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

After the men's Tour de France, and then the Paris Olympic Games, an amazing summer of sport continues with the third edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

As well as the later start date of August 12, which allows the Olympics to slot in just after the men's Tour, the Tour de France Femmes has a slightly different format for 2024.

It forgoes its usual Sunday start (again, the Olympics has muscled in here, with its closing ceremony on August 11), the TDFF begins on a Monday and ends, after seven days, on the Sunday.

Seven days – but eight stages. This time round the women's Tour will see two stages in a single day –  a 'split stage' – on the Tuesday. 

This is something that hasn't been done since the men's race in 1990, and sees the riders take on a short road stage in the morning followed by a 6.3km time trial in the afternoon.

Another TDFF 'first' is the foreign Grand Départ, held in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The race will spend three stages in the region, before heading south into Belgium, finally arriving in France on stage five.

With its early flat stages and some serious mountain action coming in the second half as the riders reach the Jura and the Alpes, there is something here for every kind of rider. That's reflected in the line-up for the race, with everyone from super sprinters to stage hunters to GC challengers present. Included in the latter are last year's winner Demi Vollering (SD Worx), who will be hoping to do the double after representing the Netherlands in the women's Olympic road race.

The race will finish at the top of Alpe d'Huez in the French Alps, a legendary cycling climb that has seen many battles in the men's race, and which is featuring in the women's race for the first time.

Overview

Tour de France Femmes 2024: Route overview and stages

What better time to go for your first ever foreign Grand Départ than when your usual host nation is taking a collective post-Olympics breath and gathering itself in preparation for a third major sporting showdown in six weeks?

The Tour de France Femmes will duly take itself off to the Netherlands for the first three-and-a-half stages while France breathes out, with three stages in and around Rotterdam, including that innovative split-stage on day two.

After that, following a transfer to Valkenberg in the far south of the Netherlands, there come two lumpy transition stages as the race finds its way into France for the stage five finish in Amnéville.

Another transfer sees the race poised to cross the Vosges and Jura mountains in the course of two stages, with the parcours becoming progressively tougher as it delivers the riders finally to the fringes of the Alps.

A super-tough outing from Le Grand Bornand to Alpe d'Huez rounds off the race on stage eight, crossing the hors-category Col du Glandon on the way.

Unless the GC leader has a major time advantage over her rivals going into this stage, this day should still leave all to play for, with the final yellow jersey very possibly being fought for, head-to-head, on the fabled slopes of Alpe d'Huez.

Stage 1 | Mon Aug 12 | Rotterdam > La Haye, 123km

This is the first time in its short history that the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has enjoyed a foreign Grand Départ. Today is the first of three stages in the Netherlands, before the race heads into Belgium and then, finally, into France for the second half of the race. Interestingly, the race includes a split-day on the Tuesday, which we haven't seen here before – or indeed at the men's Tour de France for a very long time.

This first stage is the very definition of flat, with just 284m of ascent over its 124km length. What it takes away in climbing it is likely to give back in terms of wind, though, and teams will have to be on guard for echelons throughout the exposed central part of the stage.

It begins with a southward loop from the city which passes through the brand new River Scheur tunnel on the way out, and again as the race comes back and heads north into the most exposed part of the race. It's a technical and twisting route with plenty of hard turns, much of it in urban areas but showcasing the famous Dutch tulip fields as well.

The parcours straightens out as it begins the approach to the finish at La Haye, with a near-straight final 3km giving the sprinters and their teams plenty of time to get set up for the final kick. Talking of which, this is definitely a stage for the fast finishers, with riders such as Charlotte Kool (DMS-Firmenich PostNL) and Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) likely to be duking it out for the win. Assuming that they manage to avoid any race-splitting echelons, of course.

Stage 2 | Tues Aug 13 | Dordrecht > Rotterdam, 69.7km

This short and billiard-table-flat stage is the first of two today, which sees a 30-year throwback to a time when 'split stages', as they were called, were popular fare in the Tour de France. It's an interesting concept that forces riders to consider what might be coming up that afternoon and perhaps not burn too many matches – especially when the afternoon stage is a time trial, as it is today.

This hop from Dordrecht to nearby Rotterdam is at least plenty short enough, but it's flat and near the coast, so the riders are not getting off scot-free by any means. It also features a tight and technical city-centre finish to keep the sprinters and their teams on their toes.

With festivals galore on throughout the year, Dordrecht has been named the "liveliest town" in the Netherlands, and the Tour de France Femmes certainly won't do anything to hurt that moniker when it waves the riders off today. From here the race jinks in a general west to north-west direction, crossing multiple rivers as it does so, on the way to Rotterdam – the city around which the race is based for these first three Dutch stages.

This is a stage for the sprinters, almost certainly, but they will certainly be wary of being caught out by the wind during what is a series of changes in direction. No doubt Dordrecht's very own Lucinda Brand would fancy a go at today's stage, but unfortunately it is not really her bag. We are far more likely to see two other Dutch riders, Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), going head-to-head for victory in the centre of Rotterdam.

Stage 3 | Tues Aug 13 | Rotterdam > Rotterdam, 6.3km

You might think that by the end of this stage, the riders would have got to know Rotterdam rather well, but in the red heat of a bike race, taking in the surroundings is near-impossible. That couldn't apply more to today's very short but very intense tour of the city, during which the riders will need to have their heart rates and their pain thresholds turned up to 11.

This is only the second time in its three-year history that the race has featured a time trial, and the first time the parcours has been anything like as short as this. Last year saw a time trial, based on Pau, to round off the race – but that was 22km long. As intense a physical test it will surely be, today's time trial is unlikely to open any big gaps in the general classification – it simply isn't long enough.

