Sunday 12 July – Tour de France stage 9: Malemort → Ussel (185.5 km)

Route

Stage 9 of the Tour de France 2026 covers 185.5 kilometres through the department of Corrèze, from Malemort to Ussel. The stage features 3,300 metres of climbing. Both towns host the Tour for the first time; it is also the first complete Tour stage entirely within the department of Corrèze.

From the very start the road climbs. In the first few hours the peloton passes the Puy Boubou, the Côte de Lagleygeolle and the Côte de Miel before the first categorised climb: the Côte de Naves (2.3 km at 7.4%) at km 77. Then comes the Puy de Lachaud (3.6 km at 5.3%) and the hardest climb of the day: the Suc au May (3.8 km at 7.5%) at km 105, with its summit at 903 metres above sea level.

After a descent and undulating terrain, the Côte de la Croix du Pey (4.8 km at 6.0%) begins at km 129. The Mont Bessou (0.9 km at 7.3%) at km 161, with its summit at 977 metres, is the final categorised climb of the day. From that summit, 24.5 kilometres remain to Ussel.

Final kilometres

At the summit of Mont Bessou at km 161, 24.5 kilometres remain. After a short descent to Meymac (km 166.6), the road climbs over the Côte des Gardes (2.2 km at 4.8%), which ends approximately 14 kilometres before the finish. The remaining route to Ussel is undulating but predominantly flat. The arrival in Ussel itself is flat.

Recent editions

Ussel and Malemort host the Tour for the first time. Comparable hilly stages in the Massif Central have produced the following winners in recent years: 2016 – Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) in Le Lioran, from the breakaway; 2020 – Daniel Martínez (EF Pro Cycling) on the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol, from the breakaway; 2024 – Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in Le Lioran, as a GC stage.

Scenarios

The chances of a breakaway victory are high. With 3,300 metres of climbing and a flat finish after a tough day, GC teams have little reason to chase down the breakaway. The group will set off early and ride all the way to Ussel. Whoever has the strongest legs in the finale will either decide the sprint or go solo in the closing kilometres.

Local

Ussel sits at 631 metres above sea level in the Haute-Corrèze and has around 10,000 inhabitants. The town hosts the Tour for the first time. The Corrèze region is closely linked to the cycling history of Raymond Poulidor, who came from the neighbouring Creuse and rode the Tour fourteen times. The route passes through Tulle, which has previously served as a Tour stage finish. Jacques Chirac, former President of France, was a resident of Corrèze and served as president of the Conseil Général of the department for many years.