpecin-Premier Tech and Soudal Quickstep let the gap grow a bit more just to be safe but never more than 1 minute 45 seconds.
The bunch continued through the seamlessly endless forests of the Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park. 10 km from the intermediate sprint in Landiras, the riders exited the forest and the peloton set up the intermediate sprint. Since staying away to the finish was unlikely, Veistroffer and Otruba decided to sprint for the points and the cash. Veistroffer rode up beside Otruba and they went for the line at the same time like it was a training camp sprint among teammates. Veistroffer pipped the Czech rider on the line for the prize while the bunch was preparing to sprint for the minor places. XDS-Astana had three riders in front of Max Kanter coming to the line but they were jumped by current Green Jersey leader Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek. Pedersen went early and had Biniam Girmay of NSN Cycling on his wheel but no one could come around the Dane who added more points to his lead.
The flurry of the intermediate sprint brought the gap down to 30 seconds and the bunch was in full control coming into the Côte de Beguey. The rise wasn't much to speak of and it was Veistroffer who won the sprint at the top, sweeping up all of the intermediate prizes of the day. Once over the top, the first vineyards came into view of the Graves AOC which stretched for kilometer and kilometer in small plots.
After the climb, the tension was visibly higher as was the speed. Uno-X Mobility weren't content just sitting and with 22 km to go, they launched attack with Anders Skaarseth and Jonas Abrahamsen. As they were accelerating, Soudal Quickstep noticed and Valentin Paret-Peintre swung across the road to impeded their progress. He acted as if he was throwing a bottle away but the action and intent was clear. Fortunately it didn't end in a collision and the pair were able to enact their plan. It didn't amount to much but it did burn off Dylan van Baarle of Soudal Quickstep who closed the gap after spending the entire day pulling the peloton along.
Veistroffer and Otruba were finally reabsorbed into the peloton with 19 km to go and teams immediately went into color order in a block at the front of the bunch. The road briefly widened and Uno-X Mobility didn't need a better invitation to send another attack. Skaarseth kicked it off and was countered by Abrahamsen but everyone was awake to the move and quickly had it stitched back together.
Into the last 6 km, Netcompany-Ineos and Cofidis had organized really well and led over the expansive Pont Simone Veil across La Garonne. Netcompany-Ineos and Cofidis had control until just outside of 2 km to go when Alpecin-Premier Tech came to the front with five riders in a line. A number of sprinters had one lead out man in front of them and they were all battling for the back wheel of Jasper Philipsen's Alpecin-Premier Tech train. The speed was quick but there was a big bubble of riders waiting to launch as they passed under 1 km to go. Philipsen's last man, Mathieu van der Poel, was turning himself inside out to get as close to the finish as possible but the tank was empty at 250 meters and Philipsen was forced to sprint. Behind Philipsen was Fernando Gaviria of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Girmay, Tim Merlier of Soudal Quickstep, and Søren Wærenskjold of Uno-X Mobility. Wærenskjold was the first to react to Philipsen and came around both Merlier and Girmay while Philipsen was trying to close the door on Gaviria. Philipsen and Gaviria both ran out of legs with 100 meters to go as Wærenskjold was leading with Merlier making his run on the Norwegian's left. The straight line speed of Merlier was too much for Wærenskjold to match and it was Merlier who crossed the line first with daylight between he and Wærenskjold. Girmay got up for third place with Max Kanter of XDS-Astana in fourth and Philipsen in fifth.