Favorites stage 3 Tour de France Femmes 2025 | Who can beat Wiebes in the first sprint opportunity?

The start is in La Gacilly, in the south of Brittany. In the third stage, we will leave the northern province, but that will only be halfway through the stage. Before entering the Pays de la Loire, the ladies will have to conquer the only categorized climb. Fortunately, the Côte de la Richardière is a simple climb, and at 106 meters, it is also the highest point of the day.

The route will continue in a south-easterly direction. The road is hilly, but never really difficult. There are quite a few open fields in the north of France, but the wind is not strong enough to play a role. An intermediate sprint about 40 kilometers from the finish is the only thing worth mentioning before the finish.

The finish line is in Angers. Things will get tricky in the capital of the department: the final stretch is full of twists and turns. After crossing the Maine River, the riders will have to deal with three right-angle turns in the final kilometer. On top of that, the final kilometer is also uphill, although not very steep; it will still burn in the legs.

Climbs
34.1 km - Côte de la Richardière (1.7 km at 4.6%)

Times
Start: 1:55 PM local time (07:55 AM EDT)
Finish: 5:45 PM local time (11:45 AM EDT)

Similar weather to the previous days: 23 to 25 degrees, with a gentle northwesterly wind. This will mainly be from behind. No rain, so another fantastic day on the bike!

After a few days for the punchers and even the favorites for the GC, it is now time for the pure sprinters. And then, of course, we look to Lorena Wiebes. The SD Worx-Protime sprinter is the top favorite, especially with the withdrawal of rival Charlotte Kool, who won two stages last year. The European champion is by far the woman to beat, especially after her strong performance in stage 2.

Who can beat her? Maybe Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike), who's still one of the fastest women in the peloton, but after two challenging stages over the weekend, she might not want to get involved. If so, the biggest challenge will likely come from Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek). The former world champion is always one of the fastest in the sprint, but she often has to settle for second place behind Wiebes.

After Kool's withdrawal, Picnic PostNL can target Megan Jastrab or Rachele Barbieri. Uno-X Mobility will ride for the fast Swiss rider Linda Zanetti, while VolkerWessels has a fast woman in Lonneke Uneken. Amalie Dideriksen (Cofidis) may have seen better days, but she did become world champion in Qatar.

Marjolein van 't Geloof (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) finished fourth in Gent-Wevelgem this year, so she's worth keeping an eye on. UAE Team ADQ is targeting Lara Gillespie, while the FDJ-SUEZ team, led by Demi Vollering, has a fast rider in Ally Wollaston. Other contenders include Agnieszka Skalniak-Sojka (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), Marthe Truyen (Fenix-Deceuninck), Gladys Verhulst-Wild (AG Insurance-Soudal), and Lily Williams (Human Powered Health).

Top favorite: Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
Outsiders: Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike), Linda Zanetti (Uno-X Mobility), Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) and Gladys Verhulst-Wild (AG Insurance - Soudal)
Long shots: Marjolein van 't Geloof (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Amalie Dideriksen (Cofidis), Agnieszka Skalniak-Sojka (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), Marthe Truyen (Fenix-Deceuninck), Lily Williams (Human Powered Health), Lonneke Uneken (VolkerWessels) and Rachele Barbieri (Picnic PostNL).