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The Tour de France Femmes begins in mid-August with a new schedule and route in place due to the Olympic Games being held in the French capital.
The highlight of the women’s cycling calendar began its current iteration in 2022, with the first ‘official’ Tour since 1989 taking place that year.
And 2024 comes with some firsts in the race’s short history. For the first time, the race has been moved from its traditional start time - in July, at the end of the men’s Tour – to 12 August, to fit in between the Olympics and the Paralympics.
In another first, the Grand Depart will take place from outside of France, with the biggest race in the women’s cycling calendar instead beginning in Rotterdam.
The eight-stage race – known officially as the ‘Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift’ – promises to be another exhilarating contest, with Demi Vollering, Kasdia Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini among the favourites.
When is the Tour de France Femmes?
The Tour usually takes place at, or shortly after, the conclusion of the men’s Tour in July. However, this year’s edition differs due to Paris hosting the Olympic Games, and so this year the women’s Tour will take place from 12 August until 18 August, lasting over seven days, eight stages and 946km.
The race starts in Rotterdam on 12 August, with the first stages taking riders into Belgium before the route snakes south through the east of France, eventually finishing at the iconic Alpe d’Huez.
How can I watch the Tour de France Femmes?
Viewers in the UK can watch the Tour on Eurosport or discovery+, with subscriptions for the online service available from as little as £6.99 per month.
Sky, TNT and Virgin Media customers can also watch via Eurosport. Sky and TNT customers can watch Eurosport on channel 412 and 413, while it is on channels 521 and 522 on Virgin Media.
Start time for coverage haven’t been confirmed yet, but last year they ranged from 11am to 3:05pm, with coverage on most days beginning at 2pm.
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What does the Tour de France Femmes route look like?
The race begins in Rotterdam on 12 August, with the initial flat stages in the Netherlands taking riders to the Hague, Dordrecht and back to Rotterdam.
Day one goes for a relatively flat 124km from Rotterdam to the Hague, with stage two coming in at just over the half the distance – a 67km ride from Dordrecht back to Rotterdam. That day, 13 August, is actually split into two stages, with the second a time trial of just 6.3km in Rotterdam.
The peloton moves to tougher terrain on stage four, as riders move from Valkenburg to the Ardennes, finishing that day in Liege.
Stage five is a 152km ride with around 2,000m of elevation, as the riders move from Bastogne to Amneville, while stage six begins the more mountainous terrain , starting with Remiremont to Morteau.
Stage seven starts in the Jura mountains in Champagnole, moving into the Alps by the end of the day for the first time in the history of the race. This is the longest stage of the race, featuring 12km at 5.1 per cent on the Col de la Croix de la Serra.
The Tour ends with a two-climb mountain stage on the final day, including the 8.1 per cent incline on Alpe d’Huez, as the riders finish on perhaps the most iconic mountain in cycling.
Who are the favourites to win the Tour de France Femmes?
With the Olympics taking place just a few days before the Tour begins, some riders have dropped out of the Tour, including Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky, who came second in the general classification last time out.
Demi Vollering, last year’s winner, will be the favourite once again as the Grand Depart gets going in her home country. She has the backing of the world’s no. 1 team, SD Worx, and has already won the Vuelta Femenina and Tour de Suisse Women so far this season. It remains to be seen how she will get on at the Olympics, and whether this will affect her bid for glory in the Tour.
Elisa Longo Borghini enters the race off the back of the Olympics too, while she has also already won the Giro d’Italia Women this season. Her puncheur-style will keep her in contention over the mid-Tour hilly stages and more mountainous parts too.
The third favourite is Poland’s Katarzyna “Kasia” Niewiadoma, who won the Flèche Wallonne Féminine earlier this year and came second in the Tour of Flanders in March.
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