Tour de France Femmes 2026 preview | After the men's Tour de France, it's time for Vollering vs Ferrand-Prevot
CyclingTuesday, 28 July 2026 at 10:45
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Follow us on GoogleAfter the men's Tour de France, the women's Tour de France follows in August. On August 1, the Grand Départ of that race takes place in Geneva, ending in Nice via a Swiss/French course (and the Mont Ventoux). IDL Pro Cycling brings you the route details, as well as stage and overall favourites.
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Grand Départ around Lake Geneva
The first stage is a road race. No time trial, no prologue, but just like in Brittany last year, a hilly ride to start the Tour de France Femmes. For the second time, this stage is not in France: we are heading to Switzerland. A nice opening awaits from and to Lausanne, with a vicious uphill finish. After another stage in Switzerland, the third stage will depart from Geneva towards France, where the finish is in Poligny.
The second stage is more for the sprinters, but stage 3 is again quite tough, with 2,400 meters of elevation gain. Stage 4 is for the time trial specialists, as there is an individual time trial in Dijon, covering 21 kilometers. The fifth stage is a beautiful hilly ride, with Mont Brouilly acting as the decisive climb. But it doesn't end there, as the following day riders will have to scramble again in the mid-mountains towards Tournon-Sur-Rhône.
Read more below the photo!
Mont Ventoux as the absolute decider
However, the focal point of the Tour de France Femmes lies absolutely in the final days. Stage number 7 heads to Provence and features the Mont Ventoux, the absolute decider of the race. Moreover, that stage features over 3,500 meters of elevation gain, with the well-known hilly terrain of Southern France to warm up the legs.
The sprinters get a rare chance in the eighth stage, although a mass sprint in Nice is by no means certain thanks to a hilly finish. The final stage will go to and from the famous seaside resort: a short stage of 99 kilometers, but one that includes the Col d'Èze no less than four times. The finish is on the famous Promenade des Anglais. An explosive finish for the women, then!
Tour de France Femmes 2025 route
Stage 1 - Saturday, August 1, 2026: Lausanne - Lausanne (137 km)
We start in Switzerland, and it is immediately a beautiful ride. There are a few small hills around Lausanne, but it is mainly the finish that will make the difference. Right in the middle of the city, the riders have to climb 2.6 kilometers at a 4.6 percent gradient. One for the ladies with a powerful sprint, but also solid climbing legs.
Favourites
Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)
Kim Le Court (AG Insurance - Soudal)
Stage 2 - Sunday, August 2, 2026: Aigle - Geneva (149 km)
The second stage starts in Aigle, the headquarters of the UCI. The nearly 150-kilometer ride features some elevation gain, but the flat finish means we are inclined to say that a mass sprint is the most likely outcome. It may well be a rare opportunity.
Favourites
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek)
Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech)
Wiebes won the first stage of the Giro, but was subsequently disqualified.
Stage 3 - Monday, August 3, 2026: Geneva - Poligny (157 km)
Another flat finish, but a much tougher stage than on Monday. The French border will be crossed from Geneva, but soon the riders face an 11.5-kilometer climb of over 6 percent. The hills will continue for a long time. Whether the sprinters can survive this is doubtful: the attackers sense their chance!
Favourites
Célia Gery (FDJ-SUEZ)
Liane Lippert (Movistar)
Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM)
Stage 4 - Tuesday August 4, 2026: Gevrey-Chambertin - Dijon (time trial, 21 km)
A crucial time trial! At 21 kilometers, it isn't very long, but long enough to create differences. A two-kilometer climb at 6.6 percent makes it considerably tougher than a flat time trial. It is certainly not technical, not even on the descent: so it will be a real slog.
Favourites
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime)
Marlen Reusser (Movistar)
Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ)Read also
Stage 5 - Wednesday, August 5, 2026: Mâcon - Bellville-en-Beaujolais (140 km)
A magnificent ride in Burgundy! Over 140 kilometers, we find 2,800 meters of elevation gain. From the start, it is full-on climbing through the hills, with hardly a meter of flat terrain. After no fewer than eight categorized climbs, the final two trials are truly tough, with gradients exceeding fifteen percent. This is going to be a treat!
Favourites
Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech)
Kim Le Court (AG Insurance - Soudal)
Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ)
Stage 6 - Thursday, August 6, 2026: Montbrison - Tournon-sur-Rhône (153 km)
The hilly stages are not over yet. For the real work, we are presented with another stage featuring 2,500 meters of elevation gain. Starting from Montbrison, there are five climbs on the course, although they are somewhat less demanding than those on Wednesday. With Mont Ventoux on the horizon, a chance for a breakaway is plausible.
Favourites
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)
Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ)
Franziska Koch (FDJ-SUEZ)Stage 7 - Friday, August 7, 2026: La Voulte-sur-Rhône - Mont Ventoux (144 km)
Le moment suprème! The women's peloton will climb the Mont Ventoux. After a hilly run of 122 kilometers you arrive in Bedoin, where the most famous (and most difficult?) side of the Bald Mountain is conquered. 15.7 kilometers at almost nine percent: the Tour can be decided here.
Favourites
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ)
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime)
Stage 8 - Saturday, August 8, 2026: Sisteron - Nice (175 km)
We are almost there, but not quite. From Sisteron, we ride to Nice for the first time. It won't be really tough, but we still climb to 1,124 meters. Moreover, there are two small climbs in the last twenty kilometers of the longest stage of the Tour. One for the sprinters, or for the daring attackers?
