- In just over a week, on Saturday 26th July, the fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will start from Vannes, in Morbihan (Brittany), with a peloton of 154 riders (22 teams of 7 riders) looking stronger than ever.
- The three women who fought for victory on the enthralling final stage last year are preparing for battle again: the defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma (1st), Demi Vollering (2nd) and Pauliena Rooijakkers (3rd).
- The 2023 winner Demi Vollering will attempt to reclaim her crown with a new team, the FDJ-Suez outfit. The Dutchwoman will face her former teammate, world champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), as well as her former coach Anna van der Breggen, who has come out of retirement to try to win the Yellow Jersey, a dream that Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma | Lease a Bike) also pursues.
- Candidates for the first Yellow Jersey in Brittany, sprinters Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) and Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) are among the many stars also confirmed to race. As is Charlotte Kool (Picnic PostNL), winner of the first two stages last year.
VOLLERING, NIEWIADOMA, ROIJAKKERS… MEMORIES OF LAST SUMMER
It was a year ago, but it feels like it was yesterday, the moment was so remarkable. Three women in a merciless fight, in the legendary setting of Alpe d'Huez, with Demi Vollering winning the final stage but missing out on the Yellow Jersey to Kasia Niewiadoma by just 4", while Pauliena Rooijakkers was only 10" behind… The historic outcome of the 2024 edition remains in everyone's minds as the next episode of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift gets underway. The three women who stood on the closest podium in the history of the Tour will be present at the Grand Depart of the fourth edition, on Saturday 26th July in Vannes, in Morbihan. Vollering, winner in 2023 and triumphant at La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es this spring, is arriving as the big favorite.
THE RETURN OF KOPECKY AND LONGO BORGHINI
The fight for the final victory is not expected to be played out solely by just that triumvirate. Focused on the Olympic Games last year, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) is making her return to an event she made her mark on in 2023 (six days in yellow, 2nd place overall).
But this is the first time the double world champion will ride against (rather than with) Demi Vollering on the Tour. The latter has just joined FDJ-Suez, a new force which also counts on the services of strong French pair Evita Muzic (4th last year) and Juliette Labous (5th in 2023) and French champion Marie Le Net. A last-minute withdrawal last year, Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team AQD) is making progress with the firm intention of finally reaching the podium (6th in 2022). The Italian champion is in great form. She has just won her second consecutive Giro d'Italia Women ahead of two other outsiders who will be eager for the Tour to commence: Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal Team), as well as Gigante’s teammate Kim Le Court- Pienaar, winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège Women.
A BIG FIRST FOR VAN DER BREGGEN AND FERRAND-PRÉVOT
Meanwhile, Kopecky, although out of form in the Giro (abandonment), will form a highly talented duo alongside Anna Van der Breggen. A former four-time winner of the Giro d'Italia, an Olympic champion and two-time world champion, 35-year-old Dutchwoman Van der Breggen has come out of retirement to fight for the Yellow Jersey. Her third place in La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es shows that she will be a force to be reckoned with. Amongst the French fans, all eyes are on another returning rider. A year after her Olympic mountain bike victory, back on the road in 2025, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot will be competing in her first Tour, driven by the ultimate dream of winning it one day. Could it be this year? Her ability to perform in the high mountains remains unknown, but the Champagne native has proven that she is already at the level of the very best on other terrains, as seen with her victory at Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift.
THE BIG SPRINTERS ARE READY TO GO
At Visma-Lease a Bike, Ferrand-Prevot will team up with Marianne Vos, who dreams of regaining the Yellow Jersey she wore in 2022. The Dutchwoman is one of the big favorites for the first stage between Vannes and Plumelec, with competition from the best sprinter in the world Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime). Charlotte Kool (Picnic PostNL), winner of the first two stages in the Netherlands last year, will also be one to watch during the bunch sprints. In Brittany, the local rider Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) will be well supported, looking to build on her 4th place at La Vuelta, after her 6th place overall and her stage victory in Morteau at last year’s Tour.
22 teams & the main riders entering the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
Australia
Liv AlUla Jayco: Mavi Garcia (Esp), Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita), Letizia Paternoster (Ita)
Belgium
AG Insurance – Soudal Team: Kim Le Court- Pienaar (Mri), Sarah Gigante (Aus), Justine Ghekiere (Bel)
Fenix-Deceuninck: Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned), Puck Pieterse (Ned), Yara Kastelijn (Ned)
France
Arkea-B&B Hotels Women: Valentina Cavallar (Aut), Lotte Claes (Bel)
Cofidis: Victoire Berteau (Fra), Julie Bego (Fra)
FDJ-Suez: Demi Vollering (Ned), Evita Muzic (Fra), Juliette Labous (Fra), Elise Chabbey (Sui), Ally Wollaston (Nzl), Marie Le Net (Fra)
St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93: Segolene Thomas (Fra)
Winspace Orange Seal: Nadia Gontova (Can), Karolina Perkitko (Pol)
Germany
Canyon//Sram Zondracrypto: Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den), Chloe Dygert (Usa), Neve Bradbury (Aus)
Ceratizit Pro Cycling Team: Sarah Van Dam (Can), Dilyxine Miermont (Fra)
Netherlands
SD Worx-Protime Team: Lotte Kopecky (Bel), Anna van der Breggen (Ned), Mischa Bredewold (Ned), Blanka Vas (Hun), Lorena Wiebes (Ned)
Picnic Team PostNL: Charlotte Kool (Ned), Marta Cavalli (Ita), Pfeiffer Georgi (Gbr)
Team Visma | Lease a bike: Marianne Vos (Ned), Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Fra), Marion Bunel (Fra)
VolkerWessels Cycling Team: Scarlett Souren (Ned), Eline Jansen (Ned)
Norway
Uno-X Mobility: Katrine Aalerud (Nor), Mie Bjorndal Ottestad (Nor), Linda Zanetti (Sui), Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita)
Switzerland
Roland Le Devoluy: Petra Stiasny (Sui)
Spain
Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi: Usoa Ostolaza (Esp), Ane Santesteban (Esp)
Movistar Team: Marlen Reusser (Sui), Liane Lippert (Ger)
United Arab Emirates
UAE Team ADQ: Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita), Silvia Persico (Ita), Maeva Squiban (Fra), Eleonora Gasparrini (Ita)
United States
EF Education-Oatly: Cedrine Kerbaol (Fra), Kristen Faulkner (Usa), Alison Jackson (Can), Noemi Ruegg (Sui), Letizia Borghesi (Ita)
Human Powered Health: Thalita de Jong (Ned), Barbara Malcotti (Ita)
Lidl-Trek: Elisa Balsamo (Ita), Emma Norsgaard (Den), Elizabeth Deignan (Gbr), Lucinda Brand (Ned), Niam Fisher-Black (Nzl), Shirin van Anrooij (Ned)
