2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Stage 8 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 8 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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The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes draws to a close with a compact mountain blockbuster. At 120.1 kilometres, the route takes in four major climbs and a total of 3,860 metres of elevation gain. The race culminates with the ascent to the Plateau de Solaison, where the road climbs for 11.3 kilometres at an average gradient of 9.1%.
The climbing begins virtually from the start, with the Col du Pré serving up 6.9 kilometres at an average gradient of 10.1%. The riders may have signed up for this voluntarily, but otherwise it might have been a case for Amnesty International.
And for what? Not to get anywhere, as it happens. The riders descend all the way back to the start town before tackling the Montée de Bisanne on the opposite side of the valley. This is a slightly gentler beast: 11.4 kilometres at 7.7%. Back on the valley floor, the riders are halfway through the stage.
Next up is the Col des Aravis, which looks almost benign compared to the other three climbs on the stage. The ascent measures 7 kilometres at an average gradient of 6.8%, and there will still be 46.7 kilometres to race from the summit.
What follows is a long stretch of descending roads before the final climb start to show its teeth in Bonneville. It bites immediately, with the opening 3 kilometres averaging just over 10%, while the fifth kilometre ramps up to a punishing 14.5%. Overall, the ascent to the Plateau de Solaison is an 11.3 kilometres slog at an average gradient of 9.1%.
Just over a month from now, the riders will return to the Plateau de Solaison during the Tour de France (stage 15). The last time a professional peloton finished there was on the final stage of the 2022 Critérium du Dauphiné. Jonas Vingegaard crossed the line alongside his then team leader Primož Roglič. The Dane was awarded the stage victory — deservedly so, as he had been considerably stronger on the climb than the Slovenian, who secured the overall title that day.
Cyclingstage.com
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