"I was up at 5.45 am and I was eating rice at six, so it was very early," the final victor of La Course, SDWorx's Demi Vollering, said before the start of the race she would go on to win. 

Clearly, as inhumane as shovelling platefuls of Basmati down your gullet as the sun is coming up is, it did the trick, the early wake-up calls the women's peloton have become accustomed to at ASO races one fewer as next year, finally, as the women's race will actually be called the Tour de France and expanded to a seven-day affair rather than one.

"I think we're all very excited about having a Tour de France, even if it's just a week long," Lizzie Deignan told Cycling Weekly, also explaining she just didn't have the legs today to defend her title after winning last year in Nice. "I think it's a good, important next step. It's a sustainable step, probably. Hopefully, it'll lead on to a full three-week Tour."

"The Tour de France Femmes is coming! I mean, it's going to be HUGE!" Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig said in typically ebullient fashion, conducting the first part of the interview herself, explaining how she rode to second-place behind Vollering, ecstatic to have outsprinted Marianne Vos on the uphill finish. "No really, even if you don't know cycling, you know what the Tour de France is, what the yellow jersey is. Everyone. Even my grandma."

>>> Contract talk, leadership and legs: A Tour de France with more questions than answers for Geraint Thomas

Completing laps of a finishing circuit that shared the same climb as the men's race in the afternoon, fans were at the roadside early to cheer the women across as they split up on the uphill before coming back together again.

The 2022 women's Tour will set off from Paris as the men arrive, a stand-alone race, in which Vollering says she wants race organisers to include the big mountains as well as a team time trial.

Deignan says she would only truly be bothered by the early wake-up call if it was the World Championships or the Olympics, showing the lack of importance the top riders place on their Tour event, which hopefully is about to change.

"I have a two-year-old so I felt like I had an advantage. But it's not ideal obviously," Deignan said. "Everybody's in the same boat. As much as they'd like to think it is, it's not the World Championships or the Olympics so we can handle it. I wouldn't want to be doing that on the biggest race of the year."

For DSM's Coryn Rivera, she takes the week before to specifically ready herself for the change of schedule to make sure she arrives at the start line for La Course in top form.

"At this rate, we're pretty used to ASO races that start at eight o'clock, like the Ardennes," she explained. "So it's nothing new for us.

"Personally, I'm not an early bird so I have to mentally prepare myself. Normally, the week before, I start waking up early and try going to bed early as well because that's not really my strong suit."

The last word, as it should be, is left to Uttrup Ludwig.

"I need to have a chat with ASO about getting up that early. I would like to sleep more."

Another breathless edition of La Course was won by new Dutch superstar Demi Vollering after excellent work from her SD Worx squad.

The 24-year-old was barely visible throughout the race, hiding in the wheels, coming to the fore only in the final where world champion and team-mate Anna van der Breggen led her out. Patient, Vollering sat on the wheel of Jumbo-Visma’s Marianne Vos who finished third, with Cecile Uttrup Ludwig in between in second place.

The race never settled, with action throughout the nearly three hours, and a 12 woman breakaway was only caught in the final four kilometres. Canyon-SRAM set up the final climb with an attack from Tiffany Cromwell with Kasia Niewiadoma leading a group of seven up the climb, but the pace eased and another group seemed to be coming back.

>>> Tour de France live: Updates from the punchy opening stage in the 2021 edition

With 500m to go Van der Breggen kicked hard, forcing Vos to follow and use her kick too early.

Vollering has improved immensely since joining SDWorx at the start of the year. On Saturday she clearly learnt from earlier mistakes, turning the tables on Vos after losing out to her compatriot at Amstel Gold Race.

She now also leads the individual standings of the UCI Women’s WorldTour.

How it happened 

Created in 2014 as a precursor to a full women’s stage race, La Course began life running alongside the final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs Elysées, Marianne Vos winning the opening edition.

Despite the clamour, a stage race failed to materialise until the recent announcement that the Tour de France Femmes would finally happen in 2022, so this year’s La Course has special significance as possibly the last.

Starting at 8.20 am riders were forced from their beds in the middle of the night to ensure they were properly prepared for what is one of the highest-profile races in the women’s sport. And they were to take on a 107.7km race in the rolling Brittany countryside.

Rolling out of Brest for an opening 54km leg, they joined a circuit of 14km which they would ride in full three times, including the ascent of Côte de la Fosse aux Loups, a 3.1km climb with ramps of 14%, the finish coming after 1000m of false flat.

The opening kilometres were punctuated by attacks from Stade Rochelais-Charente Maritime and Arkéa teams, the French squads showing themselves in their home race. Of the WorldTour teams SD Worx were most aggressive, 2018 world champion Chantal van den Broek-Blaak constantly attacking.

