The Tour de Frances Femmes is finally here. On Sunday 23rd July, riders will set off from Clermont-Ferrand for eight stages of full-gas racing and history making.
Last year, we saw Annemiek van Vleuten take a triumphant victory and many are setting her as the forerunner ahead of this year’s race. She won’t be without competition though, with Demi Vollering hot off the back of a spectacular spring and the likes of Kasia Niewiadoma, Elisa Longo Borghini and more in fighting form as well.
A total of 154 riders will race 956km from Clermont-Ferrand to Pau, with sprints, mountains and an individual time-trial to be navigated. With the same jerseys on offer as the men’s Tour de France, they will be competing for green, polka dots, white and of course the yellow jersey.
So, who are the favourites to win the maillot jaune of the Tour de France Femmes overall general classification?
Annemiek van Vleuten, Movistar
On paper, nobody should get near Annemiek van Vleuten in this contest after taking the win at last year’s Tour de France Femmes by almost four minutes. With her wealth of experience and impressive palmarès, she’s by far the best stage racer and climber in the peloton.
Given her previous victory, all eyes will be on Van Vleuten this time around so she will have her work cut out. It hasn’t been the perfect season for her so far but it’s her last year racing in the pro peloton and she won’t go down without a fight.
Notable performances:
- 1st, GC Tour de France Femmes (’22)
- 1st, GC Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile (’23, ’22, ’19, ’18)
- 1st UCI World Championships road race (’22, ’19)
Demi Vollering, SD Worx
SD Worx are packed to the brim with some of the most talented riders in cycling and among them – and among the peloton as a whole – Vollering has had the best year so far.
She had a stellar start to the season, winning almost every Spring Classic she rode, including completing an historic Ardennes Triple. The SD Worx train with Vollering at the wheel will be a tough act to beat, though not impossible.
After her second place at the Tour last year, the Dutch national champion will want revenge and if anyone can give Van Vleuten a run for her money, it’s her.
Notable performances:
- 1st Liège-Bastogne-Liège (’23, ’21)
- 1st Amstel Gold Race (’23)
- 2nd, GC Tour de France Femmes (’22)
Elisa Longo Borghini, Lidl-Trek
Lidl-Trek have shown time and time again that their riders get big wins and the team heading to the start line is no different. Lizzie Deignan is back from pregnancy and, although Elisa Balsamo has been out since a bad crash at the RideLondon Classique, both of Lidl-Trek’s Elisas are headed to France.
Longo Borghini is one of the standout riders of her generation and can do it on any terrain with strong climbing legs, a punchy finish and a good time-trial.
It’ll be a tough ask to take it to Van Vleuten and Vollering but with so much ability and experience Longo Borghini will be a key player in France and will hope to snatch a podium spot.
Notable performances:
- 6th, GC Tour de France Femmes (’22)
- 1st, GC The Women’s Tour (’22)
- 1st Paris-Roubaix (’22)
Kasia Niewiadoma, Canyon//SRAM Racing
Kasia Niewiadoma fought hard last year to take third place at the inaugural Tour de France Femmes and has been consistently finishing highly so far this season.
Her all-or-nothing racing style paid off last year and with a solid team behind her she’s got a strong chance of doing well again this time around. It’s unlikely she’ll be able to push Van Vleuten or Vollering off the top spot but her dogged determination will make it a hard task for anyone hoping to to beat her to a podium spot.
Notable performances:
- 4th, GC Tour de Suisse (’23)
- 3rd, GC Tour de France Femmes (’22)
- 1st, GC The Women’s Tour (’17)
Cecile Uttrup Ludwig, FDJ-Suez
Danish fan favourite Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig will lead a strong FDJ-Suez team in France. She’s a strong climber with consistent top tens in both stage races and classics, and she also has an elite punch, as evidenced by her stage win at the Tour in 2022.
Sadly she won’t be wearing a national champion’s jersey this time.
