Marta Cavalli eyes up stage wins at the 2024 Tour de France Femmes

Announced on Wednesday morning, the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift challenges the Women's WorldTour with a varied route that takes in an individual time trial, a Classics-esque stage and an iconic finish atop Alpe d'Huez. Responding to the reveal, FDJ-SUEZ's Marta Cavalli cast doubts over any GC ambitions at the race.

"For the moment, I don't know [about targeting GC] because we were waiting until today to discover all the details," Cavalli admitted to GCN. "But I think I can target some stage wins because it suits me more in this way at the moment."

Read more: Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2024 route revealed

A rider well at home on the tough climbs that conclude the third edition of the Tour de France Femmes, the Italian pointed towards the opening stages as a reason why the overall parcours may not be to her suiting as a GC rider.

"It looks really hard, you can cut the race in two," she noted. "I think the first part could be really fast, hectic and also dangerous with the wind in a lot of stages. There is also a short TT so it is not really good for climbers."

However, the Italian need not be dissuaded quite so soon, after all, the only individual time trial in next year's route is just 6.3km long and is little more than a prologue. In fact, it is not much further than the opening prologue of the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne, a race in which Cavalli placed a career-best second place.

The Italian has not hit the same heights in 2023, with much of her early season spent still recovering from her crash at the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, but she has picked up some notable victories along the way and ended the season in fine form.

Wins both in stages and on general classification at the CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées and the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche have been the highlights, whilst Cavalli was only beaten by a sensational Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (her FDJ-SUEZ teammate) at the recent Giro dell'Emilia Donne.

Read more: Giro dell'Emilia Donne: Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig wins alone after late attack

Looking ahead to next year's Tour de France Femmes, the 25-year-old should be confident of using the hilly second half of the race to her advantage and picking up a maiden stage victory at the year's biggest spectacle.

Alpe d'Huez gives the riders extra motivation, says Cavalli

"After we turn the page [halfway through the race], we have four really long and hard stages. I think ASO pushed a little bit more this year to make it again harder. The stages are really long, everyday more than 150km and elevation with 3,900m is a lot," reflected Cavalli.

"So we will spend long days on the bike and it is the best way to give the victory to the best rider in the peloton. I think it is hard but at the same time, it will be a great show for the people in the front of their TV and the crowds on the road."

Stages 5 to 8 could all be to Cavalli's liking, offering plenty of opportunities to build on her best finish of eighth at this year's edition, but it will be the final day's summit finish that will capture most of the riders' attention. For the first time in Tour de France Femmes history, the women's peloton will tackle the unforgiving slopes of Alpe d'Huez.

© ASO

FDJ-SUEZ enjoyed a recon of Alpe d'Huez ahead of the route announcement, but would surely be in dreamland if two of their riders went up the road alone during next year's final stage

This special conclusion will mirror that of the men's race in 2015 - albeit not preceding a final-day procession - and keeps hot on the heels of the Planche des Belles Filles and Col du Tourmalet in the first two editions of the women's race.

"The race is growing a lot," smiled Cavalli. "Every year they choose one iconic climb and it makes an amazing atmosphere and gives us a little bit more motivation to do our best on this climb."

The Italian was able to manage eighth on the Col du Tourmalet this year, as Demi Vollering rode to both the stage and overall victory, and had crashed out of the race by the time the peloton reached the Planche des Belles Filles in 2021. This time around, the FDJ-SUEZ climber will surely be a rider to watch on one of cycling's most famous climbs.

To find out more about the Tour de France Femmes 2024, click here to explore our dedicated race page.