It was one of the French teams who were successful in getting away though, Arkéa’s Cedrine Kerbaol building a lead of one minute. Not for long though, as teams tried to get across before arriving at the closing circuit.

Eventually, the young French woman was joined by Elena Pirrone (Valcar Travel and Service), and while that brought the gap down it extended back out to 50 seconds, with Lara Vieceli (Ceratizit-WNT) chasing in between.

On the climb for the first of four ascents, Kerbaol was dropped and Pirrone crossed the line with a lead approaching 30 seconds as the thinned peloton became increasingly nervous behind.

On the descent that nervousnesses became action as Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo) led an attack, catching Pirrone and forming a group of 12 at the front.

But as they reached the bottom of the climb for the second time Van der Breggen attacked the bunch, dragging it across to the leaders, only for another group of 12, including some of the same riders to head up the road.

With all the biggest teams represented in that leading dozen, the peloton relaxed and the gap went out to 1.10 as they headed onto the climb for the penultimate time. However, once again that brought action, French champion Evita Muzic attacking the bunch when her FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope team-mate, Brodie Chapman was temporarily distanced from the leading group.

Muzic was left stranded in no-woman’s-land though and she was caught with eight kilometres remaining, with the gap to the front them at 40 seconds, making for a tense final. However, when Jumbo-Visma came to the front on the final approach to Landerneau and the climb the gap tumbled, the leaders caught just before they hit the final ascent of the climb.

ResultLa Course by Le Tour de France: Brest to Landernau (107.7km)

1. Demi Vollering (Ned) SDWorx in 2-50-29
2. Cecilie Uttrup (Den) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
3.  Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo Visma
4. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SDWorx
5. Grace Brown (Aus) BikeExchange
6. Kasia Niewiadoma  (Pol) Canyon-SRAM
7. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Liv Racing
8. Liane Lippert (Ger) DSM all at same time
9. Lizzie Deignan (Gbr) Trek-Segafredo at 04 seconds
10. Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) Liv Racing

La Course, by Le Tour de France, will take place on Saturday, June 26 with a 107.7km course from Brest to Landerneau over similar roads to the opening stage of the men's race.

The eighth La Course was originally going to be taking place on the route of stage two of the Tour which took in two passages of the Mûr de Bretagne but local elections have meant that the race had to be moved to the opening stage of the Tour de France.

The race used to take place on the Champs Élysées on the final stage of the Tour de France but the race has since ventured around the country taking in varying terrain with last year's race seeing Britain's Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) taking the win ahead of then-defending champion Marianne Vos (then CCC-Liv) and now Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Demi Vollering (then Parkhotel Valkenburg).

The finishing circuit is designed to try and bring the same outcome as the originally planned route around the Mûr de Bretagne with a tough 14km circuit taken on three times with the short climb of the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups at 3km with an average gradient of 5.7 per cent.

The steepest gradient comes right at the end of the climb with a kick of 14 per cent that will likely be the launchpad for any attacks.

La Course, which is a UCI Women's WorldTour event, was originally added to the calendar by ASO, the Tour de France organisers, in 2014 to answer the growing demand for a women's Tour. 

The first three editions consisted of this kermesse-style race in Paris. In 2017, the event progressed to comprise of two days - the second being a 'pursuit' style handicap time trial.

Handicapping the world-class women's peloton in the style of a local league Thursday night race didn't go down so well, so in 2018 it was back down to just one day - held 48-hours after the final stage of the Giro Rosa.

The one day format remains for 2021 but it is unclear whether the race will continue as well as the Tour. The Tour de France Femmes has officially been announced the be taking place just after the men's race in 2022 over eight stages.

The women's Tour de France was also announced to be partnered with Zwift as the main sponsor as the race looks to build towards a big future in women's racing.

Joining the newly reinstated WorldTour race of RideLondon, which is now a stage race for the women as well as the Battle of the North taking place in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, it should be an exciting season in 2022.

La Course 2021 route, Brest to Landerneau (107.7km)

La Course 2021 is going to be a war of attrition on the sharp climbs that pepper this shark-tooth profile. At least 25 noticeable climbs on the profile with 14 climbs likely to cause issues in the bunch.

As well the route being vicious is also has a hilltop finish to really sap the legs right at the end of the day. Albeit, a very short day. But the fact that the race is short means that there should be explosive racing, even without riders like Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) who will skip La Course and the Giro Rosa to focus on the Olympic Games.

La Course 2021 TV guide

The race will be covered on Eurosport, GCN+ and ITV4 in the UK with Eurosport Player and GCN+ offering uninterrupted coverage from stage to finish.