With only two sprint stages up to this point, half the race could be on the same time at the top of the GC, separated only by their finish placings on the stage. So today's test will at least serve to parse out the field – if not by very much – ahead of the hilly stages to come. Squeezing in a TT also allows the race to retain its eight-stage status despite the Paris Olympic Games seeing it reduced to seven days this year.

A time trial this short opens up the pool of potential winners beyond the usual suspects 'contre-la-montre', with big-engined GC riders and fast-finishers alike able to bring to bear their respective talents to target a high placing here. The terrain gets a lot harder after today, so any sprinter still to score might be especially keen to call those fast-twitch muscles into action in a last gasp attempt to win a stage.

Stage 4 | Weds Aug 14 | Valkenberg > Liège, 122.7km

The Tour de France Femmes finally leaves the Netherlands today, crossing into Belgium after around 35km. It doesn't get quite as far as France, though, finishing in Liège, home of the iconic Monument, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. It's also the first hilly stage of the race, giving the climbers their first opportunities to stretch their legs, and there's enough substance here too for the GC hopefuls to bare their teeth as well.

The parcours, which heads south out of the Netherlands before looping around to the west and into Liège, features eight categorised climbs, including some of the most famous from Liège-Bastogne-Liège, such as La Redoute and La Roche aux Faucons, which come late in the stage. This pair are the only second-category climbs en route, with the others being thirds and fourths. A quartet of these come in a flurry near the beginning of the race, before it even reaches Belgium (who said the Netherlands is flat?), with the final four starting up again with around 50km to go.

These will be the key battlegrounds for the stage, with the cat-three Mont Theux coming first (2.8km at 5.6%). Next up is the famous Côte de la Redoute – launchpad for so many winning moves at 'La Doyenne'. This cat-two climb is short but sharp at 1.6km and 9.4%. The riders crest this with 89km ridden, and then have less than 10km before they start climbing the penultimate ascent, the Côte des Forges, which is 1.3km long at an average 7.8%. Lastly comes the toughest of them all, the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons (1.3km at 11%). This leaves around 14km for any breakaways to try to make their gaps stick and their rivals to chase them down. It's these four climbs that are likely to decide the eventual winner, who will probably be an escapee or a GC rider rather than a bunch sprinter.

Stage 5 | Thurs Aug 15 | Bastogne > Amnéville, 152.5km

Today the race and its protagonists finally reach its country of origin, passing into France from Belgium 63km into the stage and going on to finish at Amnéville in the country's Moselle region. The TDFF's own classification for the stage is 'flat', but there won't be a bunch sprint today. The stage features a scattering of category-three and -four climbs, with two coming near the finish, and the final kilometre into Amnéville is also all uphill, quite steeply to begin with.

Leaving Bastogne – another key point, of course, in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Monument – the route continues its inexorable path south, then south-east, on its way to the finish. The five categorised climbs along the way are small and fairly spread out, but they are tough enough, and the first, the Côte de Hott, as the sole cat-three, is the toughest – 1.2km at a steep 7.9% average.

The riders have plenty of time to recover, though, with the Côte de Saint Pancré not starting until 54km later. That said, today's route is rarely actually flat. The riders will constantly have to dig into their reserves as the road bucks and rolls like a schooner in a storm. Another categorised climb turns up in short order this time, the Côte de Fermont coming 10km later. The final pair are placed a similar distance apart – the riders will crest the Côte de Briey and the Côte de Montois-la-Montagne at 125km and 137km respectively.

That tough final kilometre starts on a 6% grade before easing to 3-4% all the way to the line. That will likely be enough to discourage the pure sprinters and, along with all the climbing, will make today fertile breakaway territory – with that final kilometre also proving decisive there.

Stage 6 | Fri Aug 16 | Remiremont > Morteau, 159.2km

Today's stage offers the riders a taste of what's to come, heading into the Jura mountains and venturing above 1,000m for the first time. As in yesterday’s stage, there are five categorised climbs to tackle, but four of them come in the second half, including the second-category La Roche du Pretre, onto which piggybacks the cat-three Côte des Fins, making for a serious wad of climbing that is only completed 15km before the finish.

The 2,222m of climbing on today's route is in fact within 200m of yesterday's 'flat' stage. But clearly this crosses some sort of threshold, as organiser ASO awards today's stage a 'hilly' rating. After a short transfer south from yesterday's finish at Amnéville, the riders leave the Vosges town of Remiremont on a near-unbroken southward trajectory. Once the Col du Mont de Fourche is dealt with, just 11km in, the riders are bothered by little in the way of hills for the rest of the first half of the stage. 

At 84km the lumpy stuff starts, and there's little respite until the end. The riders are eased in the with the cat-four Col de Ferrière (2.6km at 4.7%), with an intermediate sprint coming at the foot of the descent – just in time for the riders to start climbing again as they hit the cat-three Côte de Laviron (5.7km at 4.1%). Then there's a shallow and drawn-out descent, and even a few kilometres of near-flat before the main dish of the day. The Pretre-Fins double involves 24km of almost solid climbing, with just a kilometre or two of respite along the way before the kick up to the latter. It could provide a testing ground for the GC favourites ahead of the mountains proper, but with breakaways eyeing the opportunity, it could go either way.

Stage 7 | Sat Aug 17 | Champagnole > Le Grand Bornand, 166.4km

Finally, the high mountains arrive on the Tour de France Femmes. Like it did yesterday, the race joins up two different mountain ranges – this time the Jura and the Alps, with a finish on the edges of the latter.

