The 2023 Tour de France Femmes starts on Sunday 23rd July in Clermont-Ferrand and finishes on Sunday 30th July, with eight hard stages in southwest France to decide who will win the race’s second ever yellow jersey.
Fresh from winning the Giro Donne, Movistar’s World Champion Annemiek van Vleuten will be looking to defend her crown in her final season as a pro but will face stiff competition from last year’s runner-up Demi Vollering of SD Worx, who has dominated so far in 2023.
This year’s route includes two historic stages right at the end, with Stage 7 finishing on top of the mighty Col du Tourmalet before Stage 8’s decider puts it all on the Tour de France Femmes’ first time-trial.
Outside of the main two favourites, riders including AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep’s Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Canyon-SRAM’s Kasia Niewiadoma, FDJ-Suez’s Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Marta Cavalli, Liv Racing-Teqfind’s Mavi García and Lidl-Trek’s Elisa Longo Borghini will be among those looking to make their mark on the general classification.
The battle for the green jersey looks set to be a three-way fight between last year’s winner Marianne Vos of Jumbo-Visma, winner of two stages in 2022 Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx and her former teammate, DSM-Firmenich’s Charlotte Kool.
Tour de France Femmes 2023: Key information
Dates: Sunday 23rd July to Sunday 30th July 2023
Start: Clermont-Ferrand
Finish: Pau
UK television coverage: Eurosport, GCN+ and Discovery+
2022 winner: Annemiek van Vleuten, Movistar
Tour de France Femmes 2023 route
After the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes stuck to the northeast of the country, this time out it’s completely the opposite as riders begin in Clermont-Ferrand in central France and head southwest towards the Pyrenees.
It’s a hilly affair to get to their destination too, with classified climbs on every stage apart from the time-trial, which may influence the green jersey competition and give smaller teams a chance at glory in the breakaways.
The two big separators in the battle for the yellow jersey will be the final two stages, with the ascents of the Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet on the penultimate stage and the 22km time-trial to close out the action.
Tour de France Femmes 2023 route: Stage-by-stage
Stage 1: Sunday 23rd July, Clermont-Ferrand – Clermont-Ferrand, 124km
The second edition of the Tour de France Femmes will kick off with a flat stage around Clermont-Ferrand, a large loop taking the peloton around the local countryside. The short but biting climb of the Côte de Durtol offers the first chance to create splits with a descent all the way until the final 500m, where it’ll be an uphill sprint to the line.
Stage 2: Monday 24th July, Clermont-Ferrand – Mauriac, 148km
Six classified climbs await on Stage 2, with the summit of Côte de Trébiac coming with 1km to go before a short descent and a ramp back up to the finish. It’s very unlikely a breakaway will be allowed this early in the race, so it could well be a GC day with a small group sprinting for the stage and for two sets of bonus seconds.
Stage 3: Tuesday 25th July, Collonges-La-Rouge – Montignac-Lascaux, 147km
Although there are another five climbs on Stage 3, there’s nothing too crazy, so it will likely be the first proper sprint day.
Stage 4: Wednesday 26th July, Cahors – Rodez, 177km
A very backloaded Stage 4 should see the sprinters stay with the bunch for most of the day before getting dropped achingly close to the finish. Bonus seconds with 30km to go may be nullified by a breakaway but this one will go to the puncheurs with the Côte de Lavernhe to soften the legs before a steep 13% ramp to the finish in Rodez.
Stage 5: Thursday 27th July, Onet-Le-Château – Albi, 126km
The hills are relentless as another three classified ones look to cause disruption on Stage 5, they’re only short but they’re not easy, it could be a reduced bunch sprint into Albi. Saying that, the women’s peloton is so versatile it’ll probably be a Marianne Vos vs Lorena Wiebes sprint anyway.
Stage 6: Friday 28th July, Albi – Blagnac, 122km
Stage 6 will definitely be a sprint and, after a few short climbs over the course of the day, the run to the line in Blagnac is flat as a pancake.
Stage 7: Saturday 29th July, Lannemezan – Tourmalet (Bagnères-de-Bigorre), 90km
Goodbye hills, hello mountains. Two historic climbs will define the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, the Col d’Aspin will break the majority of the bunch before the Col du Tourmalet breaks everyone else. It’s highly likely the gaps at the top will be big enough for this to decide who wins the 2023 yellow jersey.
Stage 8: Sunday 30th July, Pau – Pau (ITT), 22km
The Tour de France Femmes’ first ever time-trial is a mostly flat affair, it may prove decisive for GC if it’s close but the Tourmalet will probably have done the damage.
Tour de France Femmes 2023 live TV guide
The Tour de France Femmes will be broadcast live in the UK on Eurosport with streaming on GCN+ and Discovery+ (with the same coverage).
GCN+ costs £6.99 paid monthly, or £39.99 per year and Discovery+ costs £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year for sports and entertainment (for fans of shows like Wheeler Dealers and Naked and Afraid).
Streaming coverage via GCN+ will be available in select territories worldwide but not Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. Double-check territory restrictions if you’re watching elsewhere to avoid disappointment.
Highlights packages will also be available as well as short highlights on YouTube.
Official broadcasters
Africa: Supersport, TV5 Monde
Asia (excluding China and Japan): GCN, Eurosport Asia-Pacific
Australia: SBS, GCN
Belgium: RTBF, VRT
Canada: FloBikes
Central and South America: ESPN, TV5 Monde
China: Zhibo.tv
Denmark: DKTV2
Europe: Eurosport, GCN
France: France 3
Ireland: TG4
Japan: JSPORTS
Middle East: BeIn Sports, GCN, SSC, TV5 Monde
Netherlands: NOS
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Norway: TV2
Spain: RTVE
United States: CNBC, Peacock, TV5 Monde
Tour de France Femmes 2023 start list
Official line-ups not fully confirmed yet.
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
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