Monday 6 July - Tour de France stage 3: Granollers to Les Angles (195.9 km)

Route

Stage 3 departs from Granollers, a city north of Barcelona, and finishes at the ski resort of Les Angles in the French Pyrenees. The stage covers 195.9 km with 3,850 metres of climbing. The hardest climb comes in the second half; the finish is not an extreme mountain top but selective enough to let a breakaway survive or force the GC contenders to react.

Early in the stage the peloton crosses the Côte de Sant Feliu de Codines (7.6 km at 4.5%), with the summit at km 17.2. A long, relatively flat section then follows towards the Pyrenees, via Vic and Ripoll (km 91.7). From Ripoll the road gradually rises. The first major climb is the Col de Toses (9.3 km at 6.5%, cat. 1), topping out at km 127.7 at 1,778 m. After the descent the riders reach Puigcerdà (km 151.5), on the Spanish-French border. Next comes the Col du Calvaire (11.4 km at 4.1%, cat. 3), with the summit at km 172.3 at 1,836 m — the highest point of the day.

After a descent of around 7 km, a short climb of 1.9 km at 4% follows, after which the road largely descends towards Lac de Matémale. The final climb to Les Angles begins at km 191.2 and is 4.7 km long at 4.6%, with the last 1.7 km rising at 6.5%. The finish is at 1,794 m altitude at the Les Angles ski resort.

Final kilometres

The final climb starts at km 191.2, 4.7 km from the finish. The average gradient is 4.6%, but the last 1.7 km ramps up to 6.5%. At that point in the stage, after the Col de Toses and the Col du Calvaire, fatigue from the earlier stages and positioning in the group also come into play. The finish is at the Les Angles ski resort, at 1,794 m altitude.

Recent editions

Les Angles features as a Tour de France finish for the first time in 2026. The Pyrénées-Orientales (département 66) thereby receives a Tour finish for the first time in a long while. Comparable mountain finishes in the Pyrenees with a final climb of 4 to 5 km around 5 to 6% have previously been won by breakaway riders or climbers who stayed ahead of the GC contenders. There is no direct precedent for this specific finish.

Scenarios

Scenario 1: the breakaway survives. With the yellow jersey still only in stage three and the big favourites having little to gain on this course, there is room for an early move. The Col de Toses (9.3 km at 6.5%) provides the first selection in the break; the Col du Calvaire thins it out further. Attackers with a climber's legs can go for the stage win and the yellow jersey.

Scenario 2: climbers who also finish in a small group decide the stage. The final climb of 4.7 km at 4.6% is not steep enough to favour pure climbers over light puncheurs. Riders who have previously performed at finishes with a short, uphill end after a hard day in the Pyrenees or the Ardennes suit this terrain. In this scenario the Col de Toses and the Col du Calvaire determine who can still follow on the final climb.

Local

Granollers, the start of stage 3, lies in the Catalan region of Vallès Oriental, about 30 km north of Barcelona. The city is known for its handball tradition: BM Granollers is one of the most successful handball clubs in Spain. Les Angles, on the Capcir plateau of the Pyrénées-Orientales, is a ski resort at around 1,600 m altitude. The municipality hosts the Tour de France for the first time. The Capcir plateau is the highest-lying plain in the Pyrenees and is known for its lakes and extensive pine forests.