Today's stage doesn't offer up the dizzy heights of tomorrow's escapade to the likes of the Col du Glandon and Alpe d'Huez. Nevertheless after a five-day phoney war, those with GC intentions will be licking their lips in anticipation of a finish on the double category-two ascents of the Col de Saint Jean de Sixt and Le Grand Bornand, which come immediately after one another and deliver the riders to a summit finish at 1,285m at the end of what is the longest stage of the race.

Once again, the riders are faced by five categorised ascents: a cat-one, a four, a three and the double cat-two the finish. A bit of everything, in other words. The riders are actually climbing for pretty much the first 30km, though the classified climbs don't start until 45km in, when they hit the cat-one Col de la Croix de la Serra (12km at 5.1%).

A good place for an early break to establish itself. There follows a less intense mid-section where they will still have to take on the cat four Côte de Bois d'Arlod, and the cat-three Côte de Cercier, which are likely to pare down any breakaway that is out front.

The big test comes with around 20km to go, when the riders meet that fiendish pairing of two category-two climbs. The GC riders will almost certainly be looking to put time into each other here. Can the breakaway survive?

Stage 8 | Sun Aug 18 | Le Grand Bornand > Alpe d'Huez, 150km

Today's stage is the culmination of a week's racing, and features two of cycling's most legendary climbs in the Col du Glandon and Alpe d'Huez. The latter in particular has seen some of the most exciting stage finishes in the men's Tour, and it will be fascinating to watch the women do battle on its slopes for the first time in the Tour de France Femmes.

There are just the three climbs today: a category-two to begin with and then the two beasts, one after the other, at the end. This is definitely the Queen stage, and will see some very tired legs at the end. Starting where they left off yesterday at Le Grand Bornand, the race scoots over the comparatively small Col du Marais before setting out on the cat-two Col de Tarnie (9km at 4%) at just 14km in.

Once they've climbed and descended it, they'll be 36km into the race. There follows a 40km period of near-flat, which sees one last chance for the sprinters to grab some points in an intermediate sprint, before the Col du Glandon begins at 77km.

This is a full-fat hors-category monster and the peloton is likely to have been shredded by the time they crest the summit. A long-drawn-out descent will give some riders time to regain the bunch, just in time for it all to start again at the foot of Alpe d'Huez at Bourg d'Oisan. The Alp is long and steep at 13.1km and 8.1%, and should see a scintillating battle between the GC women as they go all-in for victory.

Tour de France Femmes 2024: Teams and riders

Visma-Lease a Bike

Nationality: Dutch
Sponsor: Visma – business software; Lease a bike – bike leasing.
Manager: Rutger Tijssen
DS: Jan Boven
Website: teamvismaleaseabike.com
Instagram: teamvisma_leasabike_women X: @visma_lab_women

Looking for? Stage wins and top 10 GC

Visma-Lease a Bike have had a solid start to the year and will head to France with all their resources firmly behind Marianne Vos. While they continue to rely on the Dutchwoman for victories, other riders are getting the chance too, with young climber Rosita Reijnhout bagging the team’s first win in January, while others have also tasted success. Though unlikely to stray from backing Vos, Visma have realistic options for success elsewhere, and it will be interesting to see whether, should Vos not deliver, the squad pivots its targets.

One target must surely be a strong GC for Riejanne Markus, the 29 year-old often employed in support of Vos. The Dutchwoman is a more than adequate climber, is exceptional against the clock and will likely be targeting at least the top 10 when the race arrives in Alpe d’Huez.

Another successful time triallist is Anna Henderson who reclaimed her British title, despite an early  season blighted by injury. She was second in the uphill finish at the national road championships and was second overall at the Tour of Britain. Henderson’s problem, though, is that her skills are so similar to Vos’s that she will spend most of the race acting as a leadout, and only if disaster strikes the leader will she get an opportunity.

Star: Marianne Vos
There’s not a lot to be said about Vos. The best, most versatile and successful female rider not only of her generation, but probably ever. Other than the Tour, she’s won everything there is to win.

Despite having racked up well over 250 victories, the 37-year-old is hungry for more and, while mountain stages are now beyond her, you should expect her to be among the protagonists in all the other stages, in search of the green jersey she won in 2022. In recent years, she has often begun her run of wins in the summer, but 2024 has already been successful with victories in Omloop het Nieuwsblad, Amstel Gold and stages of the Vuelta España. We can expect more next week. 

Canyon-SRAM

Nationality: German
Sponsor: Canyon – bike manufacturer; SRAM – bike component manufacturer
Manager: Ronny Lauke
DS: Magnus Backstedt
Website: wmncycling.com
Instagram: @wmncycling, X: @WMNcycling

Looking for? Stage and GC victory

For a while, Canyon-SRAM were the bridesmaid, not the bride – regularly populating WorldTour podiums but rarely the top step. They often won team classifications but rarely stages. Recent seasons have seen that change. After three years without a WorldTour win, last year they won three, which they have already equalled this year.

The team are benefitting hugely from an influx of highly talented young riders, illustrated perfectly by the their performance at last month’s Giro d’Italia. There, after a double ascent of the brutal Blockhaus climb, Neve Bradbury won stage seven, and the 22-year-old Australian eventually took third overall, the team placing two women under 23 in the top six. 

Canyon-SRAM had two riders in top six at the Tour de Suisse too, Bradbury once again taking a stage and this time second on GC. At last year’s Tour, another of the team’s crop of young climbing stars Ricarda Bauernfeind took a stage and ninth on GC in her first WorldTour season. Add the hugely competitive sprint and time trial talent of American Chloe Dygert and the team have winners throughout. At the Tour de France Femmes, expect them to be up there in both stages and the general classification, and it’s not too great a stretch of imagination they could win overall.

Star: Kasia Niewiadoma
The Polish rider has long been the team’s leader, and already has a victory to her name this year, success at Flèche Wallonne ending a four-year win drought. She might not be the winning machine other teams have on their roster, but personifies the team, constantly there or thereabouts. This year alone she has 16 top-10 finishes to her name, including fourth at Strade Bianche, second at the Tour of Flanders, fifth in Liège and fourth overall at the Tour de Suisse. What’s more, she finished third overall at last year’s Tour, taking second place on the Col du Tourmalet stage. Niewiadoma is a versatile rider, and has the confidence required to be a genuine threat for overall victory this year.

SD Worx-Protime

Nationality: Dutch
Sponsor: SD Worx and Protime – workforce and personnel solutions
Manager: Erwin Janssen
DS: Danny Stam
Website: teamsdworx.com
Instagram: @teamsdworxprotime, X: @teamsdworx

Looking for? Stage and GC victory 

As the long-standing dominant team, SD Worx-Protime are clear favourites for overall victory, and could even carry yellow from start to finish as they did when they won four stages and the GC last year. However, if you believed some reports during the spring, you’d have thought the world’s best team had lost their mojo. Rather than the total domination we’d become used to, the Dutch squad won only four of the 11 one-day WorldTour races, and missed victory at any of the Ardennes classics for the first time ever.

However, they only missed one podium, at Flanders, and were back to their devastating best when stage racing kicked off, winning six consecutive WorldTour stage races from the Vuelta España to Tour de Suisse. Indeed, of 26 individual stages, they won 17, and were never outside the top 10. That said, their monopoly was broken at last month’s Giro, where they won only two of the eight stages, Lotte Kopecky managing only second overall. The Belgian finished second on GC in France last year, but will not be riding the Tour, instead concentrating on the Olympics. 

The team will be further depleted by the absence of Marlen Reusser, the Swiss rider suffering from post infectious syndrome. That leaves the squad light on climbing back-up for the favourite, Demi Vollering, and victory may not be so straightforward. 

Star: Demi Vollering  
If you like a safe bet, put your money on Demi Vollering. The Dutchwoman has had a stellar season, winning every stage race she started this spring, taking eight stages on the way. But it’s not been all plain sailing for the 27-year-old. She came close, but failed to win through the Classics campaign, and though she’s come good since, the announcement of her departure at the end of the year cannot have helped.

There’s no disharmony between the two parties, but Vollering’s departure may still prove a distraction, even if the team are heading to France with all their eggs in the Vollering basket and she has the form to bag consecutive yellow jerseys.

DSM-Firmenich PostNL

Nationality: Dutch
Sponsor: DSM-Firmenech – nutrition, health and beauty; PostNL – Dutch postal service
Manager: Iwan Spekenbrink
DS: Albert Timmer
Website: teamdsmfirmenich-postnl.com
Instagram: dsmfirmpostnl, X: @dsmfirmpostnl

Looking for? Stage wins and podium GC

The Dutch squad has invested and believed in young talent for many years, constantly regenerating its squad, but they now have a settled group of leaders who are sure to influence this year’s Tour. Considering the strength of their squad, 2024 has not been kind to DSM-Firmenich-PostNL, without a WorldTour race win to their name, and only two lower level victories all season. It’s not that they haven’t come close, having scored multiple podium finishes, but the top step has remained stubbornly elusive.

The team will be looking for early wins from sprinter Charlotte Kool, but it is with Frenchwoman Juliette Labous that they will hope to impact the general classification. Now 25, Labous has been with the team since turning professional in 2017 and is a class act, a previous winner of the French time trial title, a discipline in which she has finished fifth at the World Championships. She’s the current French national champion where she benefited from sterling work by trade team-mate Eglantine Rayer.

Another of the team’s leaders is the hugely versatile British champion Pfeiffer Georgi, who joined the squad aged 18. As road captain, the Brit makes the squad tick, and while stages three and four might suit her style, team duties are likely to come first.

Star: Charlotte Kool
Strong and astute, Kool is one of the world’s top sprinters and is expected to be the Dutch squad’s chief winner. However, 2024 has been a difficult season, Kool waiting until last month for her first win and finishing second or third behind Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) eight times this year alone, only beating her former team mate once.

Kool will be able to rely on one of the best lead-outs in the peloton for positioning, and will be desperate to put things right with an early statement. With the yellow jersey on the line, the opening stage will be much coveted, but home roads will be Kool’s preferred location for redemption after a season of near misses.

FDJ-Suez

Nationality: French
Sponsor: FDJ – lottery; Suez – water and waste management
Manager: Stephen Delcourt
DS: Nicolas Maire
Website: fdj-suez.fr
Instagram: fdj_suez, X: @FDJ_SUEZ

Looking for? GC podium and stage wins

You don’t need to look too far back in time to find this team operating as little more than fodder at WorldTour level, but in recent seasons they have stepped up and are now one of the strongest and most successful squads in the bunch. FDJ-Suez have built a squad designed for success at the Tour, but while they have plenty of wins to their name this year, 2024 has not been easy for them. Of their big names, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig broke her sacrum at Omloop het Nieuwsblad and Marta Cavalli, still not back to her world-class form after a horror crash at the 2022 Tour, has barely raced and was recently knocked off her bike while training.

