Tour de France Femmes 2023

The biggest stage race on the women's calendar returns with a challenging parcours after its successful first edition

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) wearing yellow during the 2023 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

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Tour de France Femmes

Dates 23 Jul - 30 Jul
Race Length 959 kms
Race Category Elite Women

Latest news from the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023

Tour de France Femmes stage 8

Stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift decided the final standings with a 22km time trial around the city of Pau. With Demi Vollering (SD Worx) leading by a healthy margin, a last-minute change in the yellow jersey was unlikely, but the against-the-clock test would shake out the podium positions.

In the absence of the likes of specialists Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) and Joss Lowden (Uno-X), European champion Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) was the hot favourite, and the Swiss rider duly delivered with a powerful win.

Perhaps more interesting, though, was how the rest of the top 10 panned out. In an impressive but not unprecedented feat, SD Worx went 1-2-3 with Vollering in second and Lotte Kopecky putting in a huge ride to move up to second on GC, the day after her equally enormous effort on the podium.

Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) was the best of the other specialists in fourth, whilst a 13th-place finish saw defending Tour de France champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) slip off the final podium in her last Grand Tour.

Tour de France Femmes stage 7

On the day the whole Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift had been building towards, stage 7 produced some mythical racing on the misty slopes of the Col du Tourmalet.

The race already started to break up on the Col d'Aspin, the challenging climb that preceded the main event, and it was only a select group that made it onto the descent. On the downhill, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) pulled out a lead that she held into the Tourmalet, with race favourites Demi Vollering (SD Worx) and Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) looking at each other behind.

For a while it looked like Niewiadoma could survive solo, but once the Dutch riders' game of chicken had run its course, Vollering put in a big attack to leave Van Vleuten behind and go past Niewiadoma.

At the top, Vollering took the stage victory by nearly two minutes, taking the race lead and the yellow jersey with only a time trial left on stage 8.

Tour de France Femmes stage 6

Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) won stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in the most surprising fashion, as the breakaway took stage honours for the third day in succession and shocked the peloton - who were all preparing for a sprint finish in Blagnac. The afternoon had been a rudimentary affair for the most part, but the peloton’s frenzied efforts saw them fail to catch the breakaway inside the final kilometre.

The leading trio of Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM), Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) and Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT) were kept on a tight leash for the majority of the day, but Skalniak-Sójka and Norsgaard were able to stay clear until the final moments. Sensing a special opportunity, Norsgaard unleashed her sprint and held off the charging sprinters by a singular second over the line.

Tour de France Femmes stage 5

It was another solo victory for a young rider on stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, as 23-year-old Ricarda Bauernfeind (Canyon-SRAM) held off the chasing favourites to take a big win in Albi.

After Canyon-SRAM worked to reel in the day’s early breakaway, Bauernfeind attacked with 36km to go, and took advantage of the discord in the chasing group to pull out an impressive lead, which she defended all the way to the finish.

Tour de France Femmes stage 4

Stage 4 was the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift's longest day, and also the first breakaway win of the race. Early in the stage, a large, 14-rider group got away, and were given a huge advantage towards the finish in Rodez.

In the hilly final 50km, the peloton started to reel the group in, but a well-timed attack from Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) on the penultimate climb saw the young Dutch up-and-comer leave her breakaway companions behind, and hold off the chase all the way to the line to take a huge victory.

Behind, the GC action kicked off over the final climbs, with SD Worx and Demi Vollering trying to put time into Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), but they couldn't crack the world champion. At the line, Vollering went past the remnants of the breakaway to finish second, claiming eight seconds on fourth-placed Van Vleuten and just edging victory on the first GC skirmish of the race.

Tour de France Femmes stage 3

After a nail-biting conclusion to stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, it was Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) who took advantage of the hard work by dsm-firmenich in the chase and an exquisite lead-out from teammate Lotte Kopecky to take the stage honours. Julie Van De Velde (Fenix-Deceuninck) was denied a fairytale victory, as her lone breakaway came to an end inside the final kilometre.

Having attacked with 59km to ride, it was expected that Van De Velde’s lone move would end far in advance of the expected sprint finish, but the Belgian was determined to avoid going down without a fight. The peloton misjudged their chase and with the refusal of SD Worx to contribute to the chase until the very last minute, it looked as though Van De Velde might pull off the impossible.

Alas, with the determination of dsm-firmenich and the begrudged help of SD Worx inside the final 2km, the peloton rounded a heartbroken Van De Velde with 600m to ride, setting up a sprint showdown between Wiebes and Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma). An excellent lead-out from yellow jersey Kopecky saw her finish in third, whilst Wiebes pipped Vos to the stage victory.

Tour de France Femmes stage 2

Liane Lippert (Movistar) claimed stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, sprinting to victory from a bunch that was reduced to 25 riders over a series of punchy climbs. The yellow jersey Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) survived the last of them and looked set to claim a second stage win but was outlasted by Lippert in a gruelling sprint on wet roads. Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) bagged the final spot on the podium.

Kopecky missed out on the stage win but the Belgian champion extended her overall lead thanks to bonus seconds, with Lippert moving up to second place at 49 seconds and Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal QuickStep) third at 59 seconds. There was no major general classification shake-up, although Mavi García (Liv Racing-Teqfind) struggled and lost eight seconds, while a split through the final bend saw four seconds open between certain GC hopefuls.

