On the fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift, the spotlight and the cameras will mostly be focused on a handful of champions, either destined for the final podium or already familiar with it. Behind the likes of Vollering, Niewiadoma, Kopecky, Van der Breggen, and Ferrand-Prévot, a number of riders have already begun to break through, achieving results that haven’t gone unnoticed by experts or by the very rivals they’ll be battling this summer. They may not be wearing yellow this year, but the official Tour website invites you to discover four women on their way up, each at a different stage of their rise, and each with the potential to shine briefly or lastingly somewhere between Brittany and the Alps. French rider Dilyxine Miermont, Dutch star Puck Pieterse, Mauritian talent Kim Le Court, and New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston have no intention of just making up the numbers.
Dilyxine Miermont: "I want to test myself"
Dilyxine Miermont, 25, is gearing up for her third consecutive Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, this time riding for the Ceratizit team.The French rider is determined to play a key role in the mountains and is especially motivated for the first climbing showdown: Stage 6 links her current hometown of Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert, where her club is based."I joined the club in 2018, when I was a junior, because they had a women’s group. I thought it could be a good environment for my development. And it worked out really well!" she explains. The rider from the Auvergne region only turned professional in 2023, a few months after completing a vocational diploma in notarial studies. "I had started a bachelor’s degree in banking to go into wealth management. I was doing a work-study program, but when I got a contract to go pro, both my boss and the school told me it would be tough to manage. They said I should focus on my cycling career and that there would always be time to come back later!" She doesn’t plan on coming back anytime soon: her career has taken off since then. Just before heading to a training camp in Tignes, she claimed her first Top 10 finish in a WorldTour stage race, 10th at the Itzulia Women. A major milestone. And likely not the last.
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Dilyxine Miermont (Ceratizit Pro Cycling Team) Teams :
Key results :
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift results:
Fun fact: Dilyxine is a truly unique name and with good reason: “My parents made it up! I have no idea where they got the inspiration from,” smiles the rider, who grew up in Rilhac-Xaintrie, a tiny village in Corrèze with just 300 inhabitants, near the border of the Cantal region. Both her parents work in a dairy and cheese factory: “They make everything, cantal, saint-nectaire, all kinds of cheeses!” |
You turned professional in 2023, at the age of 23. Given the current standards in women’s cycling, that seems relatively late nowadays.
It’s true, I didn’t make the leap right after the juniors like some riders do. But I don’t think that’s a problem. In men’s cycling, talent often emerges very early. But for women, I believe the peak comes later. If you look at the riders dominating the scene today, they’re all between 28 and 32 years old.
How do you explain that difference in maturity between men and women?
I think it takes us longer to develop physically, especially in terms of muscle. That’s the main reason, it takes a few seasons to really absorb the training loads. And yes, I took more time to develop than some others. I wanted to go step by step and do things in the right order. When I finished the junior ranks, I didn’t have the opportunity to turn pro. So I kept going in the amateur ranks (Division Nationale), while also studying, two years in sports science (STAPS) before switching to a vocational diploma in notarial studies. That routine suited me just fine. Then at some point, I thought: why not give it a go? But back in 2018, things weren’t nearly as professional as they are now. I wasn’t really envisioning a future in pro cycling. At the time, the priority was education, because in women’s cycling, at the pro level, nobody really knew where it was headed.
“The mountains are where I feel most comfortable.”
So when did you start thinking about making cycling your career?
In 2022. I wanted to give myself every chance to turn pro.
And you succeeded by joining St Michel Mavic Auber 93 the following year. You quickly showed your climbing skills, finishing 15th atop Jebel Hafeet at the UAE Tour. Was that your first breakthrough?
Yes. For a first year, I was happy with that result. I wanted to discover myself, see where I stood, and learn more about my strengths. It opened doors for me and made me realize that I’m more of a climber than a puncheur. The mountains are definitely where I feel most at ease, much more than on flat terrain or in Belgian races (laughs).
In your first pro season, you rode the Tour, which started in your hometown, Clermont-Ferrand.
It was both amazing and really tough! For a first Tour, you have no idea what you’re getting into. The pressure is huge. And with the media attention, it was pressure times ten! It was hard to handle everything.
You finished 55th on the Tourmalet, a result far from what you hoped for.
Yes, the pressure drained all my energy. On the first day when I crossed the line, I thought, “I’m empty, I can’t do this for eight more stages!” I crashed on day two, which made things even harder. So it was a quiet Tour for me. But I was still happy to finish it in my first pro year.
Your results at Jebel Hafeet seem to reflect your progress: 15th in 2023, 12th in 2024, and 7th this year, ahead of all the French champions (Ferrand-Prévot, Labous, Kerbaol…).
Yes, it’s a climb I really like! That kind of effort, between 30 and 40 minutes, is what suits me best.
The longer the climb, the better?
Yes and no, because it can’t be too long either! I haven’t yet had the chance to test myself on long mountain passes in races. But I know I like Jebel Hafeet! In February, I was happy and satisfied with my climb. Still, I was a little disappointed because I lost time the day before during a crosswind stage. That cost me a good overall result, 29th. I reflected on that, it’s a shame to do a great climb but end up with a poor general classification. But overall, it was a good sign for what’s next.
Regarding the Tour, does the climb to La Madeleine seem a bit long for your current abilities?
We’ll see! I’m currently in Tignes for a three-week training camp in June, working on long climbs, so that will definitely help. But racing is always different!
Your 2024 season was less successful than 2023.
Yes, I had a lot of crashes. I suffered a bone bruise on my knee, then broke both wrists, my left scaphoid and ligaments in my right wrist, in the same crash at the Tour of Britain. I came back for the Tour but then broke my elbow in a crash on stage two. I’d already had a season marked by crashes, but this was too much. Still, I tried to keep my spirits up for the rest of the season.
“I still want to give myself time to grow.”
Despite everything, you managed to join the German team Ceratizit and the World Tour after that season. Was reaching that level necessary to keep progressing?
Yes, I wanted to move up to the World Tour because there are more races than in Continental teams. And I wanted to test myself at that level. They approached me in March. The feeling was good, and here I am!
General classifications, is that the area where you want to shine, both now and in the future?
Yes. I’d like to get good GC results. But I’m still young. This is only my third year, and I still want to give myself time to grow, progress, and see how far I can go.
Where do you place yourself among the climbers? Let’s take the climb to La Madeleine as an example.
Honestly, I’m not really sure! The Tour is tough, anything can happen, and everyone is at their top level. I don’t want to put pressure on myself thinking, “I absolutely have to do this!” But yes, I want to have a good Tour de France with a strong result.
You had a setback with a crash at Strade Bianche…
Yes, they told me I had a fractured elbow. But when I got back to Clermont, I checked and it was actually an acromioclavicular dislocation, not a fracture. I had to rest, but everything quickly got back to normal. For my comeback in El Salvador, I was able to claim my first pro victory. That was great mentally and reassuring physically!
Your form improved steadily, because after the Ardennes Classics (38th at La Flèche, 34th at Liège), you followed up with two strong results at the Itzulia Women (10th) and the Tour of Norway (7th).
I was a bit sick toward the end of Itzulia and into Norway. But physically, I was still pretty good, which saved me. I think that’s a good sign!
What do you feel you still need to reach the next level and compete with the best?
I think I still lack a bit of experience and a few more years in the peloton to get stronger. I have room to progress on several points, I can still increase my training load. And like everyone, I dream of winning races in the medium to long term!
