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Eight stages over seven days, from Rotterdam to Alpe d’Huez await 154 riders, as the third Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift awaits. The start list is peppered with star quality, with riders looking for stage wins and to challenge for the yellow jersey.
The first two editions of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift were won by two different Dutchwomen – first Annemiek van Vleuten, and then Demi Vollering. With Van Vleuten now retired, it is natural to expect SD Worx-Protime’s Vollering to triumph for a second successive year, but it is no foregone conclusion.
Her participation is unconfirmed, but it is not unlikely that the Giro d’Italia Women champion Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) will be in attendance, and will hope to push Vollering hard. Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) has finished on the podium of both editions so far, and will hope to continue her 100% record. Meanwhile, French hopes will be led by Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Évita Muzic (FDJ-Suez).
It is not just about the general classification, either, with some of the fastest women in the world in attendance. Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), a two-time stage winner at the race, will look to regain the green jersey in the absence of Lotte Kopecky. However, she’ll be challenged by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), who has won 18 races in 2024 so far.
Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
As the defending champion, Demi Vollering is clearly top when it comes to contenders this time around. Despite a slow (by her standards) start to the 2024 season, the 27-year-old has won every stage race she has taken part in, triumphing at the Vuelta España Femenina, Itzulia Women, Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, and the Tour de Suisse Women, taking eight stages along the way.
It is hard to see past the Dutchwoman for the yellow jersey once again, especially as the race finishes on Alpe d’Huez, and she is the best all-round climber in the peloton, but anything could happen on the road there.
She has spent time at altitude to perfect her form, and it would be a surprise not to see her on the top step come the end of the week. This will be her final Tour for SD Worx.
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Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
There were five long years between Kasia Niewiadoma’s victory at the Women’s Tour in 2019 and her win at La Flèche Wallonne in April, but with her streak of near-misses finally over, the Pole will have the confidence that she can win at the Tour de France.
The 29-year-old has finished on the podium of the Tour twice so far, third in both 2022 and 2023, and so will look to go at least one place higher this time around.
As part of a strong Canyon-SRAM team which also contains Giro d’Italia Women podium finisher Neve Bradbury, Soraya Paladin and Chloe Dygert, Niewiadoma could well upset the odds and win the whole race.
Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek)
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Elisa Longo Borghini comes into the Tour de France off the back of winning the Giro d’Italia Women in July, the biggest victory of a career in which she has excelled at both stage races and one-day events.
However, she is unconfirmed for Lidl-Trek and it is unknown whether the Italian will lead the squad at the Tour at this point. If she does, she will target the punchy days like stages four and six, and will hope to stick with the best climbers on Le Grand Bornand and Alpe d’Huez.
Back to full health and confidence, the 32-year-old should be looking at the very top of the GC on the roads of the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich PostNL)
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Juliette Labous comes into the Tour as the leading French hope. The 25-year-old, in her last months as a dsm rider, will hope to better her best result – fourth place – this month. She finished fifth last year, and also recently finished fifth at the Giro as well, suggesting she is in top form.
Her squad, as others, is operating a split strategy, with sprinter Charlotte Kool riding alongisde Labous as the GC prospect, but the latter will hope for support as the race gets hillier and more mountainous towards the end.
Labous will be under significant pressure as the leading French rider, but she could be ready to challenge the best in the world.
Évita Muzic (FDJ-Suez)
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Évita Muzic is a rising star of French cycling and one of the most promising talents in the peloton. Her victory at the Giro d’Italia Women in 2020 showed her future as a top climber, and the 25-year-old won a second Grand Tour stage at the Vuelta this year.
While she might not be one for the very top step of the podium, FDJ-Suez think they have one of the best young riders in the world on their books, and it is likely that the Frenchwoman will show her prowess, especially on the most mountainous stages. One of the few to beat Vollering this season.
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Marianne Vos is considered one of the greatest women’s cyclist of all time, with a career that spans over a decade and includes victories in almost every major race, from World Championships to Grand Tours.
The Dutchwoman is incredibly versatile, excelling in sprints, on short climbs, and in technical races, and so could win on all sorts of different terrain. This makes her a strong contender for the green jersey, which she won in the first Tour de France Femmes two years ago.
The 37-year-old does not seem to tire of winning, and after finishing second at the Olympic Games road race, will look to taste victory for a third time and more this August.
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Lorena Wiebes, the fastest woman in the peloton, has already won 18 times this season, as is a strong bet to win the first stage in The Hague and take the yellow jersey on home soil.
The 25-year-old is dominant on her day, and recent won five out of six stages at the Baloise Ladies Tour on her way to overall victory, showing her form. Already the holder of the record for stage wins with three, Wiebes could extend this by at least two this year, if everything goes her way.
She will be the favourite for every bunch sprint, but she seems to thrive under that pressure. Her main competitors in the flat finishes will be dsm’s Charlotte Kool, Vos, perhaps Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) if she rides, and maybe Chloe Dygert (Canyon-SRAM).
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