Cycling in Yorkshire & Beyond
Cycling in Yorkshire & Beyond
Stage 10 of the Tour de France 2026 is a 167km mountain stage in the Massif Central from Aurillac to Le Lioran.
There are seven categorised climbs in total.
The finale of the stage is a familiar Tour de France route, taking in the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol and the Col de Pertus.
Race Details | Poll | Map & Profile | Timings | Videos | Food & Drink | Route Notes | Favourites
| Date | Tuesday 14th July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Stage classification | Mountain |
| Distance | 167km |
| Intermediate sprint | TBC |
| Climbs | Côte de Pailherols Col de la Griffoul Col de Prat de Bouc Côte de Murat Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol Col de Pertus Col de Font de Cère |
| Total climbing | 3,900m |
Vote for one of the main contenders to win Stage 10 (to be added later).
This is a map of the route of Stage 10, Tour de France 2026.
This is a zoom-able map of Stage 10 Tour de France 2026.
This is the profile of Stage 10 Tour de France 2026.
| Caravan | Fast Schedule | Slow Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Time (départ fictif) | |||
| Start Time (départ réel) | |||
| Intermediate Sprint | |||
| Climb | |||
| Climb | |||
| Finish Line (167km) |
This is a video of the route of Stage 10 Tour de France 2026.
These are video highlights of Stage 11 of the 2024 Tour de France to Le Lioran.
This is Stage 5 of the 2016 Tour de France to Le Lioran.
Today's stage finishes in the Massif Central mountains, in the Auvergne (which is a cultural region, not an official administrative area).
The Auvergne has produced wine since Roman times, and in the C11th it had over 10,000 hectares of vineyards. It is not necessarily one of France's most celebrated wine-producing areas today, though.
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The Auvergne is not the most famous region of France for food and drink, but it does make some excellent cheeses. Cantal is one of the best-known.
Local blue cheeses include Bleu d'Auvergne, Rochebaron, Bleu de Chèvre (which is, as you would expect from the name, blue cheese made from goat's milk), Saint Agur, and Fourme d'Ambert.
Puy lentils, lentilles vertes du Puy, have been grown in the region for centuries. Truffade is a thick potato and cheese pancake.
The stage starts in Aurillac (départ fictif).
Aurillac is the capital of the Cantal département, and stands at the foot of the Cantal hills. The name stems from the Latin Aureliacum, and refers to a Roman villa of Aurelius.
It's on the banks of the Jordanne, near its confluence with the Cère. Its population is around 28,000. Aurillac has an airport.
Aurillac's Medieval history is known from 856, when Count Gerald of Aurillac was born at the Château de Saint-Etienne. Gerald founded a Benedictine monastery in 885.
Cantal is the name of a cheese which is processed and packaged in Aurillac.
Aurillac also manufactures umbrellas. L'Aurillac parapluie accounts for around half of French umbrella production. Aurillac has an oceanic climate, with a relatively high level of precipitation - so at least the umbrellas are useful to locals.
This is a military town, with an Infantry Regiment and a squadron of CRS based here.
Rugby is the most popular sport in Aurillac.
Aurillac is twinned with Bassetlaw in the UK.
The Tour finished in Aurillac on Stage 7 of the 2008 edition. It was a solo win for Luis Leon Sanchez.
The départ réel is just south west of Aurillac airport, on the D617 Route de la Grange.
The peloton takes a winding route to the hamlet of Lenseigne, after which it follows the D20 then D45 to Marcolès.
Now the race route is south east then north east on undulating terrain through Lacapelle-del-Fraisse to Lafeuillade-en-Vézie.
From here, the riders go NNE to Carlat, reached after 48km ridden.
The route continues north to Jou-sous-Monjou, then comes the first categorised climb of the stage, the Côte de Pailherols.
Details of the Côte de Pailherols climb to follow.
The race goes through Lacapelle-Barres and continues to the valley of a river called le Brezons. From there, the Col de la Griffoul climb begins.
The Col de la Griffoul climb is 5.9km at an average 6.7%.
There's a short descent to the Epie river before another climb, this one to the Col de Prat de Bouc.
Details of the Col de Prat de Bouc to follow.
There's a descent via Albepierre to Murat.
Murat is a Medieval town in the Cantal département.
It was owned by the Viscounts of Murat in the 1000s.
In June 1944, the head of the Gestapo in the Auvergne was killed, and in revenge the Nazis rounded up 115 men from Murat and sent them to the Neuengamme concentration camp; 75 of them never came back.
