Wednesday 5 August – Tour de France Femmes stage 5: Mâcon → Belleville-en-Beaujolais (140 km)

Route

Stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes covers 140 kilometres from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais. The stage is hilly: eight climbs count towards the mountains classification and the road goes up and down almost all day. With more than 2,800 metres of elevation gain, this is the toughest day of the first week.

Right after the start in Mâcon, the Côte de Cenves (9.6 km at 4.4%) begins at kilometre point 12.6. After the descent come the Col de la Croix de l'Orme (2.1 km at 5.5%) at km 28.4 and the Côte de Saint-Christophe (2.7 km at 4.5%) at km 33.7. The peloton then climbs the Col de Fontmartin (3.6 km at 5.7%) at km 54.1, the Col de Gerbet (4.6 km at 6.5%) at km 68.7 and the Côte de Pruzilly (1.6 km at 6.6%) at km 75.3.

After Pruzilly there follows more than thirty kilometres of rolling terrain until the Col de Durbize (3.6 km at 5.8%) at km 109.7, an irregular climb with flat sections and stretches up to 16%. From the top, 31.3 kilometres from the finish, the road descends for the most part to the foot of Mont Brouilly (3 km at 7.7%) at km 129.4, with several double-digit sections in the second half. The summit lies 10.6 kilometres from the finish line in Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

Final kilometres

After the summit of Mont Brouilly, 10.6 kilometres from the finish, the route descends towards Saint-Lager. The final kilometres run over false flat to Belleville-en-Beaujolais. There is no technical final corner, but a long run-in in which a breakaway or select peloton can finish off the stage.

Recent editions

Belleville-en-Beaujolais welcomes a Tour de France Femmes stage for the first time. On the men's side, the town was not a regular finish location either: in 2023 the Tour de France held a finish there for the first time, won by Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) with a thirty-kilometre solo, ahead of Mathieu Burgaudeau and Matteo Jorgenson. Mont Brouilly is better known from Paris-Nice: Tom-Jelte Slagter won there in Belleville in 2014, Julian Alaphilippe in the 2017 time trial, Primoz Roglic in 2021 in Chiroubles and Santiago Buitrago in 2024 at the top of the climb. In Villié-Morgon, which the stage also passes through, Laurent Fignon won a Tour de France time trial in 1984 ahead of Sean Kelly and Bernard Hinault.

Scenarios

Mont Brouilly, 10.6 kilometres from the finish, is the final real launchpad for attacks. Riders who lost time in the time trial may try to strike here to claw some of it back. If that move is for the stage win, the finale gains an extra layer of tension. But it could just as well turn into a two‑front battle: a breakaway fighting to stay clear, while behind them the GC riders test each other on the drag towards Belleville‑en‑Beaujolais. The question is whether a late attacker can hold on — or whether the bunch will reel everything in.

Local

The stage crosses the Beaujolais wine region and passes through nine of the ten Beaujolais crus: Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié and Brouilly. Near Solutré-Pouilly (km 8.7) lies the Solutré rock, a limestone formation that gave its name to the prehistoric Solutrean culture. At the top of Mont Brouilly stands the Notre-Dame aux Raisins chapel, built in the 1850s after hail and mildew damage to the vineyards.

Weather forecast

On Wednesday, a maximum of 32.2°C is expected in Belleville-en-Beaujolais and a minimum of 20.1°C. No precipitation is expected, with the day set to be dry. In the finale a north-northwesterly wind will blow at speeds of up to 15.7 km/h, possibly causing crosswinds on the slopes towards Mont Brouilly.