. The finest riders in women’s cycling are already in Switzerland, getting ready for the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. From the Grand Départ in Lausanne to the conclusion in the French Riviera, they will have nine stages to fight for the Yellow Jersey - including a demanding ITT in Dijon, the iconic climb to the Mont Ventoux, and an exciting finale in Nice.
. Three former winners of the race are the obvious favorites for the overall victory: defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, 2024 victor Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney, and the number one rider in the UCI World Ranking, Demi Vollering. Yet they will also face formidable challengers such as Anna van der Breggen, Marlen Reusser - and many others!
. The first Maillot Jaune will be hotly contested in the uphill finish atop the Côte Saint-François in Lausanne. The Netherlands have two candidates in Marianne Vos and Lorena Wiebes, while French national champion Célia Gery is an interesting outsider and all local hopes will be placed on Noemi Rüegg claiming a breakthrough victory on August 1st, Swiss National Day.
ONTO A NEW TOUR: “THEY WILL NEED TO GO ON THE ATTACK”
The 147 riders set to participate in the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift are already in Lausanne, getting ready for the many challenges awaiting them between now and the finish in Nice on 9 August. Nine stages, 1,174.7 kilometres of racing, 18,775 meters of elevation gain. From the Grand Départ in Switzerland to the finale in the French Riviera, the course should make for an impressive spectacle with many different scenarios for riders to play their cards.
Race director Marion Rousse introduces the course for us. “We begin with an uphill finish at the Côte Saint-François, where Wout van Aert won a stage in the 2022 Tour de France. Next up, Stage 2 from Aigle to Geneva is meant for sprinters.” The spell in Switzerland will conclude the following day, when the riders will leave Geneva and head to Poligny through the Jura range. “We start by climbing the first real mountain of this Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, so I’d say this one is for the ‘baroudeuses’ [attackers].” Then comes the time for the time triallists to stand out in the 21 kilometres between Gévrey-Chambertin and Dijon (Stage 4). “It will create some gaps and change how the race is ridden by certain cyclists who will need to go on the attack in order to regain the time they may lose here.” Particularly suited for this is the “Classics-style” Stage 5 to Belleville-en-Beaujolais, as well as Stage 7 summit finish atop Mont Ventoux: “It’s difficult to find a better place for a cycling race, be it for the myth around this mountain or for the challenge it represents.” Stage 9 in Nice is the final chance for riders to turn the race upside down. “With four laps around the Col d’Èze, including the climb up the Chemin du Vinaigrier in the last one, there is enough terrain to reshape the standings that day.”
PAULINE FERRAND-PRÉVOT IS READY: “I PICK MY BATTLES”
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s last victory dates back to 3 August 2025, nearly one full year ago, when she won in Châtel wearing the Yellow Jersey. Now she is back on Alpine roads, hoping to successfully defend her triumph in the last Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. “Since the beginning of the season, my goal has been to be at my 100% in the Tour,” asserts the leader of the Visma | Lease a Bike team, who finished 3rd at Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France back in April. “I’m not the kind of rider who can and wants to perform all season long. I pick my battles and I commit to my plans, so I can be in top shape when the one, big goal comes. It’s true I haven’t won any races this season as of yet, but I'm really happy with how everything has gone.”
“I feel ready, physically and mentally. Everything in the preparation has gone according to plan,” says the French rider, who has done several altitude training camps and has carefully prepared the ITT on Stage 4. “It's a totally different Tour de France. And as I often say, I like to know where I put my wheels. I went several times to Mont Ventoux, just to do recon rides. And I’m very happy to finish in Nice.” She lives there, in the French Riviera, a big part of the year. “I ride up this year’s main climb almost every day. I would love to go back to this road after the Tour and think that I did my best here.”