Favourites
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
Franziska Koch (FDJ-SUEZ)
Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike)Stage 9 - Sunday, August 9, 2026: Nice - Nice (99 km)
The final day, and what a final day it is. Only 99 kilometers long, but with 2,300 meters of elevation gain. The famous Col d'Èze will be climbed no less than four times. It isn't really that tough (7.7 kilometers at 5.9 percent), but with two kilometers averaging 12 percent, the difference can absolutely be made. One last full effort for the yellow jersey? It could very well happen!
Favourites
Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ)
Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ)
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM)
Favourites for the 2026 Tour de France Women's General Classification
After last year's absolute showcase, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) is aiming for her second consecutive Tour victory. The Frenchwoman knows exactly how to prepare for this race, as she demonstrated back then. She was miles ahead of the competition, but will that be the case again now? Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) won just about everything there was to win this year and seems to have crept closer.
It might well be a duel between the two titans, but there are plenty of contenders. Anna van der Breggen came agonisingly close to overall victory in a Grand Tour on two occasions, but was stripped of the leader's jersey on the final day of both the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia. Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE team ADQ) are hoping to regain top form after periods of poor form.
Vollering has stood on the Tour podium every year so far, but there is another rider who pulled that off: Kasia Niewiadoma. The Pole won the 2024 edition and now hopes to finish in the top three for the fifth year in a row. Her teammate Antonia Niedermaier had her breakthrough in the Giro d'Italia and finished second in the general classification. Can she continue that upward trend?
Speaking of upward trends: the revelation of this year is absolutely Paula Blasi. She surprised with her victory in the Amstel Gold Race, but kept winning afterwards: she claimed the Vuelta Femenina, the Tour Féminin des Pyrenées, and the Tour of Catalonia with dominance. She did, however, have a bad fall a month ago. Will she be fit in time for the Tour?
Kim Le Court shone in the Tour last year, and is also climbing better than ever. The AG Insurance - Soudal rider will likely have to do without top climber Sarah Gigante. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) has finished eleventh before, but seems just not quite good enough in the high mountains. Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), on the other hand, is, as evidenced by her fifth place in the Giro.
Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) finished second in the Tour de Suisse. That team also has world champion Magdeleine Vallieres in reserve. Liv AlUla Jayco is counting on Monica Trinca Colonel. As for domestiques who can go far: look at UAE Team ADQ (Maeva Squiban), Visma | Lease a Bike (Femke de Vries), and FDJ-SUEZ (Juliette Berthet and Évita Muzic).
Read also
IDL Pro Cycling Tour de France FEMMES 2026 top picks:
Top favourites: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ)
Outsiders: Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM), Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ), Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and Kim Le Court (AG Insurance - Soudal)
Long shots: Cédrine Kerbaol, Magdeleine Vallieres (EF Education-Oatly), Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//SRAM), Elisa Longo Borghini, Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ), Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Colony), Monica Colony (Team Tricola). Jayco), Femke de Vries (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Juliette Berthet (FDJ-SUEZ)
Read also
David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- - Jorgenson looked poorly mid-race and still animated the third week — if Visma don’t give him real freedom at the Vuelta, what’s the point? Also, is Riccitello really behind Seixas on Decathlon’s depth chart or is that just French media hype? Porque si Riccitello tiene la oportunidad, puede ganar una etapa, fácil.jennifer1927-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “pressure got to Kuss” angle. He’s won at La Vuelta, at the Giro this year, and on big alpine days before. Those were slippery roads and he was pushing the limits. That’s bike racing, not nerves.lindae27-07-2026
- - Simmons did his job for Mads, fair play, but three weeks of torching breakaways for green and zero personal shots feels off. If Lidl-Trek want jerseys, fine — give Quinn one protected day at least. The guy showed winning form at Nationals.julien27-07-2026
- - Quick question: why doesn’t the team time trial count as ending the drought? If Kuss rode it and Visma won, isn’t that still an American winning a Tour stage?gearguru3327-07-2026
- - Brutal for Kuss on Alpe d’Huez. He had the legs, the gap, then two slips in quick succession… you could see the switch flip when Carapaz came past. “Well and alive” is peak Sepp, but that one will sting all winter.pedalpowe2927-07-2026
- - This article leans a touch too much into Plugge’s framing. Where’s the ITA’s explanation on why those specific hours? Without that, it reads like Visma PR. Still, good reporting on the AIGCP angle.lindae27-07-2026
- - Totally agree that the optics are bad, but come on—anti-doping is supposed to be intrusive. Pogačar at 5 a.m. and Vinge at 2 a.m. is messy, yet I’d rather see over-testing than another FestinaJust standardise the timing window, UCI/ITA.samanthak27-07-2026
- - I’m a bit confused—if the ITA told Visma it wasn’t suspicion-based, why did a judge need to approve it? Does that mean there actually was “serious and consistent suspicion,” or is that just legal procedure in France?cadencekingm27-07-2026
- - Great piece. Plugge’s point about consistency is spot on—either test the whole GC top 10 the same night or don’t do night tests at all. Waking Jonas at 2 a.m. before Solaison feels like it could actually impact performance.cyclechamp4527-07-2026
- - Qué final, mon dieu! Van der Poel incroyable, pero también Pogacar con sonrisa de amarillo. Two giants making history.lindae27-07-2026
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