Tour de France 2026 stage 9 preview

Tour de France 2026 stage 9 preview - Shortened by 30km but four climbs remain on breakaway-friendly route to Ussel

Head-on shot of Mads Pedersen in a breakaway during the Tour de France, overlaid with TDF banner.

Stage 9: Malemort - Ussel
Date: July 12, 2026
Distance: 154.6km (shortened from 185.5km)
Start time: 13:45 CEST
Finish time: 17:22 CEST
Tour de France stage 9 LIVE

Organisers have shortened stage 9 from 185.5km to 154.6km due to 'red alert' heat warnings in the area on Sunday.

The riders will start in Malemort, and then 30km from the first section of the original route will be cut off; however, the difficult aspects of the parcours remain with the four categorised ascents on the roads to Ussel.

Still, roughly 3,000 metres of climbing is too hard for sprinters, but not difficult enough to trigger a GC battle. It could be a day for a breakaway.

In fact, Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme told L'Equipe he believes the shortened route could even be more difficult: "It's a tough stage."

"The champions have been on the road for 10 days now, in significant, very high temperatures, and the department has gone on red alert. We decided, in full agreement with the authorities who allow us to organize the Tour de France, to shorten it. We’ll cut it out directly, and we’ll have a shorter stage. This doesn’t change the sporting aspect, because it’s truly remarkable and formidable. However, it will be 30 kilometres shorter."

From Malemort, as the peloton heads north into the Corrèze, nestled in the Massif Central. Shortly after the halfway point, the testing ramps leading up to Suc au May, the second climb of the day, should produce a first selection, and with further sorting on Côte de la Croix du Pey and Mont Bessou.

From there, just 25 kilometres and a few more ups and downs remain to reach Ussel.