Tour de Romandie 2026 route - Stage-by-stage guide

The Tour de Romandie continues its tradition of kicking off with a prologue. A blink and you’ll miss it 3.2km effort against the clock in Villars-sur-Glâne, where the first yellow jersey will be decided, and an opportunity for the GC contenders to gain an edge over their rivals. 

With no individual time trial in this year’s edition, it’s the only opportunity for the specialists to make a difference, and those differences shouldn’t be major considering the length. The first part of the course should be lightning quick, but the road does rise consistently in the second half with average gradients of around 5%. 

Last year, it was Sam Watson who blasted his way to victory, finishing fractions of a second ahead of Ivo Oliveira to take the first yellow jersey.

The opening road stage is a 171.2km looped route in the Rhône Valley, beginning and finishing in Martigny. Stage 1 of the 2021 edition finished in Martigny, and it was Peter Sagan who claimed the 116th victory of his career.

In the first half of the stage, the riders will tackle three loops that feature the category three climb La Passe. The climb is 2.2km at 8.9%, and each ascent is followed by plenty of valley roads. 

What stands out on the stage profile is the category one ascent at Ovronnaz. This climb is another level compared to La Passe, standing at 8.9km in length with an average gradient of 9.7%. 

The climb has the potential to split the race significantly, particularly if raced at an aggressive pace. From the summit, 33.8km remains, consisting of the descent before flat roads on the run-in back to Martigny.

The route for stage 2 is pretty relentless and may go under the radar for its difficulty. The road is very rarely flat across the 173.1km, and the accumulation of inconsistent terrain could ramp up the levels of fatigue. 

Beginning in Rue, the riders will tackle a loop three times, which features the category three ascent to Vuillens. The climb is 3.6km in length with an average gradient of 4.8% and a maximum of 6%, so it’s not as steep as the climbs that featured on the opening stage.

However, combined with the many uncategorised kilometres of uphill terrain, it could still be a launchpad for attacks. 

The final ascent will be crested inside the final 5km from the finish line in Vucherens. From the summit, the road descends briefly before a final kicker to the finish. 

Now over the halfway point of the race, stage 3 is an interesting one. On paper, it’s another deceptive stage that should build plenty of fatigue. 

Beginning in Orbe, the riders will quickly tackle the first categorised climb to Suchy in the opening ten kilometers. The next categorised climb is well over 100km away at Oulens sous Echallens, but there is plenty of uncategorised climbing beforehand.

The climb to Echallens is 4.2km at 3.5% with a maximum gradient of 6%. The climb itself may not be the most difficult, but it should serve as a precursor for the category two Col du Mollendruz which follows shortly after.

This climb is both steeper and longer, at 8.9km in length with an average gradient of 6.2%. The climb will be crested with 33km to go, before a long descent and flat run-in to the finish back in Orbe.

Labelled by the race organisers as the first mountain stage proper of the race, stage 4 features four categorised climbs, including three ascents of the Jaunpass across its 149.6km. 

Interestingly, each ascent of the climb is unique, and the first, which begins in the opening 15km, is the easiest and thus earns a category two status, 6km at 8.2%.

From the summit, the riders will descend before immediately tackling a more difficult version of the climb, 7.6km at 8.6% with a maximum gradient of 13%, earning a category one status.

The riders will take a break from the Jaunpass for the next 60km, making their way towards the Saanenmöser, which is 6km at 4.5%. From here, there is 40km remaining, and the route then heads towards the final and most important ascent of the Jaunpass. This ascent is 8.1km at 7.9% and has maximum gradients of 12%. 

More important than the other ascents is the proximity to the finish, as there are just 16.5km remaining from the summit to Charmey, where the stage finishes. The riders will descend the climb before a fast 10km run-in to the finish in Charmey.

The final stage could arguably be the most significant as it’s the first and only summit finish of this year’s edition. Whereas last year’s race came down to a final individual time trial, albeit on a mountain, this year will see the GC contenders duke it out in a road stage. 

Beginning in Lucens, the stage isn’t easy for the majority, building up the metres of elevation gain with category three ascents at Sottens and Vuillens. However, everyone will have their eyes set on the category one summit finish at Leysin.

The climb featured on the queen stage in 2024, where Richard Carapaz won with an attack inside the final 2km, with a breakthrough performance from Florian Lipowitz, who almost caught the then Olympic Champion on the line.

In total, the climb is 13.9km in length and has an average gradient of 6%. However, there are steeper sections on the ascent that reach up to 12%. It will be an honest finale that will decide the outcome of the 2026 Tour de Romandie.