Only in its second edition, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is already one of the flagship stage races of the women’s WorldTour calendar.
The eight-day event, organised by men’s Tour de France organisers ASO and overseen by race director Marion Rousse, will begin this year on 23 July in Clermont-Ferrand. With the addition of a mountaintop finish and a time trial, the race promises to be a marked step-up on last summer's edition, though the number of stages remains the same.
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Read more: The untold story of the Tour de France Femmes
Race overview
Dates: 23-30 July 2023
Number of stages: 8
Total distance: 956km
Number of teams: 22
Prize money: There is a total prize purse of €250,000, of which €50,000 goes to the overall winner. While this is among the highest on the women's calendar, it is a fraction of the men's Tour de France prize money, which sees the winner take home €500,000 from a total fund of €2,288,450.
Read more: How do the 2023 Tour de France Femmes contenders stack up?
Route
After starting in the shadow of Paris’s Eiffel Tower in 2022, the race moves away from the French capital in 2023, and down to Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. All eight stages are concentrated in the south and southwest of the country, with flat stages primed for the sprinters and a passage through the Pyrenees mountain range.
July 23: Stage one - Clermont Ferrand > Clermont-Ferrand (124km)
Though mostly flat, the opening stage offers a challenging kicker with 10km to go, in the form of the 1.7km Côte de Durtol, pitched at 7.2%.
July 24: Stage two - Clermont-Ferrand > Mauriac (148km)
An undulating day follows, with six categorised climbs, as the race leaves Clermont-Ferrand.
July 25: Stage three - Collonges-La-Rouge > Montignac-Lascaux (147km)
The first clear opportunity for the sprinters comes on stage three, which passes through some of the country's most quaint villages.
July 26: Stage four - Cahors > Rodez (177km)
Four tough ascents make up the finale on the race's longest day. The 10% climb of Côte Saint-Pierre, though only 570m in length, is likely to prove a decisive launchpad.
July 27: Stage five - Onet-Le-Château > Albi (126km)
Travelling across hilly terrain, stage five crosses into France's Tarn region with a flat run-in to Albi.
July 28: Stage six - Albi > Blagnac (122km)
The peloton ventures further south with a day tailored to the sprinters. A few lumpy climbs and the threat of wind might could rain on their parade, though.
July 29: Stage seven - Lannemezan > Col du Tourmalet Bagnères-de-Bigorre (90km)
The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift welcomes it's first-ever HC climb, the iconic Col du Tourmalet (17km at 7.3%). The Pyrenean giant comes after the 12km Col d'Aspin, making for a tough day in the mountains.
July 30: Stage eight - Pau > Pau (22km, ITT)
After going without a time trial in 2022, this July's edition concludes with a race against the clock in Pau, a city that has featured regularly in the men's race.
Read more: Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023 route unveiled
Provisional start list
The race organisers have invited 22 teams to take part in this year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. These include the 15 women’s WorldTour teams, the two best-ranked Continental teams (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling and Lifeplus Wahoo), and five others: AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step, Arkéa Pro Cycling, Cofidis, St Michel - Mavic - Auber93, Team Coop-Hitec Products.
Below is a list of all the participating teams. A complete start list will be added nearer the time of the race.
Women's WorldTour teams
Canyon-Sram
EF Education-Tibco-SVB
FDJ-Suez
Fenix-Deceuninck
Human Powered Health
Israel Premier Tech Roland
Jumbo-Visma
Liv Racing TeqFind
Movistar
Team DSM
Trek-Segafredo
SD Worx
UAE Team ADQ
Uno-X Pro Cycling
Top-ranked Continental teams
Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling
Lifeplus Wahoo
Invited teams
AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step
Arkéa Pro Cycling
Cofidis
St Michel - Mavic - Auber93
Team Coop-Hitec Products
How to watch the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
More than 22 hours of live coverage were broadcast from last year’s inaugural edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, with nearly 20 million viewers watching in France alone.
The host broadcasters for the race are France TV Sport and Eurovision Sport.
The race will be shown live in the UK and Europe on Eurosport, Discovery+ and GCN+. It is expected that viewers in the US will be able to tune in to the action on CNBC and Peacock Premium, like last year.
