| Stage | 16 |
|---|---|
| Type | Time Trial |
| Date | Tuesday, 20 July 2027 |
| Route | Toulouse → Toulouse |
| Distance | 33 km |
| Elevation | 200 m |
A time trial straight after a rest day tests how a rider has handled the day off. Some come back sharp. Others take ten minutes to find their rhythm, and over 33 km there is no time to win it back.
It is also the last chance for the time trial specialists among the contenders to build a buffer. From here the race heads for the Pyrenees: the Tourmalet and the Col du Portet on Thursday, four more big climbs on Friday. Whoever leaves Toulouse in yellow has to defend it on the steepest roads of the race.
Stage 16 is a 33 km individual time trial that starts and finishes in Toulouse, with 200 metres of climbing. Around 20 km of it is an out and back section along the banks of the Garonne, where raw power sets the time.
Then the course kicks. The Côte de Pech-David is only 800 metres long, but it averages 12.4% with sections of 20%, and it arrives after a fast run beside the river. Christian Prudhomme expects plenty of grinding of gears and legs before the urban finale.
Pacing decides the day. Go too hard along the Garonne and the Pech-David takes it back with interest.
“Specialists gain time, climbers limit their losses.”
The 33 km individual time trial in Toulouse, not far from my old home in Labarthe-sur-Lèze, will provide another major opportunity for specialists to gain time or for climbers to limit their losses before the final mountain battles.
Stuey's 2027 route review, October 2026
Stuart O'Grady OAM OLY
4 x Tour de France Stage Winner
Toulouse was a stage town on the very first Tour in 1903, and in 2027 it holds the race for two days: the rest day on Monday, the time trial on Tuesday. Stay in the centre and the course is on your doorstep.
Time trials put you closer to the riders than any other day. They come past one at a time, each with a team car behind, and you hear the disc wheel before you see the bike. Stand on the Côte de Pech-David, where 20% slows even the best in the world, and ride the climb yourself on the rest day so you know what they are about to feel.
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