Of their most talented climbers, only Evita Muzic has had an untroubled season. The 25-year-old Frenchwoman has been threatening greatness for a while, taking the team’s first WorldTour victory at the 2020 Giro. Now after two disrupted years she appears close to her best, out-sprinting Demi Vollering to win the mountain-top finish at stage six of the Vuelta in May, eventually taking fifth overall.

In her final season before retirement, Grace Brown is one of the world’s strongest time triallists, has a strong kick and, while she may not be classed as a climber, she goes well on gnarly courses. After her Liège-Bastogne-Liège victory in April, the Australian will surely be eyeing stage four’s near identical finish.

Star: Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig
There’s far more to the 28-year-old Danish than amusing post-race interviews. Indeed, she is the French team’s only Tour de France stage winner, taking victory in Epernay in stage three of the 2022 race. Injury meant she missed almost three months racing this year, but managed eighth overall at the Giro last month, only dropping from the podium positions on double ascent of Blockhaus on the penultimate stage. This despite being in the sport’s second tier of climbers. While she may find herself supporting Muzic, or even Cavalli, in the mountains, she is the kind of rider who can impact any race and remains totemic for the team.

Lidl-Trek

Nationality: US
Sponsor: Lidl – supermarket chain; Trek – bike manufacturer
Manager: Luca Guercilena
DS: Ina-Yoko Teutenberg
Website: lidltrek.com
Instagram: lidltrek, X: @LidlTrek

Looking for? General classification and stage victories

If any team can challenge SD Worx-Protime it’s Lidl-Trek. They head to Rotterdam with arguably the strongest, most experienced team in the peloton, full of winners able to dictate the race and win all but the flattest stages. Consistently successful, the American outfit are the only team to have knocked SD Worx off the the top of the UCI rankings since 2016, and have pushed the Dutch squad close every other year. Directed from the car by Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, this year they have added more tactical astuteness in the form of Jeroen Blijlevens.

It’s not as though the riders need too much direction, though; their experience on the road means effective tactical decisions can be made in the peloton. For the Tour, Lidl-Trek have built their team to support Elisa Longo Borghini deep into the mountain stages later in the race. Gaia Realini’s Giro ride showed just how good she is the mountain domestique role, and Amanda Spratt is a well established climber. At 22, Shirin van Anrooij is the youngest in the roster, but is herself a GC rider of the future, with victory at last year’s Tour de l’Avenir under her belt. Such expertise may even relegate Lizzie Deignan to pulling on the flat, but don’t put a stage win past the Brit.

Star: Elisa Longo Borghini
Elisa Longo Borghini may not be as prolific as some of her rivals, but she is currently one of the greats of the sport. Her first big win came 11 years ago, so it may be a surprise she only has 46 victories on her palmarès, though success is now more regular for the 32-year-old. Despite her hunger for the top spot of the podium having been questioned at times, her results have improved as she has worked on her sprint. This year alone, she has six wins, including the Tour of Flanders, a stage and the overall at the Giro d’Italia, where she was able to match Lotte Kopecky’s sprint at the end of long hot days. The Italian might not win the GC, but she will be up there.

Movistar

Nationality: Spain
Sponsor: Movistar - telecommunications
Manager: Sebastian Unzue
DS: Tim Harris
Website: movistarteam.com
Instagram: movistar_team, X: @movistar_team

Looking for? Stage victories

It’s not been a great year for the Spanish WorldTeam. For the last few seasons, they have been guaranteed wins from the machine that was Annemiek van Vleuten, but since the Dutchwoman retired at the end of last season, the team have struggled for success. An indication of that struggle is the wait for a top-tier race victory, it came in the form of Liane Lippert’s stage victory at last month’s Giro d’Italia.

Lippert joined the squad last year and the team had hoped for big things from the German and the other big-name signing for 2023, Floortje Mackaij, but not only did they live in the shadow of Van Vleuten last year, injury has curtailed their hopes in 2024. Even so, the Spanish team have not stood still since they joined.

After years as a journeywoman, Mareille Meijering joined the squad in May 2023 after the mid-season collapse of the Zaaf Cycling. A useful climber, she has impressed, beginning her tenure with a series of top 15 placings, and rode brilliantly at this year’s Giro, finishing 11th overall.

Joining this year, Olivia Baril is one a tranche of Québécoise riders at the top of the sport, and is another accomplished climber. Her best results either come at home in Canada or in the Basque Country where she lives, but she is relatively inexperienced and will grow.

Star: Liane Lippert
This is the German’s second season with Movistar and she will be hoping to recreate her stage win from last year’s Tour, where she won the uphill sprint in Mauriac on stage two. Such a final is perfect for the 26-year-old who retains her punch at the top of short, sharp climbs. Lippert’s recent Giro stage win came on exactly such a finish and, though she abandoned on the Queen stage, she has the form to deliver. Don’t expect to see her in the first couple of days, but stages four, five and six will be in her sights.

Jayco-AlUla

Nationality: Australian
Sponsor: Jayco – camping and caravan hire; Alula – Saudi Arabian resort
Manager: Brent Copeland
DS: Martin Vestby
Website: greenedgecycling.com
Instagram: @greenedgecycling, X: @GreenEDGEteam

Looking for? Stage wins and top five GC  

For years Jayco-Alula’s forebear teams were part of the Australian Institute for Sport, and while there were notable foreign riders – Emma Johansson and Annemiek van Vleuten, for instance – the team’s riders were largely home-grown. That barely changed when they became a full part of the men’s squad, but in 2020 the team started becoming more international, now there are only five Australians on the 16-woman roster.

