Stage 13

Tour de France 2026 Stage 13 takes place on Friday, July 17, covering 205.8 km from Dole to Belfort, the longest stage of the entire race, and the only one to break 200 kilometres. It’s a stage built in two completely different halves: roughly 150 km of gently rolling, largely uneventful roads through the Jura, followed by a sudden and serious test on the Ballon d’Alsace, the mountain that started Tour de France climbing history back in 1905.

This is a breakaway rider’s dream and a sprinter’s nightmare in roughly equal measure. The sheer distance alone makes it a day of patience before drama, and the road passes directly through Mélisey, the hometown of Thibaut Pinot, France’s most beloved climber of the last decade, who’s marking this exact stage with a homecoming of his own in 2026. By the time the Ballon d’Alsace’s summit comes into view, 30 kilometres from the finish, the stage has earned every bit of its “longest day” reputation.