tours de france femmes

Stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes live - 07/30/2023

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Tour de France Femmes 2023 preview: Full schedule and how to watch live women's Grand Tour cycling action

Reigning champion Annemiek van Vleuten is targeting another Tour de France Femmes crown, as the second modern edition of the stage race takes place on 23 July to 30 July. Here is all you need to know before the start in Clermont-Ferrand.

The second edition of the most prestigious stage race on the women’s cycling calendar is billed as being the biggest yet. Tour de France Femmes 2023 is offering a diverse route starting in the highland region of Massif Central and finishing at the foot of the Pyrenees in Pau.

The big question before this year’s race has been whether anyone can challenge defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten , who is also an Olympic gold and silver medallist and four-time world champion.

The 40-year-old Dutchwoman has already claimed La Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d’Italia Donne this season, and victory in the Tour de France Femmes would complete the set of 2023 women's Grand Tour race wins.

22 teams will be at the start line to battle over 8 stages, not just for the yellow leader’s jersey, but also the green points classification jersey, the polka-dot jersey for leader of the mountain classification and the white jersey for the best young rider under 23 years of age.

Read on to find everything you need to know about the Tour de France Femmes 2023.

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Tour de France Femmes 2023 route

Tour de France Femmes 2023 consists of eight stages with a total of 956 kilometres of racing. The peloton starts with a fairly flat stage around Clermont-Ferrand, and from the second hilly stage, the riders slowly move towards the southwest of France.

A mix of flat and hilly stages follow until the seventh stage, where the big battle among the GC favourites will be fought on the mountainous route to the iconic Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees.

The race will conclude with a 22 kilometres individual time trial around Pau.

Day-by-day route of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes stages

• Sunday 23 July: Stage 1 - Clermont-Ferrand - Clermont-Ferrand (124 km)
• Monday 24 July: Stage 2 - Clermont-Ferrand - Mauriac (152 km)
• Tuesday 25 July: Stage 3 - Collonges-la-Rouge - Montignac-Lascaux (147.2 km)
• Wednesday 26 July: Stage 4 - Cahors - Rodez (177.5 km)
• Thursday 27 July: Stage 5 - Onet-le-Château - Albi (126.1 km)
• Friday 28 July: Stage 6 - Albi - Blagnac (122.1 km)
• Saturday 29 July: Stage 7 - Lannemezan - Col du Tourmalet (89.8 km)
• Sunday 30 July: Stage 8 - Pau - Pau (22.6 km individual time trial)

Riders to watch at the Tour de France Femmes 2023

Two-time road race world champion Annemiek van Vleuten is the big favourite for the Tour de France Femmes 2023. In the Giro d’Italia Donne that finished earlier this month, the Olympic time trial champion claimed three stages and won the general classification by almost four minutes to Juliette Labous of France in second place.

The Movistar rider is in the middle of her last season before retiring, but after having claimed both the overall in the Giro d’Italia Donne and La Vuelta Femenina, the defending champion has proved that she isn't finished yet.

Last year, van Vleuten clinched the yellow jersey by taking the last two stages of the Tour de France Femmes. 3 minutes and 48 seconds was the gap to second place Demi Vollering .

The second placed rider from last year’s edition could also be the biggest threat for van Vleuten this year. Vollering completed the Ardennes hat-trick of one-day races earlier this season, winning the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes.

The 26-year-old SD Worx rider is currently leading the UCI World Rankings, as she has secured an incredible 13 victories already this season, and the Dutch road race champion has taken a big step up since last year’s second place at this race.

At the La Vuelta Femenina, Vollering looked like she was about to be crowned the overall winner, but van Vleuten capitalized on a toilet break and gained more than a minute on the penultimate stage to ultimately win the race.

By the looks of this season’s results, we can hope to see a breathtaking Dutch battle between van Vleuten and Vollering.

Other riders, who potentially can fight for the overall victory are Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy, Juliette Labous of France, and Katarzyna Niewiadoma of Poland.

In the battle for the green jersey, the European road race champion Lorena Wiebes will be the woman to beat. The Dutchwoman has a strong team to support her in SD Worx.

Her 24-year-old compatriot Charlotte Kool of dsm-firmenich has showed earlier this season that she has the top speed to beat Wiebes in a bunch sprint.

Last year’s winner of the green jersey and arguably the greatest female cyclist of all time, Marianne Vos , also needs to be mentioned among the contenders for the points classification.

As the general classification riders will most likely battle it out on the decisive mountain stage to Col du Tourmalet, they will also be the favourites to claim the polka dot jersey after the final stage in Pau.

How to watch the 2023 Tour de France Femmes live

The Tour de France Femmes 2023 will be shown live in numerous countries. Here is a list of the official broadcast partners across different territories.

• Various European countries - Eurosport and GCN
• Belgium - RTBF and VRT
• Denmark - TV2
• France - France 3
• Ireland - TG4
• Netherlands - NOS
• Norway - TV2
• Spain - RTVE
• Switzerland - SRG-SSR
• Canada - FloBikes
• South America - ESPN
• United States - NBC Sports and Peacock

Asia Pacific

• Australia - SBS
• China - Zhibo TV
• Japan - J Sports
• New Zealand - Sky Sport
• South-East Asia - Global Cycling Network

Middle East and Africa

• The Middle East and North Africa - BeIN Sports, SSC and GCN
• Subsaharan Africa - Supersport

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Tour de France Femmes 2023: riders face individual time trial on final stage – as it happened

Marlen Reusser triumphed in the individual time trial as Vollering secured her yellow jersey by finishing second

• 30 Jul 2023 Top five on the General Classification after stage eight
• 30 Jul 2023 Demi Vollering wins the Tour de France Femmes 2023
• 30 Jul 2023 Marlen Reusser wins stage seven
• 30 Jul 2023 Yara Kastelijn has been awarded the super combativity award
• 30 Jul 2023 Stage eight is go!
• 30 Jul 2023 Who’s wearing what jersey?
• 30 Jul 2023 Tour de France Femmes: Demi Vollering climbs to stage win and yellow jersey
• 30 Jul 2023 The top five on General Classification
• 30 Jul 2023 Stage eight: Pau to Pau (22.6km ITT)

On the podium:

One last message before we say goodbye to the Tour de France Femmes: Alan has emailed in to say that now the Tour has concluded, he is off for a bike ride. Seems like a good idea. I hope you have better weather than I do here in rainy London (I’m currently sat sheltering inside Herne Hill Velodrome with a bunch of racers).

