← All 21 stages
July 23rd, 2026 · Thursday Mountains

Stage 18: Voiron > Orcieres-Merlette

185 km · winning effort: ~19 min climb
↓ Get today's CoachCat workout · 75 min

1 · The Terrain & Who Wins

A mountain day topping out on Orcieres-Merlette (7.1 km @ 6.7%). With the GC all but decided and two Alpe d'Huez summit finishes looming, the yellow jersey group has every reason to save matches. Expect a huge fight to make the morning breakaway, a gap that stretches past five minutes, and a stage decided up the road while the GC rides sweet spot behind.

Rider type: Breakaway stage hunters

2 · The Watts/kg It Takes to Win

6.2W/kg

An estimated ~460 W held for ~19 min (sweet spot).

That is the breakaway winner scenario, our pick, with the GC group riding tempo behind. If the favorites decide to race the climb full gas, winning costs closer to 7.5 W/kg and ~480 W, anchored to Pogačar's best 20 minute efforts.

3 · Three Favorites

  • 1Matteo Jorgenson
  • 2Ben Healy
  • 3Tadej Pogačar

4 · Train These Watts — Copy This Into CoachCat

Today's ride: 75 min · Sweet Spot (sustained climbing power)
CoachCat, build me a 75-minute workout for today modeled on Tour de France Stage 18 to Orcieres-Merlette. Today's winner needs about 6.2 W/kg for ~19 min (sweet spot). Give me 3 x 15 min Sweet Spot (88-94% FTP), scaled to my FTP, current LEVEL and OTS, and tell me how to pace it.

What that workout looks like (3 x 15 min Sweet Spot (88-94% FTP)):

FTP (100%) Warm-up: 64% FTP, 12 minSweet Spot 1: 91% FTP, 15 minRecover: 60% FTP, 5 minSweet Spot 2: 91% FTP, 15 minRecover: 60% FTP, 5 minSweet Spot 3: 92% FTP, 15 minCool-down: 55% FTP, 8 min
EnduranceSweet SpotRecovery
Do this workout free in CoachCat →

First week free. No credit card required. Cancel anytime.

Want a plan that builds these watts?

Train the exact power demands of the Tour, scaled to your fitness and your schedule. Two ways to do it with FasCat: