Event guide · Jul 2–Jul 25, 2027
A 171 km loop around the Cotentin peninsula starts and finishes in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, with a steep climb 10 km from the line.
Stage 4 of the 2027 Tour de France is a 171 km loop from and back to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin on Tuesday, July 6, the first day in France. ASO calls it hilly, with about 2,200 meters of climbing.
The loop starts in the northwest at Beaumont-Hague, in La Hague, and runs through Les Pieux, Bricquebec-en-Cotentin and Valognes to the east coast at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue and Barfleur. It returns to Cherbourg through Saint-Pierre-Église and the Boulevard de l’Atlantique.
Tendance Ouest reports that the finale has a sting: a climb known as the Côte du Becquet, 900 m at 10 percent, about 10 km from the line, followed by 1,500 m at 5 percent. The peninsula is open to the wind, and crosswinds on the coast are the other danger.
Cherbourg last hosted a stage finish in 2016, when Peter Sagan won stage 2 from Saint-Lô and took the yellow jersey, with Julian Alaphilippe eight seconds behind. The rest day on Monday, July 5 is also in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, so the peloton wakes up in the same town it leaves.
| Kilometer | Place | Altitude |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Cherbourg-en-Cotentin | 6 m |
| 22.0 | Saint-Germain-des-Vaux | 65 m |
| 34.5 | Beaumont-Hague près | 163 m |
| 47.0 | Vasteville | 101 m |
| 66.5 | Les Pieux | 108 m |
| 82.0 | Bricquebec-en-Cotentin | 43 m |
| 94.0 | Valognes | 33 m |
| 113.0 | Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue | 3 m |
| 124.0 | Barfleur | 4 m |
| 135.0 | Quettehou | 15 m |
| 146.5 | Saint-Pierre-Église | 108 m |
| Finish, km 171.0 | Cherbourg-en-Cotentin | 83 m |
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, at the tip of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, is a naval port with ferries to Poole, Portsmouth, Rosslare and Dublin. The commune was formed in 2016 from Cherbourg-Octeville and neighboring towns. It hosted a stage finish in 2016, won by Peter Sagan, and the Tour's first rest day, on Monday, July 5, is here too.
Course figures: Organizer's profile, as reproduced by TourdeFranceParcours.fr, read 2026-10-22. Distances and altitudes may change when the route is homologated.