DEMI VOLLERING EXPECTING “MAD, VERY EXCITING TOUR”
Being the number one rider in the UCI World Ranking as she already was in 2023 and 2025, Demi Vollering is an obvious favorite for the win in the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The Yellow Jersey is high up in her list of priorities as she has only conquered it once (2023), having to settle for second place in the other three editions in which she has contested. Still, the FDJ United-Suez rider feels confident ahead of this Grande Boucle after enjoying “a perfect season so far” with victories at the Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne Femmes, Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes and the Giro. “We could only dream of a campaign like this, and it helps us come into this race in a rather relaxed mood. We have nothing to prove.” The Dutch star has a clear idea of how the race may unfold: “It’s going to be a mad, very exciting Tour. The Yellow Jersey may change hands many times, and I hope to wear it after the final stage. We need to be very focused every day, as we have seen in the last few years how things can change so fast in the Tour de France.” Vollering counts on a very strong FDJ United-Suez squad, fully devoted to support her ambitions with solid climbers like Juliette Berthet and Évita Muzic and powerhouses like Franziska Koch or Célia Gery.
EXPERIENCE SPEAKS: “IT’S ALL ABOUT SEIZING CHANCES”
Experience will be crucial to master the nine stages and hopefully reign supreme on the French Riviera. Along with Ferrand-Prévot and Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//Sram) is the other former winner of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift aiming to win it again this summer. “We are here to win the Yellow Jersey”, the Polish star asserted again on Friday, before offering an analysis of the race dynamics she expects: “I accept that I will lose time to riders like Marlen [Reusser], Anna [van der Breggen] or Demi [Vollering] in the time trial, so it’s all about finding opportunities elsewhere. And I feel like there’s plenty of them, so it’s all about seizing chances and not being too shy.” On Mont Ventoux particularly, “I don’t believe everyone will be waiting for the final kilometres to make their decisive move. We can expect a hard start, and then survival.”
Another supremely experienced and talented rider, Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) also envisions an open battle for nine days as she aims for the Yellow Jersey after wearing the red jersey of La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es (2nd overall in the end) and the pink jersey of the Giro d’Italia Women (3rd) earlier this year: “If you look at the stages, you can say there isn’t one single easy day. We have to keep as much energy as possible until the final stage, which is one of the hardest - and that’s quite tough in a stage race. The most important thing is handling every day alright and having a good recovery between stages.”
SWISS NATIONAL DAY TO BE SWISS RIDERS GLORY DAY?
Every August 1st since the 19th century, Switzerland commemorates the anniversary of the signing of its Federal Charter back in 1291. This year, the national holiday will coincide with the Grand Départ of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift from Lausanne, and might as well celebrate local talents like EF Education-Oatly’s Noemi Rüegg or Movistar Team’s Marlen Reusser. “It’s a super special occasion," asserts the latter, “especially as this is the very first Tour de France that I properly target as a rider, making it the main focus of my season.” The current ITT world champion wants to finish high up in the GC, yet she also has her eyes set on those 21 km between Gévrey-Chambertin and Dijon (Stage 4) where she can make her rainbow jersey shine. “I’m happy there is a time trial in this Tour, because I believe every grand tour should have at least one. As for this particular ITT, I reconned the course after my crash in the Tour of Flanders and I liked it because it has a bit of everything, with some technical sections and a demanding climb.”
As for Rüegg, she is an outright favorite to claim the first leader jersey in the uphill finish at Lausanne’s Côte Saint-François (2.6 km at 4.6%) as she already achieved earlier this year in the opening stage of La Vuelta Femenina 26 by Carrefour.es. “Ever since they announced that the Tour was starting in my home country, this race has been a super big goal for me,” says the EF rider. “It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. The first two stages suit me really well so that makes it even more exciting.” Rüegg and Reusser will be the two only Swiss riders in the peloton, yet there are other women in the startlist with close ties with this country. For instance, current road race world champion Magdeleine Vallières began her European racing career thanks to the UCI World Cycling Centre located in Aigle, start town of Stage 2. “It will be super cool to race around Aigle. It was my home for two years and it will be really nice to race somewhere so familiar.” And, to top things off, she will do it in the rainbow jersey!
