Cycling in Yorkshire & Beyond
Cycling in Yorkshire & Beyond
Stage 18 | Stage 19 | Stage 20
Stage 19 of the Tour de France 2026 is a 128km mountain stage from Gap to Alpe d'Huez.
This is the first half of a double dose of Alpe d'Huez, the second one coming on Stage 20.
The race organisers think someone could go for broke from the Col Bayard and try to hold on all the way to Alpe d'Huez.
Race Details | Poll | Map & Profile | Timings | Videos | Food & Drink | Route Notes | Favourites
| Date | Friday 24th July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Stage classification | Mountain |
| Distance | 128km |
| Intermediate sprint | TBC |
| Climbs | Col Bayard Col du Noyer Col d'Ornon Alpe d'Huez |
| Total climbing | 3,500m |
Vote for one of the main contenders to win Stage 19 (to be added later).
This is a map of the route of Stage 19 Tour de France 2026 (to follow).
This is a zoom-able map of the route of Stage 19 Tour de France 2026.
This is the profile of Stage 19 Tour de France 2026.
| Caravan | Fast Schedule | Slow Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Time (départ fictif) | |||
| Start Time (départ réel) | |||
| Intermediate Sprint | |||
| Climb | |||
| Col d'Ornon Climb | |||
| Finish Line (128km) |
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This is a video of the route of Stage 19 Tour de France 2026.
These are highlights of Tom Pidcock's Alpe d'Huez win on Stage 12 of the 2022 Tour de France.
Stage 19 is from Gap to Alpe d'Huez, in the Alps. It could therefore be accompanied by heavy mountain food such as fondue, pierrade or raclette.
Vin de Savoie is usually drunk with a traditional Savoyarde meal.
Savoie wines are generally quite light with relatively high acidity. The reds are often made from Gamay grapes, and the whites from Chasselas, Altesse, Chardonnay, Roussanne or other varieties.
Apremont is one of the areas that makes vin de Savoie, generally white wine. The soil is chalky, the result of a landslide from Mont Granier in the 1200s. The slopes enable the vines to catch the morning sun. The main grape variety for Apremont is Jacquère, and the resulting wines are light and dry with floral, mineral character.
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The stage starts in Gap (départ fictif).
Gap is a town of 41,000 people. It is the Préfecture of the Hautes-Alpes département.
Its name evolved from Vappum, somehow or other.
It was inhabited by the Celto-Ligurian tribe the Tricorii, and conquered by the Romans in 125-4 BC.
A Roman road was built along the valley of the Durance from 14 to 6BC, linking Turin to Sisteron. Gap (Vapincum) was one of the stations along the route. It was a Roman camp, occupied by around 360 men.
Napoléon Bonaparte stopped in Gap in March 1815 after leaving Elba, at the start of his 100 days that ended in defeat at Waterloo.
Gap is a sporty town associated with outdoor pursuits, and it has an ice rink.
Gap is twinned with Pinerolo, Italy.
The first part of the stage is on the N85 Route Napoléon heading north from Gap.
The Route Napoléon is the road Bonaparte followed after leaving Elba in February 1815.
Bonaparte was sent to Elba in April 1814 and a Bourbon King, Louis XVIII, restored in France. By February 1815, many of Bonaparte's old soldiers were disgruntled with the new arrangements.
Napoléon left Elba at the end of February 1815 and landed on mainland France near Antibes, on the south coast.
'I will arrive in Paris without firing a shot', he exclaimed. He headed north west on a bad road to Grasse, Digne-les-Bains, Sisteron Gap and beyond, intending to pick up recruits on the way. This road is what is known today as the Route Napoléon.
Continuing on his way, he was welcomed in Grenoble and Lyon, and made it to Paris by 20th March 1815.
This led to Napoléon's final defeat at Waterloo, and subsequent exile to St Helena.
After just 5km on the Route Napoléon Stage 19 reaches the Col Bayard.
Col Bayard is a pass between the catchment area of the Durance to the south and the Isère to the north.
It is regarded as the line between Mediterranean vegetation and agriculture to the south and Alpine vegetation and agriculture to the north.
The climb of the Col Bayard is 5.1km at an average 7.2% to a height of 1,246m.
The last time it was climbed was on Stage 17 of the 2024 Tour.
The race continues on the Route Napoléon as far as La-Fare-en-Champsaur, birthplace of Paul Robert, author of the Robert dictionary.
At La-Fare-en-Champsaur, the race leaves the Route Napoléon, taking the D17 through Poligny and Le Noyer, and climbing the Col du Noyer.
The road up the Col du Noyer was built in the 1850s to replace an old mule track. It links the Champsaur valley to Dévoluy.
The 'refuge Napoléon' is one of six built in the area in the 1850s. It is now a bar-restaurant.
The Col du Noyer has featured in the Tour de France five times: 1970, 1971, 1982, 2010 and 2024.
It is 7.2km at an average 8.5% to a height of 1,664m.
The descent is to Saint-Etienne-en-Dévoluy.
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The race goes through the Défilé des Etroits, a gorge cut by the Souloise river. It takes the D117 past the Forêt de Malmort and to Saint-Disdier.
Here, the Tour de France is reprising part of the route of Stage 18 of the 2024 edition. It is on the D537 through the woods to La Posterle, then reaches the Lac du Sautet.
The Lac du Sautet is a manmade lake, created between 1930 and 1935 by a barrage of Le Drac. Hydro-electric power is produced here.
The Pont du Sautet overlooks the barrage.
The lake has a water sports centre and a beach.
The race returns to the Route Napoléon at Corps.
The riders go through Les-Côte de Corps, Quet-en-Beaumont and La Salle-en-Beaumont, then they diverge from the Route Napoléon on the D212b.
This road takes them to Valbonnais on the river Bonne, formerly a cement-producing town.
Next on the route is Entraigues, then Le Périer on the river Malsanne. Near the village of Le Périer, there's a waterfall called the Cascade de Confolens.
Soon after, they begin the climb of the Col d'Ornon.
The Col d'Ornon is 5.4km at an average 6.4%.
The descent is to Bourg d'Oisans.
Le Bourg-d'Oisans is a town on the Romanche river with a population of just over 3,000.
It's somewhat defined by its proximity to Alpe d'Huez, and can be a dormitory village for people who want to ski or cycle there.
Stage 19 finishes with a climb of Alpe d'Huez.
The climb is 13.8km at an average gradient of 8.1%, to a height of 1,850m.
Alpe-d'Huez is a ski resort in the Isère département of France.
It was developed from the 1920s, and the first button lift (made by Jean Pomagalski and his Poma lift company) was installed in 1936. Alpe-d'Huez hosted the bobsleigh events of the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics.
The Alpe-d'Huez climb is from Bourg-d'Oisans in the Romanche valley, on the D211. There are 21 hairpin bends, it's 13.8km at an average 8.1%, and the summit is at 1,850m. It was first included in the Tour de France in 1952.
There are often chaotic scenes as thousands of spectators line the route up to Alpe-d'Huez, and it is especially popular with Dutch cycling fans.
Stage 12 of the 2022 Tour was on Bastille Day, and it was very busy with spectators as Tom Pidcock led the way up the climb of Alpe-d'Huez.
Favourites for Stage 19 of the 2026 Tour de France include the main GC contenders such as Pogacar and Vingegaard.
I can imagine a scenario where Vingegaard has perhaps dropped out of contention for some reason and Matteo Jorgenson is given the freedom to go for a long-range attempt at a stage win.
Who do you think will win Stage 19 of the 2026 Tour de France?
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