Tour de France Femmes stage 1

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) attacked on the final climb of the day to take stage 1 and the first yellow jersey of this year's Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The Belgian national champion was teed up by the excellent work of her SD Worx teammates, who set the stage for Kopecky to ride solo to the finish and win her first-ever stage at the Tour de France Femmes. Behind, it was Kopecky's teammate Lorena Wiebes who came home in second to take SD Worx's 16th 1-2 finish of the season, whilst Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich) rounded out the day's podium in third.

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023 Preview Show

Overview - Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is the biggest stage race on the women’s calendar, and the third women’s Grand Tour in 2023. Won by Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) ahead of Demi Vollering (SD Worx) in 2022, this is a race for the biggest stars of the women’s peloton, and we’re expecting an even more exciting battle for the yellow jersey in 2023.

At eight stages long, the Tour de France Femmes emulates the men’s Tour de France with a wide variety of stages, from big sprint fights, to punchy days and summit finishes in the mountains. There’s a yellow jersey, polka dot jersey, green jersey, white jersey and best team prize all up for grabs as the women race around France in their own Grande Boucle.

This year, the course is even more challenging than last year as the peloton heads to the Pyrenees for a huge Queen stage finishing atop the Col du Tourmalet, before a final-stage deciding time trial in Pau. The six stages running up to the final weekend are hardly easy, with a few nailed-on sprint chances but plenty of up-and-down days that could pan out in a lot of different ways.

Key information - Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023

Dates: July 23-30, 2023

Country: France

Category: 2.WWT

Editions: 1 (as of 2022)

First winner: Annemiek van Vleuten

Most recent winner: Annemiek van Vleuten

Riders to watch

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023 Map

The route of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023 Route

Stage 1: Clermont-Ferrand → Clermont-Ferrand (124km)

Stage 2: Clermont-Ferrand → Mauriac (148km)

Stage 3: Collonges-la-Rouge → Montignac-Lascaux (147km)

Stage 4: Cahors → Rodez (177km)

Stage 5: Onet-le-Château → Albi (126km)

Stage 6: Albi → Blagnac (122km)

Stage 7: Lannemezan → Tourmalet (90km)

Stage 8: Pau → Pau (ITT) (22km)

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023 Contenders

Winner in 2022, the big favourite at this year’s race will be Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) as she looks to once again complete the triple of winning the Vuelta Femeninia, Giro d’Italia Donne and Tour de France Femmes in one season, her last before retirement. After winning the Vuelta and then the Giro convincingly, she certainly looks capable of completing the set, particularly with the Tourmalet Queen stage suiting her climbing capabilities.

She’ll have Demi Vollering (SD Worx) for competition, and the younger Dutch rider has looked very strong this season, winning two stages at the Veulta Femenina and losing out on the win due to a controversial attack from Van Vleuten, but matching her closely all week. Vollering finished second last year, and will be coming back to France motivated to go one step further.

It’s hard to imagine anyone but Van Vleuten and Vollering occupying the top two steps on the podium, but the battle for third and the rest of the top 10 is looking rich in talent. Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal QuickStep), Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich), Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek), Maví García (Liv Racing TeqFind), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Marta Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ), Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ), Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) - the list is really long with the climbing talent in the women’s peloton stronger and more closely-matched than ever in 2023.

In the sprints, we’re expecting a battle between former teammates Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) and Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich) with the pair proving themselves as the two fastest sprinters so far this season. They’ll have to face up to the likes of Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ), though, and the fight for the green jersey could be a tight one.

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023 Teams

Movistar
SD Worx
Canyon-SRAM
dsm-firmenich
Lidl-Trek
FDJ-SUEZ
EF Education-TIBCO-SVB
UAE Team ADQ
Jumbo-Visma
Israel-Premier Tech Roland
Liv Racing TeqFind
Jayco-AlUla
Uno-X
Human Powered Health
Fenix-Deceuninck
Ceratizit-WNT
AG Insurance-Soudal QuickStep
Lifeplus-Wahoo
Coop-Hitec Products
Arkéa Pro Cycling
Cofidis
St Michel-Mavic-Auber93

How to watch the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023

Live coverage and race replays of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023 will be available on GCN+ for subscribers in selected territories.

Tour de France Femmes history

With how prestigious the race already is, it’s easy to forget that the Tour de France Femmes avec Femmes is actually only a year old. Added to the calendar in 2022 after much clamour for a women’s Tour de France, the race was announced in 2021, and the first edition took place last summer. The likes of Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma), Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope) all won stages, whilst Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) stormed the general classification, convincingly winning the final two climbing stages to take the first-ever yellow jersey.

Prior to the Tour de France Femmes, the Tour’s offering for the women’s peloton was La Course, though even this was a recent invention. La Course was launched in 2014 after a campaign by Marianne Vos, Emma Pooley, Chrissie Wellington and Kathryn Bertine, and was originally a circuit race around the Champs-Élysées on the final day of the men’s Tour, though later editions were held in the mountains and elsewhere, during the men’s race. It was meant to evolve gradually into a proper stage race, but this didn’t really happen, bar one attempt at a two-day event 2017.

However, the history of the women’s Tour de France goes back much further than the ASO’s involvement. We can find examples of women’s Tours de France as far back as the 1950s, and several editions of the Tour de France Féminin were held in the 1980s. These 80s races featured hard courses, often tackling most of the same stages and climbs that the men’s race did, making them long and difficult - truly Grand Tours. These races struggled to survive, though - especially once they were banned from using the ‘Tour de France’ name - and through the 90s and 2000s, races like the Route de France and the Tour de l’Ardèche were the closest the women’s peloton had to a French Grand Tour.