After an already busy year in women’s cycling, the third edition of the Tour de France Femmes begins in the wake of the Paris Olympics, and will feature a star-studded line-up of the best GC riders among the women’s peloton, ready to take on the third and final Grand Tour of 2024.
With the Grand Départ taking place in the Netherlands, the race begins in the low country homeland of defending champion Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx-ProTime) as well as the winner of the inaugural edition, Annemiek van Vleuten. Incorporating Belgium on stages 4 and 5, this 2024 Tour de France Femmes spends 50% of the race’s distance outside of its home country, before relocating to eastern France to conclude proceedings with the first ever ascent of the iconic Alpe d’Huez, the summit finish of a fearsome Queen stage that will ultimately decide this year’s maillot jaune.
The race takes place from Monday 12th to Sunday 18th August.
The Route
Stage 1 – Monday 12th August – Rotterdam – La Haye (123km, Flat)
The race begins with the first of three probable opportunities for the sprinters. Beginning in Rotterdam and heading west towards the coast, the race profile is so flat it actually dips below sea level in places, and the overall stage contains an overall altitude gain of just 438m. This includes a category 4 climb at the Maasdeltatunnel, which should not present much of a challenge at just 1km in length with an average gradient of 3.1%, but will allow for the awarding of the first polka dot Queen of the Mountains jersey. An intermediate sprint at Groeneweg just under 40km from the finish is the only other feature before the peloton travels at high speed to La Haye, where it’s highly likely the first bunch sprint of the race will be contested, and the first yellow jersey awarded.
Stage 2 – Tuesday 13th August – Dordrecht – Rotterdam (69.7km, Flat)
The first of two stages on the second day of the race, stage 2 is another flat affair, but at just 70km in length, it will be a short, sharp shock of a race, with another bunch sprint finish on the cards. Beginning in Dordrecht and heading west back to Rotterdam, the day will begin relatively early for the women, and they will be done before lunch, on a flat profile with no QOM or intermediate sprint points to worry about along the way.
Stage 3 – Tuesday 13th August – Rotterdam – Rotterdam (6.3km, Individual Time Trial)
Back in Rotterdam, all competitors will face a short ride against the clock, offering an opportunity for powerful riders to extend their advantage in the overall standings ahead of the lumpier latter stages of the race. The route begins on the banks of the Nieuwe Maas River, before heading into Rotterdam city centre and back, then crossing the Erasmusbrug toward the intermediate time check at 3.9km, and heading back over to the north side of the river via the Willemsbrug. Expect a shake up in the order of the GC standings at the end of the day, though it will only be a matter of seconds separating the women at the top end.
Stage 4 – Wednesday 14th August – Valkenburg – Liège (122.7km, Hilly)
The first of the more challenging stages replicates two of the Ardennes Classics, beginning in the Netherlands and tackling part of the Amstel Gold Race course, before crossing the border into Belgium to take on some of the iconic climbs of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Monument.
The first 43km of the stage take place in the Netherlands, and the women will tackle familiar ascents of the Bemelberg, Cauberg and Geulhemmerberg as they ride a circuit inspired by the Amstel Gold Race, before heading into Belgium and traversing rolling terrain that includes the Côte de la Redoute, Côte des Forges and Côte de la Roche aux Faucons. On a stage that features eight categorised climbs, and with bonus seconds available 11km before the line, stage 4 is likely to see the GC race light up and fans should be treated to an epic battle for the line.
Stage 5 – Thursday 15th August – Bastogne – Amnéville (152.5km, Flat)
The final chance for the fast women comes on stage 5, as the race finally crosses into France. However, with five categorised climbs on the menu, and bonus seconds up for grabs, this stage will be far from straightforward, and a strong breakaway may fancy their chances of going all the way to the line. Beginning in Bastogne in the south of Belgium, the peloton will head due south and cross the border into the Moselle region. More ups and downs leads the bunch towards the line, and the final 1.5km kicks up towards the finish, making it an ideal platform for the puncheurs to make a bid for glory.
Stage 6 – Friday 16th August – Remirement – Morteau (122.5km, Hilly)
The first stage of the race to take place entirely in France, stage 6 bids farewell to the flatlands and heads into the hills to begin the process of deciding the general classification. Beginning in the Vosges region of northeastern France, the day opens with a category 3 climb which will offer a launchpad for the riders hoping to make an impact from the day’s early break. From there, a long, flat section may see the race situation settle ahead of the final 60km of the route, which is backloaded with four categorised climbs, the toughest of which is the category 2 La Roche du Prêtre. At 5.5km in length and with an average gradient of 5.6%, it comes 25km from the finish line, and with the race continuing uphill from there, it’s likely to draw out attacks from the GC riders with the best legs as they look to make their mark on the overall standings.