MANY OPPORTUNISTS HUNTING FOR GLORY WITH THEIR “SECRET WEAPONS”
Most of the riders participating in this Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift believe that the race is set to be wide open for opportunists to not just pick up scraps from the favorites’ table, but to seize whole portions of glory. “The course is designed for puncheurs, rather than for pure climbers,” says Jolien d’Hoore, DS for AG Insurance-Soudal. On their ranks is one of the most explosive riders in the women’s peloton, Kim Le Court, already a stage winner and Yellow Jersey wearer in 2025. “The Tour is looking really good, with Classics vibes everyday,” says the Mauritian rider. “First we’ll chase stages, and we also want to aim for the highest result overall. The top 5 is our target, and anything above is a bonus. But we’ll take things as they come. We’re not the team that everyone looks at, we’re a bit more underdogs.”
And the same can be said about UAE Team L’Imad, despite entering Italian legend and 2025 Giro winner Elisa Longo Borghini, and Spanish rising star and La Vuelta Femenina surprise victor Paula Blasi. How will they play their cards? “No one knowing our strategy is our secret weapon, so we rather keep it secret,” hints the team captain and bona-fide domestique Brodie Chapman. With two of the main breakout riders from last year’s Tour also in their squad, Dominika Wlodarczyk (4th overall) and Maëva Squiban (winner of two mountain stages), their possibilities are endless.
“It’s important to start on a good note,” insists SD Worx-Protime’s Lorena Wiebes, who dreams of claiming the first Maillot Jaune as she did in 2023. “Looking back at this experience, I will enjoy it even more if I’m able to wear it one more time. It’s a big goal for our team… And then we can try to keep it as long as possible, but probably not with me.” The Dutch team counts on the aforementioned Anna van der Breggen, as well as Lotte Kopecky, Mischa Bredewold, and a strong support cast.
Last but not least in this recap of the many challengers hoping to score an excellent result in this edition of the women’s Grande Boucle, there is Fenix-Premier Tech’s Puck Pieterse, one of the stand-out riders back in 2024 when she won a stage and brought home the white jersey. “I will take the race day by day, and play my chances when the time is right.” That ‘time’ might come as soon as in the first stage. “We don't know yet if it will be for a sprinter or for a puncheur, so many of us have our eyes set on that Yellow Jersey…”
THE FUTURE IS ALREADY PRESENT AT THE 2026 TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES AVEC ZWIFT
“Winning the Tour is a dream for me. Gaining some experience this year is a good step towards that.” Those words come from Lidl-Trek’s Isabella Holmgren, winner of last year’s Tour de l’Avenir and best young rider of the 2026 Giro d’Italia, yet they could also belong to any of the riders mentioned in these paragraphs, all of them contenders for the white jersey that this year will be contested by all riders born from 1 January 2003 onwards. Among them are the defending champion of this competition, Nienke Vinke (SD Worx-Protime), as well as Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//SRAM - 2nd overall at the Giro), Marion Bunel (Visma | Lease a Bike - 3rd overall and best young rider at La Vuelta Femenina), Lore de Schepper (AG Insurance-Soudal - 2nd best young rider at both the Giro and the Vuelta) and Paula Blasi (UAE Team L’Imad - overall winner of the Vuelta). “My numbers say that I am in my best shape ever, but then the race is a completely different story,” says the Spanish rider. “I come into the Tour with a lot of confidence, and high expectations.”
Three current World champions in the youth ranks are entering the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The youngest of them, and also the youngest rider in the startlist at 19 years and 201 days old, is Movistar Team’s Paula Ostiz, who holds the junior road race World and European titles. A collector of rainbow jerseys both on the track, on the mud and on the road, current U23 ITT World champion Zoe Backstedt is hoping to show her credentials in Stage 4. “Time trialling is the one thing that suits me the most, so I think it’s going to be my favourite stage of the whole race, and it’s where I want to shine.” Last but not least is the U23 road race World champion, and current French national champion at just 20 years old, Célia Gery. The FDJ United-Suez rider was touted by none other than the GOAT Marianne Vos as a candidate to claim the first Yellow Jersey: “Célia is very punchy and very fast at the finish, but also very good with positioning. She knows how to race and will definitely be one to watch for the opening stage. I’m very curious to see how she’ll do in this Tour de France.”