Of the foreign riders, general classification rider Mavi García is perhaps the highest-profile, with numerous victories and podium finishes at the Giro and a 10th place at the 2022 Tour. She recently placed ninth at the Giro, but though she was aggressive, was unable to stick with the very best climbers. 

The squad is not all about the foreign riders; in her two years with the team, national road champion Ruby Roseman-Gannon has proved herself as both a willing domestique and strong sprinter, winning the final stage of the Tour of Britain earlier this year. Finally, the loss of Georgia Baker and Alex Manly to the Australian track team for Paris 2024 will be keenly felt, but Jayco-Alula now have the depth to be at the front without them.

Star: Urška Žigart  
Slovenian champion against the clock and on the road race, Zigart is a class act and was inexplicably left out of the Olympic squad, so there is some pent up frustration to prove the selectors wrong. Now 27, she was relatively anonymous on her previous teams, but has developed into a very strong climber since joining the Australian squad in 2021, with notable results in the mountain stages of the 2022 Tour de France. This year she was ninth overall at the Tour de Suisse, before taking 12th overall at the Giro while working for Mavi García. She does have issues descending and positioning in the bunch so is vulnerable to being caught out, but is guaranteed to be to the front in the Alps.

UAE Team ADQ

Nationality: UAE
Sponsor: UAE – nation state; ADQ – Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund
Manager: Cherie Pridham
DS: Alejandro Gonzalez-Tablas
Website: uaeteamadq.com
Instagram: uaeteam_adq, X: @UAETeamADQ

Looking for? Stage wins and top 10 on GC

This team was created after the takeover of the Alé BTC Ljubljana squad in 2022, and for a while it seemed they might challenge the top of the sport. There were a couple of WorldTour wins that year, and an influx of talent from the Italian Valcar team brought more success last year. But the victories have not quite come this season, and their GC hopeful Silvia Persico has looked out of sorts.

We’ve seen plenty of aggression, though, and Karlijn Swinkels has shown herself on the climbs, picking up third overall at the Vuelta Burgos. Eleonora Gasparrini and Dominika Włodarczyk have scored podiums, and sprinter Chiara Consonni bagged their only WorldTour win at the Giro.

Star: Eleonora Gasparrini
With Chiara Consonni riding the Olympic track events, Eleonora Gasparrini should be allowed plenty of chances. Not a pure sprinter, so the early stages are likely to be beyond her, but she’s good on gnarly terrain where she retains her kick, so look out for her in the middle of the week.

AG Insurance-Soudal

Nationality: Belgian
Sponsor: AG Insurance – insurance; Soudal – silicones, sealants, adhesives
Manager: Jurgen Fore
DS: Jolien D’hoore
Website: aginsurance-soudal.com
Instagram: aginsurancesoudal, X: @agsoudal

Looking for? Stage wins and GC podium

The new kids on the block, this Belgian squad have only been in existence since 2020, starting life as a development team and graduating to WorldTeam status for this season. They have evolved very quickly, from attacking and animating to genuine contenders, with four top-tier race wins so far this year. In Sarah Gigante and Justine Ghekiere, they have depth for the mountain stages as well as the riders to influence flatter days too.

Star: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio
Moolman-Pasio has been in the peloton for well over a decade and has been consistent throughout, always present in the mountains. She’s not a regular winner, though, taking her first WorldTour success only in 2022. Illness and injury have blighted her 2024, and she’s not raced since the start of June, but while her form is unknown, you will see her on the climbs.

Uno-X Mobility

Nationality: Norwegian
Sponsor: Uno-X – sustainable mobility
Manager: Thor Hushovd
DS: Alex Greenfield
Website: unoxteam.com
Instagram: unoxmobility, X: @UnoXteam

Looking for? Stage wins and breakaways

In their third year, this Norway-registered WorldTeam are yet to win a WorldTour race, and this year’s successes are limited only to national championships and .1 level races. That said, it’s not just their bright jerseys which attract attention, combative riding does too. 

Anouska Koster is an eternal attacker, and they have options is the sprints with Susanne Andersen, Maria Giulia Confalonieri and Finnish champion Anniina Ahtosalo

Star: Katrine Aalerud
Norwegian climber Katrine Aalerud joined her home-registered team this season after four years working with Annemiek van Veluten at Movistar. That period certainly benefited her, and she collected some good results during the late spring, especially at Volta Catalunya, where she was third overall. The 29-year-old appeared to be riding within herself at last month’s Giro and is likely to be flying the Norwegian team’s flag on the Alps next week.

Roland

Nationality: Swiss
Sponsor: Roland – biscuits and cakes
Manager: Ruben Contreras
DS: Sergey Klimov
Website: rolandcycling.com
Instagram: rolandcyclingteam, X: @RolandCycling

Looking for? Stage wins and breakaways

Now operating without the support of Israel Premier Tech, this Swiss quad have made a small change in strategy this year, opting not to race every WorldTour race. Though they picked up plenty of UCI points at the early season Tour of El Salvador, where Elena Hartmann won the overall, the team taking four of the five stages, their strategy has affected their WorldTour ranking and they are now the lowest-ranked WorldTeam.

Hartmann will perform well on the hillier days, while Canadian Maggie Coles-Lyster will take on the sprinting duties.

Star: Tamara Dronova
The Russian rider has been with this team since its inception, and in that time has proved their most consistent rider. She’s versatile, too, good against the clock and able to mix it in bunch sprints and go well on more gnarly terrain. The 33-year-old will likely ride as their GC rider and could do well on the undulating stages which populate the middle of the race. 

