| Stage | 17 |
|---|---|
| Type | Road Stage |
| Date | Wednesday, 21 July 2027 |
| Route | Muret → Pau |
| Distance | 186 km |
This is the calm before the Col du Portet. The contenders ride to save their legs, the sprint teams see one of their last chances before Paris, and the riders out of the overall picture fight hard to make the break.
Muret has a habit of starting big days. In 2021 a stage from here finished on the Col du Portet and Tadej Pogačar won it in yellow. This time the Portet comes a day later, and Pau, the gateway to the Pyrenees, gets the sprint.
A largely flat 186 km from the Haute-Garonne into the Béarn, with the foothills of the Pyrenees in view for most of the afternoon. The intermediate sprint comes at Castelnau-Magnoac, and the Côte de Baleix sits late in the stage, close enough to the finish to tempt an attacker.
Prudhomme points the breakaway riders at the flair of rugby star Antoine Dupont, a local hero in this part of France, but the likely outcome is a bunch sprint. Pau has suited the fast men lately: Jasper Philipsen and Olav Kooij have both won here.
“By the third week, fatigue is one of the biggest opponents.”
By the third week, your mental fatigue, sore legs and aching body become one of the biggest opponents. Every climb hurts a little more.
Stuey's 2027 route review, October 2026
Stuart O'Grady OAM OLY
4 x Tour de France Stage Winner
Pau is the Pyrenees base. The Boulevard des Pyrénées looks straight across at the range the race heads into tomorrow, and the town has hosted the Tour since 1930. It knows how to put on a finish.
Stand in the final kilometre to see the sprint trains wind up, or ride out in the morning along the roads the peloton uses on the run in, with the mountains getting bigger in front of you.
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