Sunday 9 August – Tour de France Femmes stage 9: Nice → Nice (99.2 km)

Route

The final stage of the Tour de France Femmes 2026 stays in Nice. The 99.2-kilometre route consists of four loops around the city, each time with the Col d'Èze as the central climb. A mountain stage without a summit finish: after the final climb, a long descent to the Promenade des Anglais awaits.

From the start at Place Masséna, the road climbs immediately. The Col d'Èze (7.7 km at 5.9%) is climbed three times from the easier side, at km 7.7, km 33.6 and km 59.6. The first two kilometres of this climb reach gradients of 7.7% and 8.5%, before the gradient eases off. After each summit, a descent via Villefranche-sur-Mer leads back to Nice, with an intermediate sprint on the Promenade des Anglais.

On the fourth and final lap, the route diverges at the Col des Quatre Chemins (km 81.5). From there, riders tackle the tougher side of the Col d'Èze: 6 km at 7.6%, with a stretch of just over a kilometre at 13.5% in the third kilometre. The summit comes at km 83.8, 15.4 kilometres from the finish.

Final kilometres

After the summit of the Col d'Èze (km 83.8), a descent of just over 15 kilometres leads to Nice. The road runs back to the coast via Villefranche-sur-Mer and emerges onto the Promenade des Anglais, where the final kilometres are flat. The finish, like the three intermediate sprints, is on the seafront boulevard.

Recent editions

The Tour de France Femmes finishes in Nice for the first time in 2026. The route is almost identical to the final stage of Paris-Nice, which has finished via the Col d'Èze into Nice for years. In 2026, Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) won there after a late attack, just ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). In 2025, Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) opened a gap on the Col d'Èze, with Sheffield winning the sprint between the two. In 2024, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) won solo ahead of Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike).

Scenarios

The fourth ascent of the Col d’Èze, taken from the steep side, is too hard for the pure sprinters. Puncheurs and climbers with a finishing kick will shape the finale. Early breakaways will get little room on the final day: with the yellow jersey still at stake, the GC teams will keep a tight grip until the last climb. This is the final chance for the general classification. On the final ascent, the big stage‑race climbers can still make a decisive difference. Can Demi defend yellow, and will it be all‑or‑nothing for her closest challengers?

Local

Nice is the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department and lies on the Côte d'Azur. The Col d'Èze is best known from Paris-Nice, where the climb formed the decisive point of the time trial that closed the race for decades. Sean Kelly won that time trial five times. No rider on the startlist of this Tour de France Femmes was born in the Nice region.

Weather forecast

Expected in Nice on Sunday: sunny and dry, with a maximum of 31.6°C and a minimum of 26.2°C. No precipitation is expected. In the final 50 km, a light wind from the south-southwest, gusting up to 13 km/h: not a significant factor in the closing kilometres.