La Course 2021: Past winners

2014: Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank-Liv Women Cycling Team
2015: Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Rabobank-Liv Women Cycling Team
2016: Chloe Hosking (Aus) Wiggle-High5
2017: Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Orica-Scott
2018: Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott
2019: Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv
2020: Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Trek-Segafredo

La Course 2021 start list

Team BikeExchange

SPRATT Amanda
ROY Sarah
WILLIAMS Georgia
BROWN Grace
SANTESTEBAN Ane

Movistar Team

BIANNIC Aude
PATIÑO Paula Andrea
AALERUD Katrine
THOMAS Leah
GUTIÉRREZ Sheyla
MARTIN Sara

Team DSM

LIPPERT Liane
RIVERA Coryn
MACKAIJ Floortje
LABOUS Juliette
PEPERKAMP Esmée
KIRCHMANN Leah

Trek-Segafredo 

DEIGNAN Lizzie
BRAND Lucinda
CORDON-RAGOT Audrey
VAN ANROOIJ Shirin
WINDER Ruth
WILES Tayler

Team Jumbo-Visma

VOS Marianne
HENDERSEON Anna
KRAAK Amber
SWINKELS Karlijn
MARKUS Riejanne
KOSTER Anouska

Alé-BTC-Ljubljana

BASTIANELLI Marta
BUJAK Eugenia
GUDERZO Tatiana
TREVISI Anna
BOOGAARD Maaike
TOMASI Laura

Bizkaia-Durango

HOLDEN Elizabeth
ALONSO Sandra
BLANCO Iurani
GILABERT Ariana
FORTIN Emilie
CAMPOS Daniela

SD Worx

VAN DER BREGGEN Anna
VAN DEN BROEK-BLAAK Chantal
VOLLERING Demi
FISHER-BLACK Niamh
FOURNIER Roxane
NOSKOVÁ Nikola

Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling

LACH Marta
CONFALONIERI Maria Giulia
VIECELI Lara
RIJKES Sarah
ASENCIO Laura
HAMMES Kathrin

Canyon-SRAM Racing

NIEWIADOMA Kasia
BARNES Hannah
CHABBEY Elise
CROMWELL Tiffany
SHAPIRA Omer
HARVEY Mikayla

FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope

LUDWIG Cecile Uttrup
CAVALLI Marta
CHAPMAN Brodie
FAHLIN Emilia
MUZIC Évita
DUVAL Eugénie

Liv Racing

DEMEY Valerie
ROOIJAKKERS Pauliena
PALADIN Soraya
BERTIZZOLO Sofia
KOREVAAR Jeanne
STULTIENS Sabrina

Rally Cycling

KOPPENBURG Clara
DOEBEL-HICKOK Kristabel
FRANZ Heidi
POIDEVIN Sara
BRECK Holly
CLOUSE Katie

Parkhotel-Valkenburg

DE GAST Belle
LIMPENS Pien
BUYSMAN Nina
GERRITSE Femke
RAAIJMAKERS Marit
VAN BOKHOVEN Julia

A.R. Monex Women's Pro Cycling Team

RAGUSA Katia
TEOLIS Jade
SPEROTTO Maria Vittoria
MERINO Elder
GUTIERREZ Ariadna
RAMIREZ Andrea

Team Arkèa-Samsic

KERBAOL Cedrine
ALLIN Pauline
JOUNIER Lucie
FOUQUENET Amandine
LAURANCE Typhaine

Team Tibico-SVB

STEPHENS Lauren
DIXON Leah
HONSINGER Clara
ERATH Tanja
FAULKNER Kristen

Valcar-Travel & Service

PIRRONE Elena
PERSICO Silvia
MALCOTTI Barbara
PIERGIOVANNI Federica Damiana
ARZUFFI Alice Maria
SANGUINETI Ilaria

Massi-Tactic Women Team

KERN Špela
BARIL Olivia
TRIAS Mireia
COLJÉ Maaike
ESPÍNOLA Agua Marina
SANCHEZ HERNANDEZ Marta

Top Girls Fassa Bortolo

MONTICOLO Iris
BALDUCCI Michela
SILVESTRI Debora
MARTURANO Greta
DALLA VALLE Elisa
VETTORELLO Giorgia

Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime Women Cycling

LE BAIL Elodie
RÜEGG Noemi
ABGRALL Noémie
SQUIBAN Maeva
SOUYRIS Manon

Opening Brittany stages give puncheurs a shot at yellow

In contrast with the flat stages that opened each of the last three Tour de France, this year’s Grand Départ in Brittany features a couple of hilly, undulating stages that will see the puncheurs come to the fore. Both stage one on Saturday and stage two on Sunday include six small categorised climbs, plus several more uncategorised rises, and end with steep uphills on which the top puncheurs are likely to sprint it out for both stage victories and the chance to wear the yellow jersey. 

