The second edition of the Tour de France Femmes is finally here. Starting on Sunday 23rd July, 154 riders will cover 956km over eight stages, setting off from one of the oldest cities in France, Clermont-Ferrand, and finishing with an individual time-trial in Pau, near the Spanish border.
Among that group, ten British riders will be looking to make their mark on history, either as part of a strong team effort or by going for stage wins via the breakaway. Despite featuring legends like Lizzie Deignan, it’s pretty unlikely any of them will be challenging for the yellow jersey.
So who will be flying the Union Flag in France and who will you be cheering on next week?
1. Lizzie Deignan, Lidl-Trek
Away creating human life in 2022, Lizzie Deignan came back with a bang this year, pulling out an impressive third in the GC at the RideLondon Classique.
In 2021, the Otley-born rider won Paris-Roubaix Femmes, adding to her incredible palmarès, which includes multiple world titles and a full set of Monuments.
The 34-year-old is part of a strong Lidl-Trek team, including Amanda Spratt and the two Elisas, Balsamo and Longo Borghini, so will likely ride in a supporting role while she continues to find her feet after her time away.
Notable performances
- GC The Women’s Tour (’19, ’16)
- 1st World Championships Road Race (’15)
- 1st Paris-Roubaix (’21)
Read more: Lizzie Deignan Q&A: ‘It was never a question of whether I would retire’
2. Pfeiffer Georgi, DSM-Firmenich
Winner of the 2023 British National Championships road race (and 2nd in 2022 and 1st in 2021), Pfeiffer Georgi is one of Britain’s best upcoming talents.
The 22-year-old, who grew up in Gloucestershire, serves as DSM-Firmenich’s road captain and is as capable of marshalling a sprint lead-out as she is of playing a more GC-focussed support role. Georgi’s had a strong season so far winning Brugge-De Panne and getting top 10 finishes at Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race.
As is her normal role at DSM, Georgi will likely find herself in a supporting role at the Tour, helping Charlotte Kool in the sprints and Juliette Labous in GC, however she should be allowed to attempt a stage win when the terrain becomes too hard for Kool to stay in the peloton.
Notable performances:
- 1st British National Championships road race (’23, ’21)
- 5th GC RideLondon Classique (’23)
- 7th youth classification Tour de France Femmes (’22)
3. Anna Henderson, Jumbo Visma
Like her teammate Primož Roglič, Anna Henderson began her sporting career on skis. A junior slalom champion at the age of 15, she’s since cemented her skills on the tarmac having come third in the British national road race this year and winning the QOM jersey at the RideLondon Classique in 2022.
Henderson, from Bedfordshire, and her Jumbo-Visma squad will be largely supporting Dutch superstar Marianne Vos at the Tour, who is looking to defend her green jersey and win stages.
Henderson, 24, is more than capable of snatching stages too though with a punchy finish of her own. However, team plans will dictate how much freedom she is afforded.
Notable performances
- 3rd British National Championships road race (’23)
- 2nd Commonwealth Games ITT (’22)
- QOM RideLondon Classique (’22)
4. Lizzie Holden, UAE Team ADQ
Having moved to UAE Team ADQ for 2023, Manx-born Lizzie Holden will likely be in the supporting role for Silvia Persico heading into this year’s Tour.
A strong rider in her own right, Holden recently won the National Championships time-trial and showed her ability at both the Lotto Belgium Tour and Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Well suited to hilly stages and of course time-trials, the 24-year-old will hopefully have plenty of opportunities to shine in France while working for her new team.
Notable performances
- 1st British National Championships ITT (’23)
- 4th, GC Lotto Belgium Tour (’22)
- 5th Commonwealth Games ITT (’22)
5. Claire Steels, Israel-Premier Tech-Roland
A latecomer to the world of professional cycling, Claire Steels has had her best year to date in 2023. She finished just shy of the top step at the Nationals Champs, second to Pfeiffer Georgi, and placed top 10 in the Tour de Suisse Women’s GC.
This is the 36-year-old’s first year with a WorldTour team but she will have the freedom to fight for wins and, as a strong climber, will enjoy pushing her limits on a very tough parcours. She’s Britain’s best chance for yellow.
Notable performances
- 2nd British national championships road race (’23)
- 6th GC Tour de Suisse Women (’23)
- 8th GC Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche (’22)
6. Alice Barnes, Human Powered Health
The Oxford-born Alice Barnes (not to be confused with her sister Hannah Barnes, who rides for Uno-X) will make her Tour de France debut this year with her new team, Human Powered Health.
The 28-year-old is a strong all-round rider, in road and mountain biking, with a strong sprint, and won both the British national road race and ITT titles in 2019.
Notable performances
- 10th Commonwealth Games road race (’22)
- 7th GC The Women’s Tour (’21)
- 1st British National Championship road race + ITT (’19)
7. Josie Nelson, Team Coop-Hitec Products
Josie Nelson is just 21 but has already made an impression in both road and cyclocross racing, representing Team GB at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Nelson, born in Burton-on-Trent, showed her climbing prowess in both the Tour of Scandinavia last year and at the hilly British national roads champs in 2021 where she finished second.
With the likes of top-tier mountain biker Jenny Rissveds on the team for this year, it will be interesting to see how Coop-Hitech organise themselves and whether Josie will be in a supporting or more supported role. With only a few riders eligible for the white young riders jersey, Nelson definitely has a chance of glory.
Notable performances
- 2nd British National Championships road race (’21)
- 2nd QOM Tour of Scandinavia (’22, ’21)
- 3rd youth classification RideLondon Classique (’22)
8. Alice Towers, Canyon-SRAM
Alice Towers, from Derbyshire, took the win at the British National Champs last year at only 20 years old and has since moved from Le Col-Wahoo (now Lifeplus-Wahoo) to the WorldTour team Canyon-SRAM.
Towers has continued to develop in 2022, placing 10th in the GC at the Lotto Belgium Tour and 4th in the youth classification. With last year’s third place, Kasia Niewiadoma, on the team, the young Towers will be looking to learn from her experienced colleagues and support the Polish champ in an attempt to improve on her third place last year.
Notable performances
- 1st British National Championships road race (’22)
- 10th GC Lotto Belgium Tour (’22)
- 9th youth classification CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées (’23)
9. Natalie Grinczer, Lifeplus-Wahoo
Natalie Grinczer was only signed by Lifeplus-Wahoo at the start of July but the climbing specialist might get the freedom to attack some of the steeper stages.
That means we’re mostly likely to see the 29-year-old from Somerset on the harder stages, which actually is most stages this year. Expect her to try to get in a breakaway.
As a the only British team at the Tour, it is unsurprising that it’s also the only one with two British riders.
Notable performances
- 6th British National Championships road race (’23)
- 13th, GC CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées (’23)
- 8th, GC Vuelta Extremadura Féminas (’23)
10. April Tacey, Lifeplus-Wahoo
Having done the majority of her racing in Belgium and the UK, it will be good to see the 22-year-old get a chance to experience WorldTour racing at this level.
Hailing from Leicester, Tacey excels in the Classics and breakaways so will likely either be a domestique or go for the breakaway on the flatter stages.
As with Grinczer, it will be interesting to see how the team set up against such a strong field and we hope Tacey will get a chance to shine at her first Tour.
Notable performances
- 9th Scheldeprijs (’23)
- 6th British National Championships road race (’21)
- 9th points classification, youth classification RideLondon Classique (’23)
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