Peloton climbs through packed crowds at Tour de France stage

Stage 11Summit Finish14 July 2027

Stage 11: Cluses to Les Saisies

150km

4,750m elevation

Stage 11 details
Stage	11
Type	Summit Finish
Date	Wednesday, 14 July 2027
Route	Cluses → Les Saisies
Distance	150 km
Elevation	4,750 m

TL;DR

Bastille Day in the Alps. Stage 11 runs 150 km from Cluses to Les Saisies on Wednesday 14 July, and it is the last Alpine stage of the 2027 Tour.

It is also the hardest of the Alpine stages. Five categorised climbs and 4,750 metres of climbing, with the Col du Pré and the Montée de Bisanne stacked together in the final 50 km. The finish is at 1,650 metres in the ski station of Les Saisies, four kilometres past the top of Bisanne, and the Tour has never finished there before.

On the French national holiday, with the Alps about to be left behind, nobody with ambitions for Paris can afford a quiet day.

On Wednesday 14 July you can start this stage in the VIP Departure Village in Cluses or finish it in the Izoard finish line marquee in Les Saisies. Next is Stage 12, Chambéry to Valence. See every stage of the 2027 Tour de France, and every ticket on Tour de France tickets.

Why This Stage Matters

14 July is the day every French rider wants to win and every French crowd turns out for. A mountain finish on Bastille Day, at a stage town that has never hosted the Tour, is about as charged as the race gets.

It is the final Alpine stage, the one with the most elevation gain in the Alps and the highest finish of the block. Whatever the general classification looks like in Les Saisies tonight, the riders carry it south to the Massif Central and the Pyrenees.

The Route

The Race

The race leaves the Arve valley at Cluses and goes straight onto the Col de la Colombière, 15.9 km at 7%. The Col de la Croix Fry, 7.2 km at 5.5%, and the Col de la Forclaz de Queige, 5.1 km at 8.2%, follow before the stage reaches its decisive pairing.

The Col du Pré, 12.6 km at 7.8%, and the Montée de Bisanne, 12.4 km at 8.3%, add up to around 25 km of climbing inside the last 50 km at an average of about 8%. Prudhomme points to the technical descent before the final climb as the place for a bold move. From the top of Bisanne it is four more kilometres to the line at Les Saisies.

Bisanne first appeared in the Tour in 2016 and is far more selective than the Col des Saisies, which the race has crossed 14 times. Expect the favourites to be on their own well before the final kilometres.

Stuey's Thoughts

“Riders who have lost time will need to go into offensive mode.”

Almost 5,000 metres of climbing in just 150 kilometres, including the Col du Pré and the ascent of Bisanne. This is the sort of stage where a strong team can put its rivals under pressure, but individual strength and tactical awareness will be just as important. Riders who have lost time earlier in the race will need to go into offensive mode to claw back some time.

Stuey's 2027 route review, October 2026

Stuart O'Grady leads Crédit Agricole in 2001 Tour de France TTT

Stuart O'Grady OAM OLY

4 x Tour de France Stage Winner

Experience This Stage

Les Saisies looks straight across to Mont Blanc, and from the upper slopes of Bisanne you watch the race climb towards you for kilometres. On Bastille Day the crowd will be enormous and the mood will be a party.

Cluses, at the start, is a Tour stage town for the fourth time. Ben O'Connor won alone from here to Tignes in 2021. For riders, Bisanne and the Col du Pré are the climbs to do the day before: long and steep, with the Savoie valleys spread out below.

Key Climbs

Col de la Colombière, 15.9 km at 7%
Col de la Croix Fry, 7.2 km at 5.5%
Col de la Forclaz de Queige, 5.1 km at 8.2%
Col du Pré, 12.6 km at 7.8%
Montée de Bisanne, 12.4 km at 8.3%, then four kilometres to the finish at Les Saisies, 1,650 metres

Climb Profiles

Col de la Colombière: 15.9 km at 7%.

Col du Pré, 12.6 km at 7.8%, then the Montée de Bisanne, 12.4 km at 8.3%, and on to the finish at Les Saisies, 1,650 m.

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