There's a memorial in Murat to the locals who died.
A Murat teacher called Alice Ferrières hid and protected Jewish people during World War II, and got a medal for her acts after the war.
Next Stage 10 is on the D3 Route de Puy Mary, climbing away from Murat. This is the Côte de Murat.
Details of the Côte de Murat to follow.
There's a descent to a lake at Lavigerie. The ascent of the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol begins.
The climb of the Pas de Peyrol begins now. It starts at 1,118m and the summit is 1,589m, giving a height difference of 471m. The distance is 7.8km, making an average gradient of 6%.
The KOM point comes after 136km raced.
This Pas de Peryol is a col between two summits - the Puy de la Tourte (1704m) and the Puy Mary (1787m). It's the highest col in the Massif Central.
There's a restaurant at the Pas de Peyrol, and la Maison du Site, which is a tourist office/exhibition explaining the volcanic formation of the mountains here. Steps lead to the top of the Puy Mary.
From the Pas de Peyrol, the riders take the D17 to the Col de Redondet (1529m), then down to Mandailles-St-Julien (960m) near the head of the Jordanne valley.
This is where the ascent of the Col du Pertus begins.
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The altitude at the start of the climb is 931m, and the summit is at 1,309m, giving a height difference of 378m. The distance is 4.4km, at an average gradient of 8.5%.
The top of the climb comes after 152km raced.
In 2024 this was a Bonus Point - time bonuses of 8s, 5s and 2s available to the first three riders.
From the Col du Pertus, there's a descent to St-Jacques-des-Blats (998m), where the riders turn left on the N122, which takes them gently uphill alongside the Cère.
They turn left on the D67 before the Tunnel du Lioran, then left again on a minor road to climb the Col de Font de Cère (1294m).
The Col de Font de Cère (meaning the col of the sources of the Cère) is less challenging than the Pas de Peyrol and the Col du Pertus. The start is a little after St-Jacques-des-Blats, at 1,121m; the riders climb to 1294m at the top.
The distance is 3.3km, at an average gradient of 5.8%. The top is after 208.2km raced.
There's a hotel at the top, le Buron de Font de Cère. It's mostly downhill from here.
The finish is at Le Lioran (Super Lioran).
From the Col de Font de Cère the riders follow the road down through the woods to Font d'Alagnon. It's called the Route Impériale, but it's a very minor road. Perhaps Napoléon III had the road built - that would explain its name.
Then they take the Route du Plomb du Cantal up to Super Lioran and the finish line. The final kilometre or so is an uphill drag at 3.9%.
It's the same finish as in 2016 and 2024, see this map.
Le Lioran is a resort in the monts du Cantal (also known as the Volcan du Cantal), the Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne, and the Massif Central.
It is at the head of the Alagnon valley, and surrounded by mountains: the Plomb du Cantal (1855m) to the south, the Puy Griou (1694m) to the west, and the Puy de Bataillouse (1683m) and the Roche de Vascivières (1700m) to the north.
The lower slopes are forested, and the peaks are open and exposed. There's skiing in the winter, and walking and mountain biking in the summer.
The area is rich in fauna. There are red and other types of deer, wild boar, mouflons, marmottes, chamois, and even wolves.
Until the end of the C18th, the area was little visited by people. There were deep woods populated by bears and wolves, and snow on the col for a large part of the year. Then, the Route Royale (now the N122) was built, and it became more accessible. The road tunnel under the Col de Font de Cère was built from 1839 to 1843, and a railway was constructed in 1865.
Le Lioran began to develop as a tourist resort with the opening of its first hotel in 1896. Skiing began in 1906, and the Ski Club du Lorian was founded in 1908.
There was active resistance here during World War II, culminating in the Bataille du Lioran in August 1944.
The first ski lift was installed in 1947, and the most significant, la Plomb du Cantal, was opened by President Georges Pompidou in 1967. As well as downhill skiing, there are cross-country ski trails.
The Plomb du Cantal cable car and the Masseboeuf chairlift are used for mountain biking in the summer. Le Lioran is the biggest mountain biking area in the Massif Central, with 16 trails totalling more than 100km, and a Bike Park.
Favourites for Stage 10 of the 2026 Tour de France include breakaway merchants such as Ben Healy.
Last year's Stage 10 in the Massif Central was Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore. Simon Yates won that one, but he has now retired. Thymen Arensman was second and Ben Healy third, which is a good indication of the sort of riders who might win the equivalent 2026 stage.
Who do you think will win Stage 10 of the 2026 Tour de France?
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