Alan writes: “I usually ride before catching your live commentary. Sundays are a bit slower, but gotta ride now! Thanks for the great coverage. Good result, although I was hoping Niewiadoma would pull off a faster time, cool though!”

Vollering speaks … “I still cant believe it,” she says. “ Of course I worked hard, but it’s not just working hard… it’s believing in it. It’s so much together, and in the end you have a dream. You work really hard for it but you need to keep yourself a bit calm and find a good balance in your life also. You have to find a relaxed way to do it. This year I feel really comfortable and good in what I’m doing.”

Van Vleuten has spoken also … asked how she feels after today’s time trial, she answers with one word: “disappointment”. She goes on to explain that she already thought she wouldn’t do well in today’s stage as she didn’t feel great last night, but she had hoped for better anyway. “I was not good the last two days,” she says.

Top five on the General Classification after stage eight

1. Demi Vollering (SD Worx) 25hr 17min 35sec 2. Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) +3min 03sec 3. Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram) +3min 03sec 4. Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) +3min 59sec 5. Juliette Labous (DSM-Firmenich) +4min 48sec

Demi Vollering wins the Tour de France Femmes 2023

Vollering secured her win yesterday really, but this is the official confirmation that she’s held on to the maillot jaune and is crowned Tour de France Femmes 2023 winner. Kopecky has overhauled both Niewiadoma and van Vleuten to finish second. Niewiadoma finishes in third. Unbelievably, she has the same time gap as Kopecky at 3min 03sec, but loses out on tenths or hundredths of seconds on the time trial. Van Vleuten has dropped off the podium and finishes her final Tour in fourth place.

Marlen Reusser wins stage seven

None of the big names that followed could beat the European time trial champion. She’s taken the win on stage seven by setting a time of 29min 15sec over the 22.6km time trial course.

Van Vleuten has finished 12th . She grimaces, gets out of the saddle for one more push but it’s not enough. She’s crossed the line 1min 14sec behind Reusser’s time.

Kopecky is second fastest so far … She’s just crossed the line 37sec behind Reusser. That was a great effort. Think she’ll be pleased with that and it should give her a spot on the podium.

Labous crosses in fourth place … She’s 1min 17sec behind Reusser and looks to climb the final GC rankings. Kopecky has passed Moolman Passio, while van Vleuten is looking sure to slip off the podium.

🔥P4 on the line for @JulietteLabous ! There's a 5th place in GC on the cards here ! 🔥4ème place pour @JulietteLabous ! Il y a une 5ème place au classement général à la clé ! #TDFF2023 #WatchTheFemmes @Gozwift pic.twitter.com/5yModeyHyf — Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 30, 2023

Vollering is putting in a stellar effort … She passes through the intermediate time check down by 12sec, putting her into second place for the moment.

Niewiadoma is flying … she might well hold on to second place on the podium. After yesterday’s valiant effort, it would seem cruel for her to slip off at this stage.

Not looking so good for van Vleuten: She’s 1min 01sec behind Reusser’s time.

Looking good for Kopecky: She is third fastest at the intermediate time check. Kopecky is 30sec behind Reusser.

Riejanne Markus: The Jumbo-Visma rider has slotted into third place with a time of 30min 05sec. She’s 50sec behind Reusser.

Reusser is the one to beat ... Will anyone go faster than the European time trial champ?

🇪🇺Marlen Reusser had ambitions to win, she certainly did everything in her power to claim a second #TDFF stage win! 🇪🇺Marlen Reusser pour ambition de gagner, elle a fait le maximum pour remporter une deuxième victoire d'étape au #TDFF . #TDFF2023 #WatchTheFemmes @Gozwift pic.twitter.com/8wRN6cvNG2 — Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 30, 2023

Van Vleuten: With 16km left of her time trial, van Vleuten is 16sec behind Reusser according to the live timings.

Demi Vollering: The yellow jersey, or should I say yellow skinsuit wearer, is off. Kasia Niewiadoma started 2min earlier and van Vleuten set of at 3.57pm.

Current standings: Here is how the ITT times compare so far.

Here is how the race stands so far : Le classement provisoire : 1️⃣🇨🇭Marlen Reusser (29’15’’, 46,3 km/h) 2️⃣🇦🇺 @GLBrown321 , +40" 3️⃣🇨🇦Olivia Baril, +1'17" 4️⃣🇮🇹 @VittoriaGuazzi1 , +1'21" 5️⃣🇳🇱 @lucinda_brand , +1'30" #TDFF2023 #WatchTheFemmes @Gozwift pic.twitter.com/N1suO5FbnV — Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 30, 2023

Kasia Niewiadoma: Clad in a polka-dot skinsuit and red aero helmet, the Canyon-SRAM rider has ridden down the ramp and begun her bid to hang on to a podium place.

Lotte Kopecky: The Belgian rider, who was seen earlier warming up on a green road bike, has just swatted a bee off her helmet and is on her way …

“Yesterday’s race up the Tourmalet was iconic,” writes Toby. He’s emailed in to share his Tour highlight. “The fog, the altitude, the end of the Annemiek van Vleuten era,” he writes. “I was so happy to see Kasia Niewiadoma, one of my favourite riders across both pelotons, attack and be able to hold it to the end, finishing second.” He’s also shared this set of images by photographer Justin Britton. “The first one, particularly, encapsulates so much about the theatre of bike racing,” writes Toby.

