Pogacar's Col du Granon rematch headlines Tour de France 2027 route rumours

Tadej Pogačar saw off all rivals to win his fifth Tour de France last week, but he might face a challenge from another old foe in 2027, with the Col du Granon reportedly set to return to the route.

At this point, the only certainties on the 2027 Tour parcours are the British Grand Départ and the Paris finale, but some intriguing possible stages have been reported in local media in recent weeks, including a return to the Granon, scene of Pogačar’s surprising collapse on the 2022 Tour.

The details of the Tour’s opening three stages in Great Britain were confirmed in January, with the race getting under way in Edinburgh on Friday, July 2. The first stage is a flat and fast run to Carlisle, and the sprinters should have another opportunity on stage 2 to Liverpool, though the terrain is more rugged. The third and final leg on British roads takes place entirely in Wales, with 3,000m of altitude gain and a succession of punchy climbs on the run-in to Cardiff.

After travelling across the Channel on the first of three rest days, the Tour will resume in Normandy. Ouest-France reports the likelihood of a stage starting in Cherbourg that will take in rolling terrain around the Cotentin Peninsula. France 3 has suggested that it might feature an uphill finale on the Côte de la Glacerie.

There have been conflicting reports as to whether the Tour will venture into Brittany before heading south, but it seems likely that the Pyrenees will again be the first major mountain range visited by the race.

The more concrete rumours at this early juncture, however, all concern the Alps, and most notably the possible return to the Col du Granon. At the beginning of July, the mayor of nearby Saint-Chaffrey confirmed to Le Dauphiné that a bid had been lodged to host a stage finish either in 2027 or 2028.

The Col du Granon last featured in 2022, when Jonas Vingegaard divested Pogačar of yellow after a heavy onslaught on the Col du Galibier earlier in the stage. The return of the Granon would be in keeping with ASO’s recent trend of bringing the Tour to sites where Pogačar had suffered defeats to Vingegaard.

The 2025 route included Hautacam, where Pogačar was beaten by Vingegaard in 2022, and the Col de la Loze, where he cracked on the 2023 Tour. This year’s Tour included a finish at Le Lioran, where Pogačar was pipped by Vingegaard in 2024. Pogačar, of course, gained his revenge on his rival – on the terrain – on each occasion.

Indeed, the Col de la Loze is also in the mix to feature in 2027. Le Dauphiné reports that it could return for a summit finish, this time by way of Tougnète. The newspaper indicates that La Plagne, which made a return in 2025 after a 30-year hiatus, has also expressed interest in hosting the Tour once again.

With the 2027 World Championships due to take place in the Haute-Savoie, the Tour might also offer a preview of the course with a stage that includes the Côte de Domancy near Méribel. And that, of course, would also bring Pogačar back to the site of another resonant defeat, given that the climb featured on the Combloux time trial in 2023, where he was soundly beaten by Vingegaard.

Intriguingly, Sestriere has also launched a bid to bring the Tour across the border and into Italy by way of the Colle delle Finestre. Local newspaper L’Eco del Chisone reports that the mayor of Sestriere met with Bernard Hinault and Tour de l’Avenir director Philippe Colliou to discuss the candidacy for a Tour finish in either 2027 or 2028. 

Rather more concrete is the prospect of a lengthy transfer following a mountain stage on the last Saturday of the race. As part of the Tour’s three-year sponsorship deal with SNCF, the French national railway service, the peloton is again expected to travel by train to Paris on the morning of the final stage.

Pogačar has already indicated that he will return to the Tour in 2027, where he will seek a record-breaking sixth overall victory, and where he will surely have another crack at the Montmartre finale, after losing out to Wout van Aert in 2025 and to Mathieu van der Poel on Sunday.

The Tour route rumours will continue to percolate until the presentation in October, and there will be pressure, too, on technical director Thierry Gouvenou to try to devise a course that creates more suspense than this year, where Pogačar essentially decided the contest on stage 6 over the Tourmalet.

One obvious possibility would be to place a long, flat time trial in the opening week to give Remco Evenepoel something of a head start against the five-time champion. But as the last three years have demonstrated, it seems more or less impossible to Pogačar-proof the Tour, Granon or not.