St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93

Nationality: French
Sponsor: St Michel
Manager: Stéphane Javelet
DS: Charlotte Bravard
Website: auber93cyclisme.com
Instagram: auber93cyclisme, X: @auber93cyclisme

Looking for? Breakaways 

While this small, Paris-based team have lost a couple of promising young riders, the addition of Roxane Fournier last year and Victoire Guilman this year, have brought much-needed experience to the 10-woman roster. And though Fournier retired after the national championships, she has left her mark.

In only their third season, they have punched well above their weight this year, earning top 10 general classification results in four WorldTour stage races so far this year.

Star: Marion Bunel
Eighth overall at last year’s Tour de l’Avenir, Bunel is a pure climber and is responsible for the team’s only victory this year, beating established WorldTour rider Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez) and junior world champion Julie Bego (Cofidis) at the Alps Gresivaudan Classic. 

Still only 19, Bunel finished ahead of some big names when bagging seventh place at the opening mountain stage of this year’s Tour de Suisse. If Bunel can survive the opening stages with some form, expect her to go well in the Alps – and to be snapped up by a big team next year.

Human Powered Health

Nationality: US
Sponsor: Human Powered Health - Athletic Performance
Manager: Ro De Jonckere
DS: Giorgia Bronzini
Website: humanpoweredhealthcycling.com
Instagram: hphcycling, X: @hphcycling

Looking for? Stage wins and breakaways

Human Powered Health have been building steadily since becoming a WorldTeam in 2022, with improving results. They might not have won as many races as last season, yet, but there are far more top-10s. While they are unlikely to impact the general classification, they now have the depth and quality to impact the race, especially with former French champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot riding her final Tour before retirement.

Star: Ruth Edwards (née Winder)
After two seasons racing gravel in the US, Edwards returned to the road at the start of this year. Finding her feet in the early season races, she’s been flying since May, bagging two top-five finishes at the US nationals. In June, she won the general classification at Thüringen Ladies Tour, before riding aggressively at the Giro, taking second on two stages. The bunch needs to ensure she is given less freedom at the Tour or she’ll win a stage.

Fenix-Deceuninck

Nationality: Belgian
Sponsor: Fenix – interior design materials; Deceuninck – windows
Manager: Philip Roodhooft
DS: Michel Cornilisse
Website: fenix-deceuninck.com
Instagram: fenixdeceuninck, X: @FenixDeceuninck

Looking for? Stages and GC top five

With one of the largest rosters of all the WorldTeams, including a raft of strong riders, the fact Fenix-Deceuninck start the Tour without a victory so far this year is surprising. They are a squad with a disproportionately high number of multi-discipline riders, meaning some do not ride a full road calendar, but they retain plenty of road specialists for all occasions. Expect them to go well in the mountains, and if Yara Kastelijn is not impressing Pauliena Rooijakkers will be after a stellar Giro.

Star: Yara Kastelijn
Though she is leaning towards a more road-based calendar these days, in keeping with the team’s DNA, Kastelijn also competes on the cyclocross field. While she has retained the explosiveness needed for that discipline she is also able to climb very well and has improved this year, with some excellent results. Two top-10s in the hilly Classics prefaced an outstanding Vuelta where she bagged a second and third on successive uphill finishes, taking eighth overall. 

EF-Oatly-Cannondale

Nationality: US
Sponsor: EF – language education; Oatly – oat milk; Canondale – bike manufacturer
Manager: Johan Pettersson
DS: Carmen Small
Website: efprocycling.com
Instagram: @ef.oatly.cannondale X: @EF_Oatly_Cdale

Looking for? Stage wins and breakaways 

As a first-year team, created from scratch over the winter, US outfit EF-Oatly-Cannondale were unable to apply as a WorldTeam, but have raced like one nonetheless. With a cleverly selected, strong roster they’re able to influence, if not dictate, races and have options for all types of parcours.

Not only have they bagged more wins than some of their WorldTeam rivals, including a stage of the Giro, they have come in mountain stages, sprints and on lumpy days, proving the team’s versatility.

Star: Kristen Faulkner
A former rower who only started competitive cycling in 2017, the American is unlikely to win the Tour, but she will make it entertaining. Aggressive and fearless, the 31-year-old has a huge engine, and while she may not climb with the best, she goes uphill well, and even won a Giro mountain stage on her own.

Tashkent City Women Professional Cycling Team

Nationality: Uzbekistan
Sponsor: Capital City
Manager: Farrukh Khudolykulov
DS: Ruslan Ueynnov
Website: velosport.uz
Instagram: cycling_uz

Looking for? Survival

The Uzbek team qualified for automatic selection by dint of points accrued largely away from the sport’s European hotbed. This proved controversial and resulted in other, arguably better equipped teams being excluded. This year they have made their first forays into the lion’s den that is European WorldTour racing, and have left licking their wounds. 

None of them finished Strade Bianche, and only the experienced Olga Zabalenskaya survived until stage three of Tour de Suisse, when she was disqualified for holding on to the team car. Unsurprisingly only one of their seven starters got through the Giro d’Italia.

Star: Yanina Kuskova
The one rider who made it through Giro was Yanina Kuskova, finishing 85th overall. The 22-year-old all-rounder was aggressive in the early season stage races, recently reclaimed the Uzbek road title and is responsible for the vast majority of the team’s best results. These include sixth overall at the Tour of the Gila in the US, ninth at Italian Trofeo Ponente in Rosa stage race.