MADNESS @demivollering pic.twitter.com/xehTyNpGbE — Justin Britton (@Justin_Britton) July 29, 2023

We’re coming up to the business end now … there are only six riders left to start and they include Juliette Labous, Moolman Pasio, Kopecky, van Vleuten, Niewiadoma and Vollering.

Liane Lippert: Stage two winner, Lippert has just descended the ramp and is out on the road. Cordon-Ragot clocked a time of 30min 48sec and can be seen pouring water over her head as she sits on the floor. Unfortunately for Cordon-Ragot, her aero helmet doesn’t have any vents.

Reusser pushes Brown out of the lead: We just had a new leader, but it wasn’t for long. Reusser has trumped Brown by 40sec and finishes her ITT in 29min 15sec. I wonder how much time she lost due to the motorbike and team car debacle earlier …

Brown has gone into the lead: We have a new leader. Brown has beaten her teammate Guazzini to first place. She was 40sec faster, with a time of 29min 55sec.

Marlen Reusser: As the SD Worx rider was catching another rider on the course, she was slowed down by a motorbike and a team car in her way in to a corner. That’s not great.

Grace Brown: The Aussie is flying and 29sec faster than Cordon-Ragot at the intermediate time check.

Yara Kastelijn has been awarded the super combativity award

Stage four winner, Kastelijn, has won the super combativity award for this year’s Tour de France Femmes . In case you need a reminder: Kastelijn won the longest stage of this year’s Tour, from Cahors to Rodez, after spending just under 160 kilometres on the front of the race, much of it in a 14-rider move that went clear on the day’s first climb, the Col de Crayssac. Here’s Jeremy Whittle’s report on that dramatic day …

Lizzie Holden and Lucinda Brand: The British national time trial champion has finished in sixth place, while Brand has jumped into second place and is 9sec behind the leader.

A fan of the time trial: Andrew from Cambridge has emailed in to share his appreciation of today’s stage. “I think it’s a neat touch to end the tour with a time trial, it gives every contender a chance in the telly limelight on the day everyone will be watching,” he writes. He adds: “And a chance for many to be in the lead for a couple of minutes, which I imagine is good for the individuals, the teams and the tour itself. Something for a near-future men’s TdF to consider?” Well, Andrew, happily for you, next year’s Tour de France will end in an individual time trial from Monaco to Nice.

Audrey Cordon Ragot and Grace Brown: The multiple French time trial champion is off, closely followed by Australian national TT champ, Grace Brown. The latter also won a silver medal in last year’s world champs in this discipline.

Henderson is second in the standings: A really strong ride for Henderson but she couldn’t quite manage to beat Guazzini’s time. She’s finished just over 15secs slower, with a time of 30min 51sec, but that does mean she is in second place overall

Anna Henderson: The Jumbo-Visma rider has set a new best time at the intermediate time check of 13min 37sec. That’s 3sec faster than Guazzini. Will she be in the hot seat next?

🇫🇷 #TDFF2023 Provisional fastest time for Anna at the first intermediate point! 👊 — Team Jumbo-Visma Women (@JumboVismaWomen) July 30, 2023

Arianna Fidanza: The Ceratizit-WNT has just been shown on the coverage with a bloodied knee and looking a bit worse for wear after having crashed. She’s standing up and being checked over.

Mischa Bredewold: The SD Worx rider is out on the road. Her helmet is giving me Star Wars vibes.

Emma Norsgaard: Stage six winner, Norsgaard is the Danish national TT champion. She’s just set off for her go on this 22.6km route. Will she bump Guazzini out of the hot seat? She’s currently sat there smiling and checking her phone.

An email: “I’m looking forward to today’s time trial,” writes Peter. “But I think I have to agree with Demi Vollering from her interview yesterday. This race has been so good. It deserves a glass of champagne and a bike ride into Paris.”

Vittoria Guazzini: As mentioned earlier, the FDJ-Suez rider is the U23 time trial world champion. She’s set a time of 30min 36sec at a speed of 44.3km/h.

The bump in the road: Today’s 22.6km time trial features a climb at roughly halfway. The Côte de Bosdarros is 1.38km and has an average gradient of 6.7%. While some of the riders won’t welcome the bump in the road, it’s likely to suit Kopecky.

Coming roughly halfway through today's route, the 1.38km Côte de Bosdarros averages 6.7%. @ashleighcycling is the current holder of the @Strava QOM but after 7 hard days of racing, can anyone better her time? 👑⏱️ #TDFF2023 #TDFFdata pic.twitter.com/cAW6fiUNUJ — letourdata (@letourdata) July 30, 2023

Josie Talbot: The Cofidis rider set off second, after van ‘t Geloof, but is the first to finish the ITT. She has set a time of 31min 42sec.

As always, please send in your thoughts , predictions and questions via email or Twitter. I would love the company …

The live TV coverage began at 2pm and there’s a lot of shots of riders warming up, walking around in aero helmets and prediction chat from the commentators. I’m yet to see it cut to the actual live footage, but when it does these updates will hopefully become more frequent.

Mavi Garcia: The Liv Racing Teqfind rider will not start today’s stage due to illness. The Spanish rider is 15th in the overall rankings.