Stage 7 – Saturday 17th August – Champangole – Le Grand-Bornand (166.4km, Mountain)
The longest stage of this year’s race falls 11km short of 2023’s longest stage, but it comes with a significant amount of difficulty packed in along its 166.4km length. Heading further south into the Jura department and hugging the Swiss border for much of the day, the first 25km features 400m of altitude gain, all uncategorised, before around 18km of descending leads the bunch to the toughest climb of the race so far – the Col de la Croix de la Serra. 12km long at an average gradient of 5.1%, the category 1 rated climb will offer a springboard for the GC contenders to launch early attacks, or at least to try and drop those who aren’t up to challenge.
From there, four more categorised climbs stand between the women and a stage win, including two final category 2 climbs, separated by just over a kilometre and totalling 12.4km, leading to the first summit finish of the race, the Montée du Chinaillon. The stage is likely to reset the overall standings and give us a clearer picture of who will be battling it out for the GC title on the final day.
Stage 8 – Sunday 18th August – Le Grand-Bornand – Alpe d’Huez (149.9km, Mountain)
The race’s Queen Stage features the first appearance of the legendary Alpe d’Huez on the Tour de France Femmes, but before the riders can take on the iconic 21 hairpins, they face two more significant challenges. The race departs from the same place it finished on the previous day, and heads south into the Alps, first tackling the category 2 Col du Tamié, where the brave souls who want to take the race on from the front will hope to establish themselves in a breakaway.
From there, the peloton completes a short descent, and around 40km on the flat, before the 19.7km monster, the Col du Glandon, will separate the best from the rest, with its leg-breaking 7.2% average gradient that will take the riders up to almost 2000m above sea level. After that, just Alpe d’Huez remains – if the GC hasn’t already been decided on the Glandon, then we are in for an incredible showdown on the slopes of arguably the most famous climb in cycling.
Riders to Watch
While the season has seen a broad variety of winners in the spring Classics, and two different winners at the first two Grand Tours of the season, there’s also one rider who has won every single stage race she has started this season, and she also happens to be the defending champion at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Yes, Team SD Worx-ProTime’s Demi Vollering will be targeting a repeat of her 2023 success, and given her performance at La Vuelta Femenina and in the Tour de Suisse, amongst other victories, there’s every reason to believe she’s capable of achieving the feat. The team will also have the fastest woman in the world, Lorena Wiebes, among their number, with the sprint stages on her agenda.
Their primary rivals will be Lidl-Trek and Canyon//SRAM. The American team will bring a characteristically well-balanced team, with options for all types of stages. Elisa Longo Borghini will likely lead the team once again, in a season that has seen her take on all three Grand Tours along with the spring Classics. Gaia Realini will offer a second leadership option, with Elisa Balsamo taking on the sprints.
Canyon//SRAM have taken a step up this season and the wins have followed. Their two leaders Katia Niewiadoma and Neve Bradbury combined brilliantly at the Tour de Suisse, and with both in scintillating form, the team may use them in a similar way at the Tour de France Femmes.
Another team balancing goals will be Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, who have Charlotte Kool among their number targeting flat stages and Juliette Labous riding for general classification.
FDJ-SUEZ will have a balanced line-up targeting stages and GC, with Évita Muzic hoping to follow up a strong season which saw her take a stage at La Vuelta Femenina. They also bring Olympic time trial gold medallist Grace Brown.
Team Visma-Lease A Bike will likely be targeting stage wins, with veteran Marianne Vos at the helm – a woman who knows how to win on big occasions. She will be joined by cyclocross world champion Fem van Empel.
Riders to watch (GC)
5-stars Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini
4-stars Kasia Niewiadoma, Gaia Realini
3-stars Évita Muzic, Neve Bradbury
2-stars Juliette Labous, Mavi Garcia
1-star Niamh Fisher-Black, Cédrine Kerbaol
Summary
When – Monday 12-Sunday 18 August
Where – France
What – 8-day Grand Tour
TV Coverage: Eurosport, Discovery+
