Simac Ladies Tour 2023

The Women's WorldTour heads to the Netherlands for a varied six days of racing that will suit the Classics riders

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Simac Ladies Tour

Dates 5 Sept - 10 Sept
Race Length 580 kms
Race Category Elite Women

Simac Ladies Tour 2023 overview

The Simac Ladies Tour, which takes place from September 5 to 10, is one of the longest-running stage races on the women’s calendar, having been raced every year since 1998. Over the years it’s also been known as the Holland Ladies Tour and the Boels Ladies Tour.

At six stages in length, the Simac Ladies Tour is one of the longer stage races on the calendar. However, due to the flat terrain in the Netherlands, it’s not comparable to the more challenging week-long races. There are definitely no mountains here, it’s more of a race for sprinters, Classics specialists and time trialists, thanks to the regular inclusion of a TT stage.

With a bit of something for everyone, the general classification win usually goes to a rider who can do it all - it’s no surprise that Marianne Vos won this race four times in a row. Increasingly, the organisers have been including tougher challenges and climbs we see in the Classics, such as the Cauberg, to up the difficulty of the Simac Ladies Tour.

Simac Ladies Tour 2023 key information

Dates: September 5-10, 2023

Country: The Netherlands and Belgium

Category: 2.WWT (Women's WorldTour)

Editions: 24 (as of 2022)

First winner: Elsbeth Vink

Most recent winner: Lorena Wiebes

Simac Ladies Tour 2023 route

Prologue: Ede → Ede (2.4km)

Stage 1: Gennep → Gennep (139.6km)

Stage 2: Leuven → Leuven (7.1km)

Stage 3: Emmeloord → Lelystad (149km)

Stage 4: Valkenburg → Valkenburg (131.6km)

Stage 5: Arnhem → Arnhem (150.2km)

Simac Ladies Tour 2023 contenders

Being a race that suits the all-rounders, it can be hard to pinpoint who’s going to perform well at the Simac Ladies Tour: on a good week, any number of riders could take the overall victory here. And it isn’t necessarily about winning stages, either - consistent finishes across the board can add up to a GC win.

That said, there are some stand-out all-rounders who will be looking at the 2023 race as a place to pick up an overall win. If she wants to come back and defend her title, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) is possibly even more well-poised to win this year than she was in 2022. The Dutchwoman has improved her climbing significantly this season, so even the toughest stages in the Netherlands will be easier for her this year. And with a still near-unbeatable sprint, she’ll be able to pick up top stage finishes and bonus seconds across the week.

Perhaps on the opposite end of the spectrum - a rider who will do well across the week but find it harder to win a stage - is Riejanne Markus (Jumbo-Visma). Markus came fourth at the Simac Ladies Tour in 2022, but is in the perfect mould of a winner of this race: she can finish well in the bunch, she can climb well, and importantly, she is a strong time trialist. The 28-year-old won the hardest stage of last year’s edition, and is more than capable of upgrading that to an overall win this year.

Lastly, a rider who has won this race twice before and will be very motivated: Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar). Why will Van Vleuten be so motivated? Because the Simac Ladies Tour is set to be her final UCI race before she retires, finishing near her home town in the Netherlands. The Dutchwoman just won the Tour of Scandinavia, so the form is there, but the flatter, punchier Simac Tour may be a tougher ask. That said, if she can take time in the two time trials and attack on one of the harder days, it's not inconceivable that she might finish her career with one last victory.

Simac Ladies Tour 2023 teams

The Simac Ladies Tour peloton will be made up of 12 Women's WorldTour teams and six Continental teams.

SD Worx
AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step
Canyon-SRAM
Fenix-Deceuninck
Israel-Premier Tech Roland
Lidl-Trek
Liv Racing TeqFind
Movistar
dsm-firmenich
Jayco AlUla
Jumbo-Visma
UAE Team ADQ
Uno-X
Ceratizit-WNT
Lifeplus Wahoo
Parkhotel Valkenburg
Lotto Dstny
GT Krush Rebellease

What happened in the Simac Ladies Tour 2022?

The 2022 Simac Ladies Tour was won by Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) after she dominated in the early sprints, and put in an impressive time trial to hold onto her GC lead. She also proved her climbing ability on the Cauberg stage to stick with the leading group and not concede any time.

Simac Ladies Tour history

First raced in 1998, the Simac Ladies Tour was founded by members of the Dutch federation, then named the Holland Ladies Tour. It was born out of a desire to create a longer stage race in the Netherlands, which was steadily producing a number of strong riders and teams, to complement the one-day races and shorter events already in the region. The launch in 1998 also coincided with the World Championships coming to Valkenburg, which took place a month after the inaugural edition of the Holland Ladies Tour.

The first edition of the tour was composed of five road stages and a prologue, and was won overall by Elsbeth Vink (Opstalan). The following year, it was Leontien van Moorsel (Hartol-Farm Frites) who took the win, two big names of Dutch cycling already adding their name to the roll of honour, and establishing the race’s place in the calendar. Many of the stars of the women’s peloton have topped the podium at the Simac Ladies Tour, including Kristin Armstrong, Annemiek van Vleuten and Marianne Vos on four occasions.

The race has gone through several guises in its time, firstly the Holland Ladies Tour, then the Profile Ladies Tour, and most recently the Boels Ladies Tour. From 2021, the race has been sponsored by Simac.

Explore the tabs above to find out more about this race, including the start list, route, and results after the race.