[ #TDFF2023 ] A bummer for @mavi_at : she will not start today due to illness. Get well soon! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/25Y5jgC8Ql — Liv Racing TeqFind (@LivRTeqFind) July 30, 2023

There is one time check , located at 10.6km to go. Also, in case you’re interested, there are 10 national individual time trial champions taking part in today’s stage. Antri Christoforou (Team Human Powered Health), a national ITT champion for Cyprus, has already set off, as has U23 world champion Vittoria Guazzini (FDJ-Suez). The next ITT champ to go down the ramp will be Emma Norsgaard at 2.29pm. The other national ITT champions to look out for are Elizabeth Holden (2.39pm), Georgia Williams (2.41pm), Christine Majerus (3.42pm), Agnieszka Skalniak-Sojka (3.47pm), Grace Brown (4.08pm), Cédrine Kerbaol (France, 4.37pm), Riejanne Markus (4.39pm) and Lotte Kopecky (4.55pm). European ITT champion Marlen Reusser is up at 3.12pm.

Stage eight is go!

Two riders have begun their bid at the individual time trial. Marjolein van ‘t Geloof (Human Powered Health), as the lanterne rouge , set of first at 1.38pm. Josie Talbot (Cofidis) goes second.

🚩First start of the day, it's @MGeloof ! 🚩Premier départ de la journée, c'est @MGeloof ! #TDFF2023 #WatchTheFemmes @Gozwift pic.twitter.com/Phz0yhMkd3 — Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 30, 2023

There are 123 riders left in this year’s Tour but the main focus of today’s time trial will be on just a handful that could upset the podium standings. After Demi Vollering’s victory on the Col du Tourmalet yesterday pushed her into the GC lead, it’s difficult to see anyone challenging her for the yellow jersey. She has a 1min 50 sec lead over second placed Kasia Niewiadoma. So, the real battle will be for the final two podium spots: the gap that separates Niewiadoma in second and Ashleigh Moolman Passio in fifth is just 49 sec.

Will Annemiek van Vleuten dig deep for a stage win given her TT chops? Or, will Lotte Kopecky claim a second podium spot for SD Worx? They do have form on the one-two victories after all.

Who’s wearing what jersey?

Yellow: Demi Vollering (SD Worx) 24hr 48min 10sec

Green: Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) 228pts

Polka-dot: Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) 27pts

White: Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling) 24hr 58min 16sec

Tour de France Femmes: Demi Vollering climbs to stage win and yellow jersey

Stage seven report: Demi Vollering took a spectacular and career-defining win at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees, to take over the lead in the Tour de France Femmes , with only Sunday’s 22km time trial remaining.

The SD Worx rider emphatically shattered the stalemate with her Dutch compatriot, Annemiek van Vleuten, attacking with a little over 5km of the stage remaining. At the finish line, Vollering had pulled out more than two and a half minutes on Van Vleuten. Jeremy Whittle reports from Tourmalet Bagnères-de-Bigorre …

The top five on General Classification

Demi Vollering (SD Worx) 24hr 48min 10sec

Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) +1min 50sec

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) +2min 28sec

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) +2min 35sec

Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (AG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step) +2min 39sec

Stage eight: Pau to Pau (22.6km ITT)

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift race director, Marion Rousse on stage eight: “Between Pau and Gan, this stage will initially follow the route of the final part of the 2019 Tour de France time trial, but running in the opposite direction. After topping the climb (1.8km at 5.5%), the winding course will demand multiple accelerations. The slightly uphill approach to the finish will offer a magnificent panorama, and perhaps some final suspense before the presentation of the Yellow Jersey.”

The first rider will roll down the ramp for today’s individual time trial at 1.38pm (BST).

⏱️ The only Time Trial on the #TDFF2023 sees the riders start and finish in Pau for a 22 km course. Enough to change the GC? ⏱️ Le seul contre-la-montre du #TDFF2023 démarre et finit à Pau pour une boucle de 22 km. Assez pour changer le classement final ? #WatchTheFemmes pic.twitter.com/1e9ZX79zD5 — Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 30, 2023

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Tour de France Femmes 2024

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift returns for a third year with its first foreign Grand Départ in the Netherlands and a stage to Alpe d'Huez

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Tour de France Femmes

• Dates 12 Aug - 18 Aug
• Race Length 946 kms
• Race Category Elite Women

Updated: January 29, 2024

Everything you need to know about the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2024

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is the biggest stage race in women’s professional cycling, and will take place from August 12 to August 18 in 2024, slightly after the men’s race to accommodate the Paris 2024 Olympics. As the name suggests, the Tour de France Femmes is the women’s version of the world’s most famous cycling race, the Tour de France . Though shorter, at eight stages, it takes in a similar format to the men’s event, featuring sprinting, time trials and decisive mountain stages in the iconic French mountains.

Along with the Giro d'Italia Women and the Vuelta Femenina , the Tour de France Femmes is part of the trio of races that make up the women's equivalent Grand Tours, and are the most important stage races on the calendar .

The Tour de France Femmes and its yellow jersey are the domain of the biggest names in the women’s peloton, with Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) and Demi Vollering (SD Worx) winning the first two editions respectively, whilst Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx), Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) have all won stages and worn the famous maillot jaune.

In 2024, the race will head into its third edition, and the next step as ASO look to build a long-lasting and growing race that will be at the centre of women’s cycling for years to come. The biggest step-up for the 2024 edition will be the race’s first foreign Grand Départ, as the Tour heads to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. What will follow will be eight varied stages over seven days of racing, before a climb-heavy finale in the Alps that will decide the third winner of the Tour de France Femmes.

• Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2024 route revealed
• Demi Vollering: I’ve always wanted to ride Alpe d’Huez
• Opinion: The Tour de France Femmes is delivering on its promises of growth
• Where the 2024 Tour de France Femmes will be won
• Tour de France Femmes 2024: can anyone beat Demi Vollering to a second victory?
• Pauline Ferrand-Prévot: I would like to do the Tour de France Femmes one year
• 'I miss the pressure' - Lizzie Deignan targets Tour de France Femmes and Olympic Games

Tour de France Femmes 2024 schedule, past results & previous winners

When is the Tour de France Femmes 2024? The Tour de France Femmes will start on August 12, 2024 and finish on August 18, 2024.

