2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Stage 2 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 2 of the 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
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At 234.3 kilometres, the longest stage of the Tour of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes features 3,685 metres of elevation gain. With five climbs that are challenging rather than brutal, it looks like an opportunity for the breakaway specialists. The final summit comes at the top of a short climb of 2 kilometres at 7.4% before a predominantly downhill run to the finish line.
Following the first 15 kilometres on the flat, the Col de Chatain — 7.9 kilometres at an average gradient of 5.7% — provides an ideal launch pad for the breakaway. The route continues after the summit rolling roads before the Col de la Croix de Toutes Aures serves up 2.8 kilometres at 6.1%.
By the time the riders crest the Col de la Croix de Toutes Aures, they will have covered just over 35 kilometres. A descent of several dozen kilometres then takes them to the Rhône, and on the far side of the river the road starts to climb once more. It begins with an uncategorised ascent of 4 kilometres at 4%, before the Col Robert Marchand gets under way after a brief descent and a false-flat section.
As happens more often this week, the organisers take some liberties with the categorisation of the climbs by placing the King of the Mountains points before the actual summit. That is the case on the Col Robert Marchand as well. Riders targeting the mountains classification will need to be alert after 10.9 kilometres of climbing at an average of 4.4%, although the road continues to rise beyond the KOM line. The full climb is the Col du Rouvey, which measures 21.3 kilometres in total at an average gradient of 3.9%. Its summit, at 1,246 metres above sea level, is the highest point of the stage.
Over the next 50 kilometres, the race continues across rolling terrain, although the overall trend is downhill. The main descent then drops for 10 kilometres into Rosières, situated at the confluence of several smaller rivers, and on the other side of the valley, the riders tackle the Côte de Baraques, a climb of 4.2 kilometres at 6.6%. There are still around 30 kilometres remaining at the summit.
After the Baraques climbs, the peloton negotiates a succession of undulating roads before reaching the final classified climb of the day, the Côte de Saint-Vidal, which rises for 2 kilometres at an average gradient of 7.4%. The riders remain on the plateau for a few kilometres, with the descent not beginning until 8 kilometres from the finish.
The descent is interrupted by an 850-metre rise at 4.7%, after which the road heads downhill once more before levelling out for the final 3 kilometres.
The first three riders across the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while 3, 2 and 1 seconds are available at the intermediate sprint.
Cyclingstage.com
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