Wednesday 22 July – Tour de France stage 17: Chambéry → Voiron (174.7 km)

Route

Stage 17 of the Tour de France 2026 departs from Chambéry and finishes in Voiron over 174.7 kilometres. ASO classifies the stage as flat, but with over 2,200 metres of climbing that is a relative concept. The first 60 kilometres are hilly, offering breakaway riders plenty of space.

The climbing phase begins at km 15. The first ascent is the Côte de Bassa (1.6 km at 5.5%) at km 19.2, followed by the Côte de Rossillon (1.7 km at 4.6%) at km 35.5. The hardest climb of the day is the Col des Prés (3.6 km at 6.8%), which starts at km 49.6 at an altitude of 1,142 metres. Immediately after comes the Côte de Saint-Jean d'Arvey (1.2 km at 5.7%) at km 59.5.

After the final categorised climb, the road descends back towards the city of Chambéry. The peloton then passes over the Col de Couz: 8.6 kilometres at an average of 2.8 percent, uncategorised but noticeable after three weeks of racing. From km 90 the terrain gradually flattens and is predominantly downhill towards Voiron. The final 80 kilometres offer little technical challenge.

Final kilometres

Around 6 kilometres from the finish, the road rises one last time: 2.5 kilometres at an average of 3.5 percent. After that, from km 172, the road is flat all the way to the finish line in Voiron. The finishing straight is wide and straight, ideal for a bunchsprint in case a large group arrives.

Recent editions

Voiron is a new Tour finish. The city last featured in the Tour de France in 1977, as the start town for stage 18 to Saint-Étienne. The most recent reference as a finish town comes from the Vuelta a España 2025, when stage 4 finished in Voiron. Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers) won that sprint ahead of Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen in a chaotic finale. Voiron hosts the peloton in 2026 as a Tour finish for the first time.

Scenarios

The hilly opening with four climbs in the first 60 kilometres gives an early break a realistic prospect. A strong breakaway group can build a lead that is difficult to reel in over this distance. If the peloton does manage to close the gap, a bunch sprint awaits. For the pure sprinters, this stage may be their last chance in this Tour: the final stage in Paris no longer offers a traditional sprint finish this year.

In the points classification, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) leads after 15 stages with 417 points ahead of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) with 386 points, a gap of 31 points. The intermediate sprint at Colombe (km 147.5) is worth 25 points. Both at the intermediate sprint and the finish, Philipsen will aim to score maximum points to close the gap, while Pedersen defends his jersey. It will be interesting to see tactics of both teams in order to maximize their chances for green.

Local

Voiron is located in the Isère department, 25 kilometres north of Grenoble, on the edge of the Massif de la Chartreuse. The city is internationally known as the production site of Chartreuse liqueur, which has been made by Carthusian monks for over three centuries at the nearby Grande Chartreuse abbey. In 1977, Voiron appeared on the Tour map as the starting town of stage 18 to Saint-Étienne, the year Bernard Thévenet claimed his second overall victory. In 2026, the city hosts a Tour finish for the first time.