Where does the Tour de France Femmes take place? The Tour de France Femmes will take place primarily in France, but in 2024 the race will start in the Netherlands, its first-ever foreign Grand Départ.

Who won the Tour de France Femmes in 2023? The 2023 race was won by Demi Vollering (SD Worx) ahead of her teammate Lotte Kopecky, and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM). Vollering took the lead with a big victory on the Col du Tourmalet.

Who won the first Tour de France Femmes? The first edition of the Tour de France Femmes in 2022 was won by Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) after a commanding performance on the mountainous final weekend.

Tour de France Femmes 2024 route: Alpe d'Huez finale awaits after Dutch départ

The route for the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will feature the most famous Alpine climb of them all, Alpe d'Huez, for the first time in its history.

After departing Rotterdam, the Tour de France Femmes' first Grand Départ, the route offers something for everyone with sprint opportunities and a 6.3km-long time trial before a decisive doubleheader in the Alps.

The full route of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was officially revealed on October 25 by race organisers ASO. Taking in three countries over seven days and eight stages, the race has a total distance of 946.3km - the shortest overall route so far in the race's history.

The most eye-catching feature of the route for the 3rd edition of the Tour de France Femmes is the inclusion of Alpe d'Huez, a somewhat logical next step after the first two editions featured the Planche des Belles Filles and Col du Tourmalet as their respective Queen stages.

However, neither offer the test that the Alpe provides. At 13.8km in length and with an average gradient of 8.5% across its 21 famous hairpins, the climb is the perfect place to determine the third owner of Tour de France Femmes' maillot jaune. Stage 8 includes 3,900m of climbing in total, with the Col du Glandon serving as the highest point across the eight stages at 1,924m.

The Tour de France Femmes will culminate atop Alpe d'Huez for the first time

It's not just the final day that will test the climbers though, with four mountain ranges included in the 2024 route: the Ardennes, Vosges, Jura and Alps. Stage 7 on the penultimate day is likely to serve as a perfect warm-up for the Queen stage, leaving the Jura and tackling five categorised climbs on the way to Le Grand-Bornand.

Before the weekend finale in the mountains though, there's Classics-style days and a short time trial to contend with for the riders.

A Dutch Grand Départ in Rotterdam, the largest port city in the world, will offer sprint opportunities from the get-go, provided crosswinds from the North Sea don't blow the race apart. A split stage on day two features a short individual time trial in the afternoon, much less decisive than last year's final day TT though. At 6.3km and tackled on wide, non-technical roads, it will be a stage for the specialists to flourish.

Leaving the Netherlands behind on stage 4, the race will enter the north of France via Belgium, with a Classics-style 122km stage from Valkenburg to Liège swamped in history. The Cauberg, Geulhemmerberg and two ascents of the Bemmelerberg are tackled early on before some of Liège-Bastogne-Liège's most iconic climbs are thrown into the mix for good measure too. Mont-Theux, the Côte de la Redoute, the Côte des Forges and the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons all feature before a downhill finish in Liège.

With this mixture of Classics-style and high mountains stages, the 2024 Tour de France Femmes is spoiling us in terms of entertainment. What it lacks in length being 14km shorter than the 2023 edition and 67km less than the inaugural route, it makes up for in diversity with opportunities for just about any rider, whether that be on the cobbles of the Ardennes or the steep slopes of Alpe d'Huez.

Who are the riders to watch at the Tour de France Femmes 2024?

As the biggest stage race on the women’s calendar, the Tour de France Femmes is the race that everyone wants to go to, and as a result we can expect a star-studded list of all the very best riders to line up in Rotterdam next August. Some will be just happy to start, but others will be targeting stage wins, a jersey, or the overall.

Atop the list of riders to watch will most certainly be defending overall champion Demi Vollering (SD Worx). In the absence of 2022 winner Annemiek van Vleuten, Vollering will be the only former winner of the race in the bunch, and will have her eyes set firmly on a second-consecutive victory. With easily the best stage racing pedigree of the current pros, and the world’s best team surrounding her, it’s not hard to imagine that the Dutchwoman will pull that feat off.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Demi Vollering improved on her second place in 2022 to win the 2023 Tour de France Femmes

Hoping to improve on her back-to-back third-place finishes will be Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), who looks likely to be one of Vollering’s main rivals. The Polish rider excelled on the Tourmalet stage of the 2023 race, and is the kind of rider who can be there on the climbs but also - crucially - be aggressive on the punchier stages, which is important when it comes to winning a week-long race such as the Tour.

Who will win the 2024 Tour de France Femmes?

Demi Vollering

Katarzyna Niewiadoma

Juliette Labous

Elisa Longo Borghini

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Marta Cavalli

Mavi Garcia

Outside of the riders who already have wins and podium finishes under their belt, there is a big group of riders who will be hoping to step onto the Tour podium for the first time in 2024. FDJ-SUEZ will have Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Marta Cavalli to choose between, Jayco-AlUla will look to new arrival Mavi García to chase the overall, whilst dsm-firmenich will be counting on home favourite Juliette Labous, who often shines in stage races.

As a team, Lidl-Trek have perhaps the most options: will Giro d’Italia Donne podium finisher Gaia Realini make her debut? Could Elisa Longo Borghini make a proper attempt at the overall? Or will proven climber Amanda Spratt be their leader? With plenty of strength and options for stage wins too, the American team will be hoping to challenge SD Worx and Demi Vollering’s grip on this race.

Which teams are racing the Tour de France Femmes 2024?

The 2024 Tour de France Femmes will see all 15 Women’s WorldTour teams line up for the start in the Netherlands, plus the two highest-ranked Continental teams , and a selection of five other Continental teams, most likely including several French squads.

