Favorites stage 2 Tour de France Femmes 2025 | Visma | Lease a Bike suddenly looks firmly in control

Another short ride in Brittany, but this time we're going to cross the 100-kilometer mark. From the starting point in Brest, the riders will embark on a 110-kilometer stage. The start is relatively flat, but after about 30 kilometers, the first hills appear. They aren't yet categorized, but they are a sign of what's to come. An intermediate sprint in Châteaulin kicks things off.

After that, it's straight into some serious climbing, with three other categorized climbs to follow. The first (Menez Quelerc'h) is the longest, but the Côte de Locronan is the toughest, at 8.5%. The Côte du Chemin de Trohéir is even tackled twice, although it's not particularly difficult (1.1 km at 5.5%).

But it's never really flat in the north of France. After the first passage of the finish line, there is a sprint for the bonus points on a difficult uphill section, but that is before the real finale. This is set in motion by the Trohéir, which is 4.5 kilometers before the finish. The finish is also tricky: this is where Julian Alaphilippe won the opening stage of the Tour in 2021.

Climbs
50.7 km - Menez Quelerc'h (3 km at 6.2%)
68.4 km - Cote de Locronan (0.8 km at 8.9%)
79.9 km - Cote du Chemin de Trohéir (1.1 km at 5.7%)
105.7 km - Cote du Chemin de Trohéir (1.1 km at 5.7%)

Times
Start: 12:30 PM local time (06:30 AM EDT)
Finish: 3:10 PM local time (09:10 AM EDT)

Another fantastic day of racing for the women. It won't be too hot: the temperature will never exceed 22 or 23 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, the wind will not really play a role in Brittany, mainly because it will be coming from behind.

Many of the names we expect to see in Quimper were also in the opening stage in Plumelec. Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) won that stage, but this stage is a bit tougher. Could it be Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's turn? In any case, the Killer Bees can count on several strong riders. They will have to contend with the very strong Kimberley Le Court (AG Insurance - Soudal).

The surprise in Plumelec was Kasia Niewiadoma. Normally, the Polish rider is not explosive enough on these kinds of finishes, but this time she was in excellent shape. With a slightly more difficult course, the defending champion is a real contender. Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx - Protime) also performed well.

Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) lost more than a minute to the winner and will want to do much better in the second stage. The same goes for Lotte Kopecky, for whom SD Worx - Protime had done all the work. Liane Lippert (Movistar) also wants revenge, but she crashed pretty hard in stage one. It remains to be seen whether she is fit enough.

Lorena Wiebes was also not good enough to follow the best, but we are including the tough European champion in our list of contenders. Other contenders—who may be able to take advantage of a good moment—include women such as Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), Chloé Dygert (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education - Oatly), and Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco).

Top favorite: Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Outsiders: Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), Kimberley Le Court (AG Insurance - Soudal), Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx - Protime) and Kasia Niewiadoma (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto)
Long shots: Chloé Dygert (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx - Protime), Liane Lippert (Movistar), Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco), Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) and Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education - Oatly)