Tour de France Femmes 2026 stage 2 preview – A day for the sprinters

Stage 2: Aigle – GenevaDate: August 2, 2026Distance: 147.9kmElevation gain: 1800 metresStart time: 14:20 CETFinish time: 17:47 CET

Despite five classified climbs along the 147.9km route, stage 2 is one for the sprinters.

The stage starts in Aigle, and the riders will pass the headquarters of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the World Cycling Centre (WCC) on the neutral roll-out before heading north, towards the shores of Lake Geneva.

Wearing the yellow jersey after an impressive stage 1 victory, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) is the big favourite to win a second stage in a row. If she gets to the finishing straight without being completely out of position or boxed in, it is hard to see anyone match her acceleration.

Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) will try to challenge Wiebes and has an excellent lead-out woman in Lucinda Brand while Wiebes is lacking her usual last lead-out, Barbara Guarischi (though Lotte Kopecky and Mischa Bredewold are a more-than-adequate replacement).

Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM) and Shari Bossuyt (AG Insurance-Soudal) provided lead-out work for their punchier teammates on stage 1, showing that they can easily master the hills and can be counted on to sprint in Geneva. Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) lost contact on the hardest climb of stage 1, but even if she is dropped again on stage 2, she should be able to come back in time for the sprint.

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Profile of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes stage 2

(Image credit: ASO)

Stage 2 map, Tour de France Femmes 2026

(Image credit: ©GEOATLAS)

From Aigle, the riders will pass near the headquarters of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the World Cycling Centre (WCC) before heading towards the shores of Lake Geneva via Montreux and Vevey. The road will then rise, skirting slightly west to avoid Lausanne. The climbs are concentrated within a 66-kilometre stretch, the steepest being the Bougy-Villars ascent (0.9 km at 10.4%). The rolling terrain, with three short uncategorized climbs, in the descent toward Geneva, shouldn’t prevent the sprinters from battling it out in front of the Jet d’Eau at the end of the Quai du Mont-Blanc straight.

ClimbsCôte de Chexbres (cat. 3, 3.2km at 5.6%), km. 31.7Côte de Savigny (cat. 4, 2.5km at 5%), km. 43.3Côte de Cossonay (cat. 4, 2km at 6%), km. 73.3Côte de Bougy-Villars (cat. 3, 0.9km at 10.4%), km. 94.7Côte de Mont-sur-Rolle (cat. 3, 2.3km at 6.5%), km. 100.5SprintLavigny, km. 88.9 – points only to first 15 riders