• dsm-firmenich
• Canyon-SRAM
• UAE Team ADQ
• Jumbo-Visma
• Jayco-AlUla
• Fenix-Deceuninck
• Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling
• AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step
• Israel Premier Tech Roland
• Human Powered Health
• Cofidis (TBC)
• Tashkent City (TBC)
• EF Education-Cannondale (TBC)
• Lifeplus-Wahoo (TBC)
• Arkéa Pro Cycling (TBC)
• St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 (TBC)
• Team Coop-Hitec Products (TBC)

Tour de France Femmes jerseys

The jersey winners at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes

The special jerseys and classifications at the women’s Tour de France are exactly the same as the ones on offer at the men’s race, bar a slight change in eligibility for the young riders’ jersey.

Yellow jersey (maillot jaune) - the iconic Tour de France yellow jersey is given to the overall leader of the general classification, the rider who has completed the stages so far in the shortest time possible.

Polka dot jersey (maillot à pois) - the polka dot jersey is awarded to the leader of the Queen of the Mountains competition. Rather than time, this competition is based on points, with varying tallies of points available for the first rider to the summit of each categorised climb on the route.

Green jersey (maillot vert) - the green jersey denotes the sprint competition, and is once again decided on points, with scoring available at the finishes of stages and intermediate sprints, with the finishes of flat stages carrying the bulk of the points.

White jersey (maillot blanc) - the white jersey goes to the best young rider in the general classification. At the Tour de France Femmes, a young rider is defined as those 23 and under.

What happened in the Tour de France Femmes 2023?

The Tour de France Femmes 2023 was won by Demi Vollering, who took the yellow jersey from her teammate Lotte Kopecky by winning the climactic Col du Tourmalet stage, after Kopecky had put in an impressive performance to lead the race up until that point.

After taking nearly two minutes on the Tourmalet, all Vollering had to do was defend that lead on the final-day time trial around Pau, and she duly did, finishing behind stage winner and teammate Marlen Reusser to secure her win and upgrade her second-place finish from 2022.

Though the likes of Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes did win stages, the race will also be remembered for the string of underdog wins that defined the middle of week. Young riders Yara Kastelijn and Ricarda Bauernfeind both took maiden WorldTour wins in France with impressive solo performances, whilst a spirited breakaway ride from Emma Norsgaard saw her hold off the peloton on the line to win the sixth stage.

To explore all the results, highlights and stories from the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, head over to our race home.

Tour de France Femmes history

With how prestigious the race already is, it’s easy to forget that the Tour de France Femmes avec Femmes is only two years old. Added to the calendar in 2022 after much clamour for a women’s Tour de France, the race was announced in 2021, and the first edition took place the following summer, with a sophomore, stepped-up edition coming in 2023.

Prior to the Tour de France Femmes, ASO’s offering for the women’s peloton was La Course by Le Tour, though even this was a recent invention. La Course was launched in 2014 after a campaign by Marianne Vos, Emma Pooley, Chrissie Wellington and Kathryn Bertine, and was originally a circuit race around the Champs-Élysées on the final day of the men’s Tour, though later editions were held in the mountains and elsewhere, during the men’s race. It was meant to evolve gradually into a proper stage race, but this didn’t really happen, bar one attempt at a two-day event 2017.

Perhaps fittingly, Marianne Vos won the first edition of La Course

However, the history of the women’s Tour de France goes back much further than the ASO’s involvement. We can find examples of women’s Tours de France as far back as the 1950s, and several editions of the Tour de France Féminin were held in the 1980s. These 80s races featured hard courses, often tackling most of the same stages and climbs that the men’s race did, making them long and difficult - truly Grand Tours. These races struggled to survive, though - especially once they were banned from using the ‘Tour de France’ name - and through the 90s and 2000s, races like the Route de France and the Tour de l’Ardèche were the closest the women’s peloton had to a French Grand Tour.

Read more: Tour de France Femmes: A brief history of the events which paved the way

Previous winners of the Tour de France Femmes

2023 Demi Vollering (SD Worx) 2022 Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar)

La Course by Le Tour winners

2021 Demi Vollering (SD Worx) 2020 Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) 2019 Marianne Vos (CCC Liv) 2018 Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) 2017 Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott) 2016 Chloe Hosking (Wiggle High5) 2015 Anna van der Breggen (Rabo-Liv) 2014 Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv)

Explore more about the 2024 Tour de France Femmes by clicking on the route, startlist and standings tabs up above.

Latest News

1 Fire and hearts: EF Education-Cannondale are going to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

2 Full list of 22 teams announced for 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

3 Lotte Kopecky prioritises Olympic Games, will skip Tour de France Femmes

4 'Winning is different' – Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig aiming at more than just consistency in 2024

5 Veronica Ewers: I’m definitely my harshest critic

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Lotte Kopecky to skip Tour de France Femmes after Olympics, SD Worx confirm

SD Worx manager Danny Stam confirmed that World Champion Lotte Kopecky will not take part in the Tour de France Femmes this year.

Kopecky was unsure whether she could race the Tour this year because the Olympic Games in Paris finish one day before the Tour de France Femmes Grand Départ in Rotterdam. Winning a medal at the Olympic Games is one of Kopecky's top priorities this season.

"The omnium ends on Sunday afternoon, the Tour starts on Monday morning. It is almost impossible to do that properly," Stam told Sporza .

"Combining those two events would also be a very difficult task mentally."

Kopecky won the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2023 and held the maillot jaune until the penultimate stage to the Col du Tourmalet when she lost touch on the final climb and the overall lead passed to teammate Demi Vollering.

At the Tour de France route presentation, Kopecky said she wanted to race the Tour because it has two stages that run on Belgian roads - stage 3 uses part of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège course and stage 4 departs from Bastogne.

