Opressive heat has, finally, forced the Tour de France to make a significant change to the course. Sunda’s ninth stage, from Malemort to Ussel, will be shortened by 30 kilometres.
The ASO announced said the decision is a response to French authorities declaring a “Red alert” due to exceptionally intense head in the Correze area.
“In light of this, it has been decided to adjust the route of Stage nine of the Tour de France, from Malemort to Ussel, on Sunday 12 July 2026,” ASO announced in an issued statement. “This decision has been made necessary by the exceptional weather conditions,” ASO added, explaining that the measure “Aims to ensure that the race can take place under conditions compatible with the red heatwave alert.”
The announcement comes as other major sports events are forced to cancel entirely. Ironman Versailles, set to make its debut this weekend, was called off at the last minute due to the heat.
Hot hot heat
This year’s Tour de France is fighting the weather as much as it is a fight between teams and riders. With intense heatwaves rolling across Europe, the race organizers are working hard to make sure the iconic Grand Tour can continue while teams are working hard to try get their riders through each stage safely. Temperatures have reliably been around 35 degrees Celsius with some parts of some stages tipping over 40 degrees.
That has alreay forced ASO and the UCI to loosen regulations restricting when riders are allowed to get water and nutrition from cars (after handing out a hefty series of feed zone-related fines, first).
Now, ASO is taking the next step to try save this year’s race.
Heat could make mountains out of mole hills
Stage 9 will be shortened from 185.5km to 155.5km. Those 30km will be lopped off the beginning of the stage. That removes a rolling loop at the start that, likely, would have been used by teams to try launch breakaway efforts.
All four categorized climbs that were part of the initial route will remain in the amended course. That includes a Cat. 2 climb, two Cat. 3’s and a Cat. 4 bump near the finish. All significant climbs, but not massive by Tour de France standards, when compared to the monstrous Mount Ventoux.
The uncategorized Côte de Miel (6.6 km at 3.9 per cent) kicks off the day’s real elevation gain. After that, the KOM points start to roll out with a trio of ascents. Côte de Naves (2.8 km at 6.7 per cent), the Côte de la Croix du Pey (4.8 km at 6 per cent), and the Suc au May (3.9 km at 7.7 per cent) will feel longer and steeper than those numbers if the predicted heat hits as hard as organizers say it might.
The final categorized climb is the Cat 4 ascent of Mont Bessou. Landing 24 km from the finish, it’s only 900m long, but kicks up at 7.3 per cent after nearly 20 km of steady uncategorized elevation gain.
That course could spread riders out across the French roads, which could make keeping riders fed and cooled more difficult. We’ll see how Sunday plays out, and what ASO and the UCI decide to do from there. There’s no sign of the heat letting up as the race rolls towards Paris.