Lotto-Dstny

Nationality: Belgian
Sponsor: Lotto – Belgian Lottery; Dstny – Business cloud technology
Manager: Kurt Van De Wouwer
DS: Grace Verbeke
Website: lottodstny.be/nl/team/ladies
Instagram: lotto.dstny, X: @lotto_dstny

Looking for? Breakaways and stage top 10s

Lotto-Dstny has launched the careers of many top riders, Emma Pooley and Lizzie Deignan to name two, but failed to keep pace as the women’s sport grew. New management means they are now on their way back up. That said, they are hugely reliant on Thalita De Jong for top results, and in some races without her have seemed tactically naive, throwing riders at a scenario until they have none left with no return.

Star: Thalita de Jong
Eight years ago, the 30-year-old Dutch woman was a regular podium finisher, winning stages of the Giro and even the cyclocross world championships, but injury drastically curtailed her career. After some years in the wilderness she is back. This season has been her best for years, and though she has not won a race, she has a series of top 10s in lumpy races, even finishing seventh overall in the hilly Itzulia Women. 

Cofidis

Nationality: French
Sponsor: Cofidis – banking
Manager: Cédric Vasseur
DS: Mélanie Briot
Website: equipecofidis.com
Instagram: teamcofidis, X: @teamCOFIDIS

Looking for? Breakaways and stage top 10s

For a team without a WorldTour win in their three-year history, Cofidis have built an experienced and talented team, strong enough to win stages. Looking at the French team’s successes, such an assessment might seem fanciful. Their best win to date is Hannah Ludwig’s at the Navarra Women’s Elite Classic in May, but Victoire Berteau has ridden brilliantly this year, eighth at Paris-Roubaix her best result so far.

They have women like Sarah Roy, a stage winner at the Bretagne Ladies Tour and the attacking nous of Nikola Nosková to complement the climbing talent of Julie Bego and Morgane Coston.

Star: Julie Bego
A 19-year-old can’t be expected to win a stage of the biggest race in the world, even if she is the junior world champion, but since winning in Glasgow last summer Julie Bego has bagged some decent results in mountainous races. The Tour will give her a good indication of where she stands for the future.

Ceratizit-WNT

Nationality: German
Sponsor: High tech machine tools
Manager: Claude Sun
DS: Dirk Baldinger
Website: ceratizit-wnt-pro-cycling.com/
Instagram: ceratizit_wnt, X: @ceratizit_wnt

Looking for? Stage wins and top five on GC

This German squad have always been entertaining, animating races and creating breakaways, but for years relied entirely on Lisa Brennauer for WorldTour victories. Since the German’s retirement, though, others have stepped up and they deserve their new WorldTeam status.  

While they can still be seen animating races, their well-drilled leadout recently delivered three bunch kick victories at the Thüringen Ladies Tour, so you can expect to see their sprinters in the flat early stages. 

Star: Cedrine Kerbaol
Having taken her first race wins in 2023, when she also won the best young rider classification, this season has seen the Bretonne rider continue her upward trajectory, winning two tough, hilly races in the Basque country. She’s not only good uphill, but also against the clock, and the team will focus on her for their GC effort, though whether her Giro DNF was a precaution or a problem is unknown.

Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi

Nationality: Spanish
Sponsor: Laboral Kutxa - Banking company;  Fundación Euskadi - Basque sporting    foundation
Manager: Aitor Alonso
DS: Ion Lazkano
Website: fundacioneuskadi.eus
Instagram: laboral_kutxa_team

Looking for? Breakaways and top finishes in the mountains

Since their inception in 2020, this Basque outfit have steadily progressed and have a clearly stated ambition to head to the WorldTour. They have recruited cannily, with a number of wise heads joining, including Lourdes Oyarbide and Ane Santesteban and the team are hitting their straps at  this key part of the season. 

Despite those riders bringing a wealth of WorldTour experience, and Santesteban’s 10th place at Flèche Wallonne, it is the younger riders who have flown the team’s flag with greatest vigour. In May, Iurani Blanco beat a strong field at the hilly GP Ciudad de Eibar in Spain’s Basque Country, before finishing second behind team-mate Usoa Ostoloza at the Spanish nationals.

Star: Usoa Ostolaza
The 26 year-old climber impressed greatly at Tour of the Pyrénées in May, out-thinking and out-riding her rivals. The following week she took the Spanish road title, and has proven all round abilities to at the very least show herself.

Arkea B&B Hotels Women  

Nationality: French
Sponsor: Arkéa – banking and insurance; B&B Hotels - value hospitality
Manager: Franck Renimel
DS: Grégoire Le Calve
Website: team-arkea-bbhotels.fr
Instagram: arkeaprocyclngteam, X: @arkeabbhotels

Looking for? Breakaways and top showing in the mountains

Certainly one of the smaller teams, but also one on a steady upward trajectory, recruiting experience to create a rounded squad, capable of having an impact on most parcours. Progress notwithstanding, they have failed to trouble the top 20 in any of their WorldTour appearances, and despite the Tour being a home race, there is no reason to expect a sudden turnaround in fortunes.

Their most experienced new arrival is multiple Swedish champion Emilia Fahlin, who will be a calming influence, even if she’s not raced the Tour before. The team are not without strength, and you can expect the likes of Lotte Claes and Michaela Drummond to be among the action.

Star: Valentina Cavallar
The team have clearly seen Cavallar’s promise, signing her until 2027 in only her first year in racing internationally. A former international rower, the 23-year-old Austrian is a gifted climber, finishing second on the Col d’Aubisque at the recent Tour of the Pyrénées. Aggressive and tactically astute she is sure to be on the move in the mountain stages.