"When I see the course, I definitely want to ride. The fact that it goes through Belgium is also a very nice thing. On the other hand, the Tour is every year while the Olympic Games are only once every four years. There are also very nice goals coming up after the Tour, so it is very unclear at the moment," said Kopecky.

"The switch from track to road is not a problem in itself, that is not my biggest fear. The Tour in itself is simply very tough and after such an omnium you have not only been physically very deep, but also mentally."

Kopecky put an emphasis on the Spring Classics this year knowing the decision on whether to race the Tour or not would come after. She won Strade Bianche, Nokere Koerse and Paris-Roubaix this year as well as the UAE Tour Women in February.

Her schedule includes the Tour of Britain Women (6-9 June) and Giro d'Italia Women (7-14 July) before the Olympics in Paris. She will set her sights on the World Championships in Zurich in the latter part of the season.

• Schedule & Results

Lotte Kopecky to skip Tour de France Femmes, focus on Olympic Games - 'Almost impossible to do properly'

Updated 25/04/2024 at 08:06 GMT

SD Worx have now confirmed that Belgian superstar Lotte Kopecky will not be participating at the Tour de France Femmes this year. Instead, the world champion will turn her attention fully to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games where she will hope to win gold for her country. Before that, the 28-year-old will race at the Ford RideLondon Classique and the Giro d'Italia.

Highlights: Brown sprints to victory after off-road scare

Kopecky eyes Giro but Tour de France participation unclear in Olympic year

10/04/2024 at 21:34

• Wiebes signs contract extension with Team SD Worx-Protime until 2028
• 'I was quite emotional' – Pogacar dedicates win to fiancée's late mother
• Brown upsets Longo Borghini and Vollering to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Stage 1 highlights: SD Worx one-two as Kopecky soars into yellow

Kopecky reveals unusual reason behind first Paris-Roubaix Femmes crown

06/04/2024 at 17:11

‘She’s the best’ – Blythe hails ‘unbelievable’ Kopecky after UAE Tour victory

11/02/2024 at 15:44

‘We will see the best option’ – Kopecky unsure over Tour de France Femmes participation

26/10/2023 at 10:09

Lotte Kopecky Won’t Be Racing the Tour de France Femmes

The Paris-Roubaix winner will prioritize Olympic medals instead, with the Omnium event wrapping just a day before the Tour begins.

Last year at the Tour , Kopecky wore the yellow jersey before teammate Demi Vollering took it over on the Col du Tourmalet. Thanks to an impressive performance in the opening stage, Kopecky spent six stages in yellow. She attacked with about 10 km left and crossed the finish line 41 seconds ahead of the rest of the peloton. Kopecky ended up the overall runner-up.

This year, the Belgian will be going all-in at the velodrome, where she hopes to win the first Olympic medals of her career. Trying to transition immediately from track racing to the Tour would just be too much. “The Omnium ends Sunday afternoon, the Tour starts Monday morning. That is almost unfeasible to do that in a good way,” said sporting manager Danny Stam, according to Sporza .

“Combining those two events would also be a very difficult task mentally. If you were to take Olympic gold, it’s too short a day to start the next morning in the Tour. She can now fully focus on the Games,” Stam added.

GCN reported that Kopecky has “high hopes both on the road and track at the Olympics, where she will look to convert her successes from the World Championships into Olympic gold. The 28-year-old is a multiple world champion on the track across the Madison, Elimination, and Points race disciplines.”

So far, Kopecky’s best Olympic result was fourth place in the road race at the Tokyo Games.

Even though fans will be disappointed not to see Kopecky racing the Tour de France Femmes, there will still be plenty of action to watch. The World Champion will be racing the Tour of Britain Women in June before returning to the Giro d’Italia Women in July. And then, of course, the Olympics in Paris, which run from July 26 to August 11.

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Un prêtre retraité mis en examen pour viols et agressions sexuelles sur trois femmes à Tours

Un prêtre retraité de 77 ans a été mis en examen ce jeudi 25 avril pour viols et agressions sexuelles. Selon la procureure de la République de Tours, les faits reprochés n'auraient pas été commis en Indre-et-Loire.

Un prêtre retraité a été mis en examen jeudi par une juge d'instruction de Tours pour "viols par personne abusant de l'autorité que lui confère sa fonction" sur deux femmes adultes côtoyées à l'occasion de son ministère. Le prêtre de 77 ans est également mis en examen pour "agression sexuelle par personne abusant de l'autorité que lui confère sa fonction", sur une troisième femme adulte, côtoyée également dans son ministère, a précisé à l'AFP Catherine Sorita-Minard, procureure de la République à Tours.

Les faits se seraient produits sur une longue période, "entre 2008 et 2017" , notamment à Paray-le-Monial (Saône-et-Loire), dans le département des Alpes-de-Haute-Provence et à Bordeaux, a indiqué la procureure de la République.

Placé sous contrôle judiciaire 

Le prêtre, né en 1947 à Pau et à la retraite, est domicilié en Indre-et-Loire. Il a été placé sous contrôle judiciaire. Selon nos confères de Sud-Ouest , le prêtre appartiendrait à la Communauté de l'Emmanuel, de même que les victimes, des religieuses. Sollicité par l'AFP, le diocèse de Bordeaux n'a pas souhaité s'exprimer sur cette affaire.

L'avocat du prêtre, Me Charles Dufranc, a estimé auprès de l'AFP que "la qualification de viols est complètement hallucinante" .

