Cycling in Yorkshire & Beyond
Cycling in Yorkshire & Beyond
Stage 5 of the Tour de France 2026 is a 158km flat stage from Lannemezan to Pau.
Christian Prudhomme says it is traditional that Stage 5 is a sprint stage. It's a straightforward route which is almost guaranteed to end in a bunch sprint.
Race Details | Poll | Map & Profile | Timings | Videos | Food & Drink | Route Notes | Favourites
| Date | Wednesday 8th July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Stage classification | Flat |
| Distance | 158km |
| Intermediate sprint | TBC |
| Climbs | |
| Total climbing | TBC |
Vote for one of the main contenders to win Stage 5 (to be added later).
This is a map of the route of Stage 5 Tour de France 2026.
This is a zoom-able map of Stage 5 Tour de France 2026 (to follow).
This is the profile of Stage 5 Tour de France 2026.
| Caravan | Fast Schedule | Slow Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Time (départ fictif) | |||
| Start Time (départ réel) | |||
| Intermediate Sprint | |||
| Climb | |||
| Climb | |||
| Finish Line (158km) |
This is a video of the route of Stage 5 Tour de France 2026.
Stage 18 of the Tour de France 2018 was a similar stage to this one - from Trie-sur-Baïse (which is on today's route) to Pau, and finishing in a bunch sprint.
I suggest Madiran wine (affiliate link) to accompany today's stage. These are bold reds made from Tannat and other grapes.
Tourmalet cheese is made from sheep's milk near the Col du Tourmalet. It's chewy, with a nutty taste. It goes well with Madiran wine, or a white Viognier.
The stage starts in Lannemezan (départ fictif).
Stage 5 starts in Lannemezan.
It was founded by a local lord in 1274, and was given the right to hold a market in 1500.
The railway came to Lannemezan in the 1860s, and industrial activity began in the early 1900s. There are still factories today, including an aluminium plant.
The Festival of Saint Jean is celebrated in Lannemezan in late June, with fireworks and music.
The hospital, originally a psychiatric establishment, is one of the largest local employers.
Rugby player Antoine Dupont was born in Lannemezan.
Stage 5 leaves Lannemezan and heads NNE on the D929 to Castelnau-Magnoac (to be confirmed).
Castelnau-Magnoac means 'the new castle of a person called Magnon or Magnus'. It's a village of 768 people on the edge of the Plateau de Lannemezan. It has a C14th collegiate church, with a military-style bell tower that was once also a defensive tower in the ramparts of the village. There's a lake, formed by a barrage of the Gèze, where there are water sports in the summer.
Next the race heads west on the D632, through the Foret de Campuzan, past the Lac de Puydarrieux, and to Trie-sur-Baïse.
Trie-sur-Baïse was founded in 1323 as a ville bastide, but destroyed in 1355 by the Black Prince during the Hundred Years War.
A ville bastide is a Medieval new town, with a large central square by the church and castle, surrounded by arcades. The streets are a on a grid pattern, and the whole town would originally have been encircled by defensive walls.
The town was rebuilt, and a Carmelite monastery was set up in 1365. The monastery was burnt by the Protestants in 1569, during the Wars of Religion, and only the monastery church survived; the rest of the monastery was rebuilt, but dismantled during the French Revolution, again leaving only the church.
The main church in the village is the Eglise Notre-Dame-des-Neiges (pictured above), which was begun in 1444. According to legend, the location was decided when snow fell and settled everywhere except this spot, where a cross-shaped patch remained bare.
Wikipedia has quite a long section about a pig-based festival. One of the events was a contest to see who could squeal the most like a pig. The festival hasn't been held since 2011, which might be just as well.
Stage 18 of the Tour de France 2018 set off from Trie-sur-Baïse.
From Trie, the race makes its way north on the D939 Route de Mirande alongside the Baïse river.
The riders leave the Hautes-Pyrénées and enter the Gers; they go through the hamlet of Saint-Michel, and another called Berdoues.
The next significant town is Mirande, which featured on Stage 12 of the 2025 Tour de France from Auch to Hautacam.
Mirande is a C13th ville bastide on the left bank of the river Baïse. Like other bastide towns it has streets on a grid pattern. Originally, it had a castle, and it was surrounded by town walls with four entrance gates.
Next the race takes the D137 to Montesquiou.
Next the D943 takes the peloton to Bassoues.
Bassoues was founded by the Archbishop of Auch in 1295.
It has a tower that was part of the Château de Bassoues, built in the 1300s. The castle's website tantalises us by saying that the Legend of St Fris is interwoven with the history of Bassoues.
St Fris was a nephew of Charlemagne, and he was mortally wounded in battle with the Saracens. He found refuge in the forest near Bassoues.
A group of monks were led to his resting place by a miraculous light, and they buried the saint in his own Basilica of St Fris.
Skiing Made Easy is a practical guide to learning to ski based on many happy seasons of ski teaching.
It takes you through the beginner's progression from snowplough to parallel turns, starting at the very beginning and not assuming any prior knowledge.
