Alpe d'Huez double at Tour 2026: What makes the mountain a cycling myth
The 19th and 20th stages of the 2026 Tour de France finish in Alpe d'Huez. It is the first time since 2022 that the men's Tour has stopped there again. Back then, Tom Pidcock won after once again demonstrating his strength in the descent from the Col du Galibier. Driving skills had proved his worth. But it was not to be the last time that Alpe d'Huez made headlines since then. In 2024, it hosted the Tour de France Femmes. The Seconds of drama between Kasia Niewiadoma and Demi Vollering went down in the history books as one of the most exciting cycling thrillers.
Next year, the 19th stage on 24 July 2026 will start with the classic climb up to Alpe d'Huez. Just under 14 challenging kilometres, 21 legendary hairpin bends and hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic fans: the 113th Tour de France is set to reach its boiling point this Friday with the finish in Alpe d'Huez.
The next day, the route leads over Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Télégraphe, Col du Galibier and Col de Sarenne to Alpe d'Huez.
21 bends to Alpe d'Huez
From the village of Le Bourg d'Oisans, 21 hairpin bends wind their way up to the ski resort on the classic ascent of the 19th stage. These bends are numbered in reverse and are each dedicated to a stage winner. As there were ultimately more winners than bends in Alpe d'Huez, some of the bends share two names. So far, no German rider has been able to win there.
Will Pantani's record be broken?
Marco Pantani not only holds the record of 36:50 minutes from 1995, the legendary "Pirate of the Peloton" also set the three fastest times overall. In 1994, the Italian, who died ten years later, needed 37:15 minutes, and in 1997 it was 36:55 minutes.
Quite a few trust Tadej Pogačar to set a faster time than Pantani in 2026. The comparatively short stage (128 kilometres) without any Alpine giants and therefore not too much of a pre-stress offers good conditions for a possible new record in Alpe d'Huez.
The curve of the Dutch in Alpe d'Huez
The entire mountain will be transformed into a huge festival in 2026, with the biggest spectacle likely to take place in turn seven. Dutch priest Jaap Reuten realised while skiing in 1964 that there was no church there. Without further ado, he had one built and held his service there. In 1976, he rang the bells for Joop Zoetemelk's victory and repeated this for every subsequent Dutch success, eight times in total. The Dutch fans turned the corner into their own enclave and celebrated even more exuberantly with every stage. Today, the "Dutch corner" is an integral part of Alpe d'Huez, just as the Champs-Élysées is part of Paris.
Lance Armstrong and "The Look" in Alpe d'Huez
In 2001, Lance Armstrong fooled his rivals all day long. Positioned unusually far back in the peloton, he distorted his facial expressions, which led Jan Ullrich to hope that Armstrong was having a bad day. Ullrich then had his team pick up the pace. But it was all just a staging by Armstrong. At the start of the climb, his helper José Luis Rubiera accelerated while Armstrong took one last look round before riding off. This look, known as "The Look", became legendary. In the ARD documentary "Being Jan Ullrich", however, Armstrong clarified that he had actually only looked at Rubiera.
Alpe d'Huez premiere with Fausto Coppi
In 1952, the Italian Fausto Coppi was the first to win on the climb, which has an average gradient of 8.1 per cent. This also marked the premiere of a mountain finish in the history of the Tour de France. The tour did not return to Alpe d'Huez until 1976. At the 100th Tour in 2013, the climb was even tackled twice - and that brings us back to 2026, when the first passage after the Alpe d'Huez climb was even higher up to the Col de Sarenne and from there back down into the valley. In 2026, the 20th stage climbs up the Col de Sarenne in the opposite direction to the route back then. It is then a good 15 kilometres to the finish, with a ramp over the last three kilometres or so.
Giuseppe Guerini and the photographer
For Team Telekom, a certain stage win was on the cards. As the German racing team had to do without the injured Jan Ullrich in 1999, Guiseppe Guerini tackled the race for the prestigious stage. However, around 800 metres before the finish, the Italian collided with an amateur photographer and crashed. "It was the worst moment of my life," explained the mountain specialist. Guerini recovered quickly, got back on his bike and saved a 21-second lead to the finish.
