Tour de Romandie
Switzerland will host the final stage race on European soil of the Women's WorldTour season, with Demi Vollering, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig headlining the startlist
Overview
First raced in 2022, the Tour de Romandie Féminin is a recent addition to the Women’s WorldTour and serves as the last elite-level stage race in Europe.
As such, the race will draw to a close the road racing season for many of the world’s best riders, providing a final opportunity to those who missed on big victories at stage races such as the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and the only other Swiss stage race on the Women’s WorldTour, the Tour de Suisse Women.
Taking to the start of the Tour de Romandie Féminin will be 14 Women’s WorldTour teams, two Women’s Continental teams and one Swiss national team, with SD Worx arguably the team to beat as ever. The leaders of the UCI’s Team World Rankings - by some distance - are heading into the final WorldTour stage race of the season with another stellar lineup, likely to be spearheaded by the reigning Tour de France Femmes champion, Demi Vollering. However, they will no doubt face stiff competition from the likes of dsm-firmenich, Lidl-Trek and FDJ-Suez, amongst others.
This year’s edition will span three days between September 15th and 17th and feature three stages in the French-speaking part of western Switzerland.
Race key
Date: September 15-17, 2023
Country: Switzerland
Category: 2. WWT
Editions: 1 (as of 2022)
First winner: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio
Most recent winner: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio
Route
Stage 1: Yverdon-les-Bains → Yverdon-les-Bains (143.9km)
Stage 2: Romont → Torgon (110.4km)
Stage 3: Vernier → Nyon (131.5km)
Contenders
The defending champion heading into the Tour de Romandie Féminin is Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step), but the South African will face stiff competition from the likes of Demi Vollering (SD Worx), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek).
To read our full preview, including an extended look at the contenders, click here.
Teams
- Canyon-SRAM
- dsm-firmenich
- EF Education-TIBCO-SVB
- FDJ-SUEZ
- Fenix-Deceuninck
- Human Powered Health
- Israel-Premier Tech Roland
- Jayco AlUla
- Jumbo-Visma
- Lidl-Trek
- Liv Racing TeqFind
- Movistar
- SD Worx
- UAE Team ADQ
- AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step (CTW)
- Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling
- Swiss Cycling (NAT)
Race history
The Tour de Romandie is a race steeped in history on the men’s side of the sport, but very much less so in the women’s peloton. The men’s Tour de Romandie raced its 76th edition earlier this year, whilst the Tour de Romandie Féminin only began last season.
Hosted as a three-day stage race to end the WorldTour stage racing season in Europe, the race was a welcome addition to the calendar and produced an exciting edition won by Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. Headlined by the summit finish atop Thyon 2000 on the second day, it was here that the South African sowed the seeds of her victory, winning alone and riding into the lead of the race.
The first stage had been won by Arlenis Sierra in a small group sprint, whilst Moolman-Pasio secured the overall victory on the final day by finishing in the peloton as Marta Lach took the stage honours. Behind the SD Worx in the GC, Annemiek van Vleuten and Elisa Longo Borghini finished second and third, respectively, with dsm-firmenich’s Liane Lippert taking the young rider classification.
Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) and Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step) will be back at the Tour de Romandie Féminin this year, but can either of them upset the SD Worx apple cart?
Major Races
See All
Date | Event | Class |
|---|---|---|
26 August - 17 September |  Vuelta a España | 2.UWT |
26 September - 01 October |  CRO Race | 2.1 |
28 September |  Circuit Franco-Belge | 1.Pro |
23 September |  Europe RR | CCRR |
24 September | Europe RR | CCRR |
Provided by FirstCycling