Tour de France unveils new mountain test as riders brace for Col du Haag
Cycling – Tour de France – Stage 13 – Dole to Belfort – Dole, France – July 17, 2026 General view of cyclists in action during stage 13 REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
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BELFORT, France, July 17 : The Tour de France will offer riders a new challenge on Saturday with the debut of the Col du Haag, a brutal climb that organisers believe could become an iconic battleground in future editions of the race.
The challenging 155.3km route from Mulhouse to Le Markstein features four categorised climbs, including the Col du Haag, whose summit is located 5.9km before the finish line.
Similar to the Col de la Loze, used for the first time in the 2020 Tour de France, the Col du Haag is “a forest path which has been converted into a cycle path,” Tour racing director Thierry Gouvenou explained.
“It will be a discovery, something we have had in our heads for a long time,” Gouvenou added. “I think it will be the most difficult climb in the Vosges.”
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This first-category climb is 11.2km long with an average gradient of 7.3 per cent.
“There are often gradients of 12 or 13 per cent, so these will be real opportunities to attack – or to crack,” Gouvenou said.
The Col du Haag will be the last climb of a difficult day, with the riders facing 3,800 metres of elevation gain.
Four-time Tour winner Tadej Pogacar, who already conquered Le Markstein in 2023 when the stage did not pass through the Col du Haag, gave the new climb his seal of approval after a reconnaissance ride earlier this year.
“I did the recon of the final loop and it’s a really, really beautiful area,” he told a press conference on Thursday.
“I was there with Isaac (del Toro). We did nice training together and we enjoyed it a lot. It was quiet, with beautiful scenery, beautiful climbs and descents also. If you grow up there as a cyclist, I think you must be a good cyclist because it’s so nice to ride.”
Race organisers are clearly pleased with their discovery and expect fireworks from the race favourites.
“It’s an unprecedented, spectacular and uneven climb,” the Tour sports director Jean-Michel Monin said.
“It will be the deciding ascent of the day, and it’s clear that the contenders in the general classification will certainly manage to gain a few seconds.”
Source: Reuters
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