L’Étape du Tour
French Alps — Oisans and Maurienne · Le Bourg-d’Oisans → Alpe d’Huez
A full mountain stage of the Tour de France, on the course amateurs ride each July.
- Distance
- 169.4 km
- Climbing
- +5,446 m
- Est. time
- 10 h 5 min
- High point
- 2,628 m
Free to ride with a free account. It rides in your browser with any smart trainer or power meter, and your result goes on the leaderboard below.
Ride it in stages
Few riders hold 169 km on a trainer. Ride it a stage at a time: the cuts avoid the middle of the big climbs — a stage ends at a summit, in a valley or on the flat — and this page remembers what you have ridden and what comes next.
15 stages of about 11.3 km — none over 50 minutes at 165 W.
- Stage 1 (next)km 0–11.8Next11.8 km+92 m~24 minRolling · Cat 4
- Stage 2km 11.8–21.59.8 km+561 m~48 minMountain · Cat 1 · summit finish
- Stage 3km 21.5–30.38.8 km+530 m~45 minMountain · Cat 1 · summit finish
- Stage 4km 30.3–38.88.5 km+421 m~37 minMountain · Cat 2 · summit finish
- Stage 5km 38.8–55.516.8 km+119 m~28 minRolling · Cat 4
- Stage 6km 55.5–74.519 km+230 m~38 minRolling · Cat 3 · summit finish
- Stage 7km 74.5–85.811.3 km+467 m~45 minMountain
- Stage 8km 85.8–97.511.8 km+474 m~45 minMountain · Cat HC
- Stage 9km 97.5–10810 km+571 m~49 minMountain · Cat HC
- Stage 10km 108–1157.5 km+622 m~50 minMountain · summit finish
- Stage 11km 115–12510.3 km+41 m~15 minDescent
- Stage 12km 125–14014.5 km+115 m~25 minRolling · Cat 4
- Stage 13km 140–15414 km+470 m~48 minMountain · Cat 4
- Stage 14km 154–1627.8 km+599 m~49 minMountain · Cat HC · summit finish
- Stage 15km 162–1697.9 km+135 m~18 minHilly · Cat 4
Times are at a steady 165 W — no stage takes more than 50 minutes. Cross a stage's finish line and it is ticked — feeling good? Keep pedalling and the ride carries on into the next stage. Progress is kept in this browser, and in your account when you are signed in.
Elevation profile
541–2,628 m · 15 categorised climbs · Extreme · RoadThe 8 biggest of 15 categorised climbs, in the order you ride them.
About L’Étape du Tour
Each year one mountain stage of the Tour de France is handed to amateur riders, on closed roads. This is the 2026 course: out of the Oisans valley over the Col de la Croix de Fer, along the Maurienne to the Télégraphe and the Galibier — the roof of the day — and back for a finish at Alpe d’Huez, reached the unusual way, over the wild Col de Sarenne.
It is as hard as cycling events get. The distance alone would make a long day; the climbing makes it one that most riders take nine hours or more to finish, and the last climb starts when there is very little left.
Held every July on the route of one mountain stage of that year’s Tour de France. The course changes every year. The organiser lists the 2026 course at 170 km with 5,400 m of climbing.
Why ride this route indoors?
- The decisive skill is pacing the first passes so the last one is still possible — and that can be rehearsed climb by climb.
- You do not have to finish it to get the benefit: the Croix de Fer comes first, and the opening two hours of this course are a complete climbing session on their own.
- Hours of steady climbing are hard to find near most homes. Here they start at your front door.
Good to know
+Is this the official course of L’Étape du Tour?
The track is based on the GPX published by L’Étape du Tour de France (A.S.O.) for the 2026 edition, normalised by Cycloscape for indoor riding. Cycloscape is not affiliated with the event’s organisers.
+What do I need to ride L’Étape du Tour indoors?
A smart trainer or a power meter, and a browser. Cycloscape connects over Bluetooth or ANT+ from the browser, sets the resistance of a smart trainer to the real gradient, and turns the route’s GPX into a 3D world. There is nothing to install.
+Can I ride L’Étape du Tour in stages?
Yes. Few riders want more than 50 minutes on a trainer in one go, so Cycloscape offers its 169 km in 15 stages of about 11 km, none longer than 50 minutes at 165 W. The cuts avoid the middle of the big climbs — a stage ends at a summit, in a valley or on the flat. Start from any stage and, if your legs are good at its finish line, keep pedalling: the ride carries on into the next stage and every stage you finish is ticked. The page remembers which stages you have ridden and which one is next.
+Is it free?
Yes. Riding it needs a free account — sign up in seconds with Google or a code by email, no card. Your result is saved and goes on the route’s leaderboard.
Leaderboard
Best effort per rider — a free account puts your ride on it.