Tour de France Stage 18: 185.2 km and 3,900 metres of climbing to Orcières-Merlette summit finish

Stage 18, the first of three summit finishes in the 2026 Tour's final week, runs 185.2 km from Voiron to Orcières-Merlette on 23 July. The mountain stage packs 3,900 metres of climbing across five categorised ascents — none in the hors catégorie, the toughest grading. Summit finishes tend to reshape the GC — the overall standings — because time gaps on a final climb can prove decisive. Orcières-Merlette has hosted Tour finishes four times; Lucien Van Impe won here in 1972, Pascal Simon in 1982.