The book suggests relevant exercises to develop and improve your skills. Common faults are identified, along with the best ways to correct them.
'By the way' sections contain information about many of the little things that people assume you just know, but you may not.
'This is the book I wish I'd had when I started skiing' - reviewer on Amazon.
How to buy:
Skiing Made Easier is the follow-up to Skiing Made Easy, and picks up from where the first book left off.
The first chapter is Refining Your Parallel Turns.
The chapters on ski technique beyond basic parallel turns are Carving, Short Turns, Bumps and Off Piste.
There are then further chapters on Avalanche and Mountain Safety, Ski Psychology, Physical Preparation, Ski Servicing and Alpine Wildlife.
As in Skiing Made Easy, common faults are identified and exercises suggested to correct them and to develop your skills.
'By the way' passages contain bits of skiing knowhow that could otherwise take years to pick up.
How to buy:
The Amazon URLs are affiliate links.
Next the race heads for Marciac.
Marciac is another ville bastide. It gots its name from the King's local representative Guichard de Marciac.
Jean Laforgue was born in Marciac, and he is known for having edited Casanova's memoirs.
Jazz in Marciac is an annual festival held here. Marciac won 'best baguette' at the 2008 Baking World Cup.
Next on the route is Maubourguet.
Maubourguet is close to the wine-producing village of Madiran, and is itself a stop on the Madiran wine route. You can buy wine at the weekly market.
Parts of the Saint-Lézer church date back to the 1100s.
Now the peloton joins the D935 for a run south to Vic-en-Bigorre.
Vic-en-Bigorre was inhabited by the Bigerriones tribe, then from 50BC by the Romans.
Until the 900s, the Counts of Bigorre lived in Vic-en-Bigorre; then they moved to Tarbes.
Now Stage 5 heads west on the D6 to Morlaàs and Pau.
Stage 5 finishes in Pau.
The race arrives on the D943. It is then on the Boulevard d'Alsace Lorraine and Avenue Gaston Phoebus (to be confirmed).
Pau is a city of 78,506 people (the inhabitants are called Palois) on the river Gave de Pau. It's the historic capital of the province of Béarn.
There are views of the Pyrenees from the boulevard des Pyrenées. Alphonse de Lamartine said, 'Pau has the most beautiful view of the earth just as Naples has the most beautiful view of the sea.'
The origin of the name Pau is uncertain. It could come from pal, referring to the palisade or fence around the first castle in Pau. Another possibility is that pal means rockface, and refers to Pau's position at the foot of mountains.
A castle was built by the Viscounts of Béarn, probably in the C11th, to protect a ford of the Gave de Pau. Pau became the capital of Béarn in 1464. It then became the seat of the Kings of Navarre in 1512. Henri of Navarre went on to become King Henri IV of France, in 1589. In 1620, Béarn lost its independence from France, although the Parliament of Navarre continued to govern local matters (with laws in the Occitan dialect).
In the Belle Epoque (usually defined as 1871 to 1914), Pau developed as a tourist destination for the royal, aristocratic, and rich. Scottish doctor Alexander Taylor helped make it a popular destination for a winter cure. Later, aviation and petrochemicals (following the discovery of natural gas in Lacq) were significant industries here, and more recently, the services sector has grown. There's a large student population at the Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour.
The Château de Pau is one of the city's main attractions. It was originally a fortification guarding a ford of the Gave de Pau, reinforced in the C14th by Gaston III of Foix-Béarn. In the C16th, as the seat of the Navarre dynasty, it was transformed into a residence.
Henri of Navarre was born in the château. Wikipedia has a garbled explanation of Henri's connection to the castle, which has the hallmarks of a computer translation from French: 'The future Henri IV takes the trouble to be born December 13, 1553, and the story did the rest. The fame of the king...gives the castle, which did not see him grow up or die, a particular taste, and the right to claim honours those who give birth supermen.' Right. I, who not understand all things to men, a special smell, this translation glorious three and a half ten out of.
Favourites for Stage 5 of the 2026 Tour de France will include the in-form sprinters in the 2026 edition of the race.
Who do you think will win Stage 5 of the 2026 Tour de France?
Samsung Galaxy A15, price £92 from Amazon at the time of writing (affiliate link).
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
New in 2023, Bike Rides in the Yorkshire Dales is available in colour paperback.
Find out more about Bike Rides in the Yorkshire Dales or buy a copy.
Bike Rides In and Around York features a historical city tour, plus family rides, road rides, and mountain bike rides.
Find out more about Bike Rides In and Around York or buy a copy.
Bike Rides in Harrogate and Nidderdale is a book of family, mountain and road bike rides.
Find out more about Bike Rides in Harrogate and Nidderdale or buy a copy.
Find out more about Mountain Bike Rides in the Yorkshire Dales.
Buy Mountain Bike Rides in the Yorkshire Dales at £8 + P&P.
Garmin Edge Explore, £197.99 at the time of writing.
Garmin Edge Explore on Amazon (affiliate link).
Faster by Michael Hutchinson on Amazon (affiliate link).
