The Tour de France turns uphill on Thursday, with Stage 18 finishing at the summit of Orcières-Merlette — the first of three summit finishes in this year's race.

The 185.2-kilometre mountain stage starts in Voiron, in the Isère department of south-eastern France, and rolls out at 12:35 local time. Riders are expected to reach the finish line around 17:25 CET, nearly five hours later (Cyclingnews). The route packs 3,900 metres of climbing across five categorised climbs, none of them in the hors catégorie — the toughest grading in Tour de France racing (The Guardian; letour.fr).

After Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin–Premier Tech won Stage 17 in a sprint finish back in Voiron on Wednesday, the terrain shifts dramatically. The peloton — the main pack of riders — leaves Voiron and threads through towns including Tullins-Fures, Sassenage, Lans-en-Vercors and La Motte-d'Aveillans before the climbing begins in earnest. The route's named ascents include the Côte de Monteynard, the Côte d'Engins and the Côte des Terrasses, each offering a launchpad for riders looking to go on the attack (letour.fr; racecenter.letour.fr).

Orcières-Merlette has hosted Tour de France stage finishes four times before. Belgian rider Lucien Van Impe won here in 1972, and France's Pascal Simon took a stage victory in 1982. The climb's history gives it a quiet weight in the race's heritage — summit finishes tend to shape the GC, the overall standings on general classification, because time gained or lost on a final climb can decide the whole race (letour.fr).

The 2026 Tour began on July 4 in Barcelona and now sits in its final week, with the mountains set to settle the overall contest. Stage 19 follows on Friday: a 127.9-kilometre leg from Gap to l'Alpe d'Huez, a climb whose twenty-one hairpin bends are among the most celebrated in cycling (The Guardian).

For fans watching, Thursday is where the race tightens. Three summit finishes remain, and the first one — at Orcières-Merlette, on a road where Van Impe and Simon once rode clear — will show which riders still have the legs to fight for yellow in Paris.