Friday 7 August 2026 – Tour de France Femmes 2026 stage 7: La Voulte-sur-Rhône → Mont Ventoux (146.8 km)

Route

Stage 7 of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes takes the peloton from La Voulte-sur-Rhône to the summit of Mont Ventoux, 146.8 kilometres away. The stage has around 3,565 metres of elevation gain. This is the first time the women's peloton climbs Mont Ventoux. After a flat opening along the Rhône, the route quickly turns hilly.

At km 7 the Col de la Grande Limite begins (6.6 km at 5%), with the summit at km 13.6 (category 2). After a long descent comes the Col du Colombier (3.2 km at 6.4%, category 3), with the summit at km 41.1. A long, rolling section through the Drôme and Vaucluse follows, via Grignan, Visan and Séguret, towards Vacqueyras and Beaumes-de-Venise, where the intermediate sprint lies at km 97.9.

At km 101.4 the Col de Suzette begins (3.9 km at 6.4%, category 2), with the summit at km 105.3. Via Malaucène and the Col de la Madeleine (455 m, uncategorised) the peloton reaches Bédoin, at the foot of Mont Ventoux. At Saint-Estève, at km 131.1, the official climb of Mont Ventoux begins: 15.7 kilometres at 8.8% (hors catégorie), with the finish at the summit, at an altitude of 1,910 metres.

Final kilometres

After Saint-Estève (km 131.1) the road climbs without a break to the top. At Chalet Reynard, at km 140.6 (1,423 m), the road leaves the forest and the climb lies fully exposed to the wind. The final 6.2 kilometres, via the Col des Tempêtes (km 146.1) to the summit at 1,910 metres, contain no flat section.

Recent editions

The Tour de France Femmes finishes on Mont Ventoux for the first time this year. In the men's race, the mountain has hosted finishes before: in 2021 Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) won at the summit after a double ascent from Malaucène. In 2016 the stage was shortened to Chalet Reynard due to strong winds, where Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) won. In 2013 Chris Froome (Team Sky) won at the summit, and in 2009 Juan Manuel Gárate (Rabobank) did.

Scenarios

A stage for the climbers. The 15.7‑kilometre final climb at 8.8% is too long and too irregular for the puncheurs. Will the balance, just like in stage 5, again favour the three strongest riders fighting for the podium, while others try to secure their top‑10 GC positions? Can Demi open a gap on Marlen Reusser? Can Kasia take advantage of the battle for yellow and slip away as the third contender to claim the stage win? Tomorrow promises to be a spectacular day.

Local

None of the riders in this Tour de France Femmes were born in La Voulte-sur-Rhône or in the communes around Mont Ventoux (source: procyclingstats.com). La Voulte-sur-Rhône owes its name to a former iron industry along the Rhône. Mont Ventoux, nicknamed "the Giant of Provence", is at 1,910 metres the highest mountain in Provence and carried a weather station on its summit until 2011.