"Il s'agit d'une procédure singulière qui concerne des relations entre personnes majeures consacrées par l'Eglise catholique, ayant fait voeux de chasteté des deux côtés. Ce sont donc des relations coupables au sein de l'Eglise, mêmes si consenties" Maître Charles Dufranc à l'AFP

Selon lui : "Ce sont des faits qui ne sont pas sexuels. Il s'agirait de massages, bisous sur la joue ou une prise dans les bras.   En tant que prêtre catholique, c'est évident qu'il a commis des fautes parce qu'il a eu un comportement qui n'est pas acceptable par l'Église. Il a eu une sanction de la part de l'Église catholique et il a purgé cette sanction. Mais la loi pénale laïque ne punit pas ce type de comportement (...) Ce dossier n'existerait pas si cet homme n'était pas prêtre catholique, on ne reprocherait jamais à un citoyen ordinaire ce qu'on lui reproche à lui" , a ajouté l'avocat.

La communauté de l'Emmanuel, selon son site internet : "rassemble des laïcs (mariés, célibataires, consacrés dans le célibat) et des prêtres, qui vivent au cœur du monde et se mettent ensemble au service de la mission de l'Église catholique par l'adoration, la compassion et l'évangélisation" .

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Wiebes, Vollering aiming for Tour de France Femmes repeat on home soil

Dutch riders excited for Grand Depart in the Netherlands and first maillot jaune

With fewer than 100 days to go until the Tour de France Femmes starts for the first time on foreign soil in the Netherlands, two of the favourites for glory at the season's biggest race have talked about the special occasion and the possible added pressure of the Rotterdam Grand Départ.

SD Worx-Protime stars Lorena Wiebes and Demi Vollering will lead the home charge for the yellow jersey and stage wins as the race kicks off with three stages in the Netherlands based around Rotterdam.

Wiebes, the top sprinter of the women's peloton, has three stage wins to her name across two editions so far and also wore the yellow jersey two years ago. Vollering, meanwhile, is the reigning champion and favourite to take home the maillot jaune once again this summer.

"It's really special to have to start in your home country and that family and friends can watch the race. It's even more special to get a chance to get a yellow jersey on the first stage," Wiebes said at an event held in Rotterdam to mark the 100-days-to-go milestone last week.

Lorena Wiebes, SD Worx and Protime extend contracts until 2028 Lotte Kopecky to skip Tour de France Femmes after Olympics, SD Worx confirm Charlotte Kool eyes Tour de France home yellow jersey with new-look lead-out train FDJ-Suez front-runner in the race to sign Tour de France winner Demi Vollering

"I watched the men's race growing up and it was actually the dream to win on the Champs-Elysées already when I was at junior level and younger. I achieved that already. Now the next goal is here."

Vollering said she "would never have thought" that the Tour's first foreign start would be a Dutch one.

"I was really excited when I heard about it. I'm really looking forward to the start here," she said before talking about the added pressure of performing on home roads.

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"I was born and raised pretty close by and so I know the roads here pretty well. I will feel a little pressure to help guide my teammates through the first few days.

"It will be really nice to have to start here and to also together with Lorena try to get yellow already directly at the beginning of the stage."

The opening stage of the race is set to be a pan-flat sprinter-friendly day running 124km from Rotterdam to The Hague, with stage 2a the next day another flat run from Dordrecht back to Rotterdam.

The race's only time trial kilometres come in the shape of a 6.3km TT in central Rotterdam that afternoon before the Tour heads south for an Ardennes-style third stage.

For Vollering, stage 3 should mark her first big chance to make a GC difference, though for Wiebes the stage may host a different landmark in the race. She said that another early yellow jersey is her main goal, along with winning as many stages as possible, with stage 3 likely the longest she'd be able to hold the lead.

"First of all, the goal is to try to finish the Tour. But I hope to get as many stages as possible," she said. "And if it's again possible – like last year with Lotte – to get the green jersey and the yellow for Demi then it will be perfect.

"I hope until the Valkenberg, but there's also the short time trial in between," Wiebes said when asked about her chances of holding yellow.

"But I think it's still possible to limit the time loss and it could also be possible to win the second stage. Then you'd already have 20 seconds of time bonus so maybe it's possible to keep it. I think after Valkenberg it's a bit too hard because I saw that we also do La Redoute in that stage."

Growing the women's sport

The third edition of the Tour de France Femmes will likely be the biggest one yet, given the foreign Grand Départ in the cycling-mad Netherlands and big homegrown names on the start line including Wiebes, Vollering plus Charlotte Kool (DSM Firmenich-PostNL) and Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease A Bike).

Vollering said that she has noticed the increased attention and the growth of the sport, not only on the bike but also away from it as her impending move away from SD Worx-Protime shapes up to be the season's biggest transfer story.

"Now I get this question a few times almost every day so it's crazy to see this," Vollering said. "I think that I've also grown with the sport. My first pro year was in 2019 and that was the first year women's racing was a little bit broadcast online or on TV. From 2019 on, every year we have made big steps and that's really special to see.

"[The development] has gone really, really fast. You see in the Classics already we have the amount of people coming to the races for an autograph or photo before the race. It's really cool to see that so many people are coming for us now. It's like in one year, the people doubled, so it's crazy to see."

Wiebes was also pleased and surprised with the increased interest in the sport, which has only grown with the addition to the calendar of the Tour.

However, she did add a note of caution to remind the sport not to forget about those riders racing on smaller teams who are still battling to make a living on the bike.

"It's going really quick with women's cycling and I think it's good, but it's also a bit hard sometimes, especially for the teams. But I think it's good to inspire women and kids to cycle and to get on the bike," Wiebes said.

"I think the most important is that everybody gets a salary also from the Continental teams," she added. "I think there are still some girls riding around in peloton who are not getting paid or at the end they don't make enough money and they still have to work alongside cycling.

"So, I think we need to be a little bit more in step. But that can also be hard because with these events like the Tour de France, it makes cycling get bigger and we get a lot more attention than before."

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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Prior to joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Dani also oversees How to Watch guides and works on The Leadout newsletter throughout the season. Their favourite races are Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix and their favourite published article is from the 2024 edition of the latter: 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix

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