Notable performances:
- 6th, GC Giro d’Italia Donne (’23)
- 7th, GC Tour de France Femmes (’22)
- 1st, GC Tour of Scandinavia (’22)
Marta Cavalli, FDJ-Suez
Uttrup Ludwig’s Italian teammate Marta Cavalli has a score to settle at the Tour de France. After several breakthrough wins in early 2022 she was forced to abandon the Tour on Stage 2 after a horror collision left her with a concussion that has continued to hamper her racing into 2023.
At her best she’s one of the peloton’s best climbers.
Notable performances:
- 1st, GC CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées (’23)
- 2nd, GC Giro d’Italia Donne (’22)
- 1st Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge (’22)
Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep
Having planned to retire at the end of 2022, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio signed for AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep for this year and has already extended her contract for another year. She’s beaten Tour titan Van Vleuten once in a stage this year and has little to lose when it comes to tackling the Tour de France.
Moving from SD Worx, Moolman-Pasio now has the full support of her new team to help display her incredible climbing abilities and take her own stab at glory.
Notable performances:
- 1st, GC Tour de Romandie Féminin (’22)
- 2nd, GC Giro d’Italia Donne (’21, ’18)
- 3rd Stade Bianche (’23)
Mavi García, Liv Racing-TeqFind
Spanish Road Race National Champion Mavi García is one of the oldest riders in the peloton at 39 years old but she’s still got it.
On a new team for 2023 she’s had consistent stage race top tens as well as strong showings in hilly classics, if she’s peaking for the Tour then a podium isn’t unrealistic.
Notable performances:
- 7th, GC Giro d’Italia Donne (’23)
- 4th La Fléche Wallonne (’23)
- 10th, GC Tour de France Femmes (’22)
Juliette Labous, DSM-Firmenich
The home favourite, it’s inevitable that Juliette Labous will win something big, it’s just a question of when. She just missed out on the podium last year and is fresh off a career best result at the Giro Donne. Her time-trial skills give her a strong chance at a top three this time out.
Notable performances:
- 2nd, GC Giro d’Italia Donne (’23)
- 4th, GC Tour de France Femmes (’22)
- 1st, GC Vuelta a Burgos (’22)
Veronica Ewers, EF Education-TIBCO-SVB
Veronica Ewers was a latecomer to the sport, discovering cycling at 28 years old and turning pro in 2021. In just her second season she got top tens in the Women’s Tour, the Tour de France Femmes and fifth in the Tour de Romandie. After a slow start to 2023, she rode very well in the Giro Donne and will hope to take that form forward.
Notable performances:
- 4th, GC Giro d’Italia Donne (’23)
- 5th, GC Tour de Romandie (’22)
- 9th, GC Tour de France Femmes (’22)
Silvia Persico, UAE Team ADQ
Italian Silvia Persico had a real breakout in 2022, announcing herself as one of the peloton’s best GC riders with a Tour de France that included finishing in the top ten in all but two stages.
She’s one of the best sprinters of the overall contenders, so a small group likely won’t want to come to the finish with her, with this year’s parcours expect a Persico stage win.
Notable performances:
- 3rd UCI World Championships road race (’22)
- 8th, GC Giro d’Italia Donne (’23)
- 5th, GC Tour de France Femmes (’22)
The other big battle
This is all without mentioning the sheer number quality riders that will be fighting for stage wins and the other jerseys.
The biggest one to look out for is the green jersey fight, with two of the sport’s great emerging rivals both in the form of their lives and staring down the barrel of the GOAT, who will likely be looking to take her rightful place in this slice of cycling history.
Marianne Vos, Charlotte Kool, Lorena Wiebes and Elisa Balsamo will be all be facing off in the sprints, though a very hilly route means it’ll short on bunch sprints. With Wiebes’ increased strength over climbs in 2023 and the might of her team, she’s the most likely to prevent Vos going back-to-back.
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