You can’t help but feel these stages have been designed with Julian Alaphilippe in mind. He’s France’s No.1 star, and both he and the local fans will be desperate for him to take the yellow jersey on these stages — he has, after all, enjoyed something of a love affair with the jersey in recent Tours, having worn it for three days during the opening week of last year’s race, and having spent two-thirds of the 2019 Tour in it. 

No rider in the world is quicker on uphill finishes that reach a high enough gradient than Alaphilippe, and indeed both Côté de la Fosse aux Loups on stage one and the climb at Mûr de Bretagne on stage two ramp up to over 10 per cent at points. But there are shallower sections, too, so much so that the climbs average 5.7 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively, which will give the bigger, stronger riders a chance too — specifically, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Tour debutant Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)

Alaphilippe, Van der Poel and Van Aert have provided us with some cycling’s most memorable moments over the past few years while racing against each other in the Classics, and these opening two stages will provide a perfect stage for them to reignite their three-man rivalry at the Tour de France for the first time. Watching them do battle could be one of the highlights of this year’s Tour.  

The more resilient sprinters like Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) and the on-form Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Victorious) will also fancy their chances in Brittany, as will punchy climbers like Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Dan Martin (who won the last time the Tour visited Mûr de Bretagne in 2018), while even top GC favourites Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) may sense an early chance to gain some time. 

A tough edition of La Course

For all the hype surrounding the belated arrival of a women’s Tour de France next year, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the women will be racing in France for one day only for the eighth edition of La Course.

Christian Prudhomme has suggested that the imminent women’s Tour de France will be introduced in addition to La Course rather than in place of, which would be a welcome move given how exciting recent editions of the race have been.

This year’s race will take place on Saturday, June 26th, the same day as the first stage of the men’s race, and on many of the same roads in Brittany. The riders will tackle an undulating 107.4km route, ending with three laps of a 14km circuit, featuring the Côté de la Fosse aux Loupes climb.

It’s a tough route, in other words, and tough enough to make Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) the favourite for the victory. The more selective a race is, the more difficult she is to stop, and given her record on uphill finishes (which includes seven successive victories at Flèche Wallonne), the fact the race will finish atop the Côté de la Fosse aux Loupes swings matters even more in her favour. 

Although Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) sits this one out to focus exclusively on the Olympics, there will be two other former winners of La Course making an appearance: Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and defending champion Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo). Both would normally fancy themselves in a sprint finish against Van der Breggen, but the severity of the uphill finish this year may mean they’ll have to put in an earlier attack if they’re to win again this year.

Of the other confirmed starters, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ) will both relish the difficulty of the parcours, while BikeExchange will be one of the teams to watch with both Grace Brown and Amanda Spratt riding for them. 

Cav’s return to the Tour de France bunch sprints

No rider will be more talked about, more scrutinised, more debated during this opening week than Mark Cavendish. Following the dramatic news of Sam Bennett’s withdrawal from Deceuninck - Quick-Step’s line-up, Cavendish has been recalled to appear in his first Tour de France in three years, continuing a sensational return to form for a rider who many had thought was done at the top level. 

The stage is set for a fairytale return to the Tour peloton for a rider who is one of its greatest ever participants. The dream of winning a first Tour stage since 2016 will be a very tough ask, especially considering that he hasn’t actually raced at WorldTour level all season, but his form at the Baloise Belgium Tour was encouraging, and the opening week includes three opportunities for the sprinters (stages three, four and six) before he’ll have to drag himself over any mountains. 

This being the Tour de France, the competition in the bunch sprints will of course be fierce. In the absence of Bennett, Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) is the outstanding candidate and will be difficult to stop if his Lotto-Soudal team can deliver him in the final. 

Despite not having featured much in the WorldTour this season, Arnaud Dèmare (Groupama-FDJ) has quietly enjoyed a steady stream of victories in smaller races throughout the season and could be Ewan’s biggest rival if he re-finds the form that saw him win four sprints at the Giro d’Italia last year. 

Alpecin-Fenix has the intriguing duo of Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen to choose between in their sprint train, while Cees Bol (DSM) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) — both of whom are eleven years Cavendish’s junior — have both matured into sprinters capable of winning sprints at the highest level. 

A crucial early time trial

One of the most important GC stages of this year’s race comes as early as the fifth day, when the overall favourites will do battle in Mayenne for the first individual time trial of the race.

At 27.2km, it’s long enough to cause serious ruptures on the GC, especially given the time trialing calibre of some of the top favourites. Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) in particular has tended to lay the foundations of his many stage race victories with dominant time trial displays, and could be looking at gains of minutes over some of his rivals. And given the route’s flat profile, this might also be his best chance to put time into his biggest rival, defending champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

For Ineos Grenadiers, this stage will be significant for internal politics. The team has not committed to publicly backing one of Geraint Thomas and Richard Carapaz as outright leader, but this stage will give a chance for Thomas to capitalise on his superior abilities against the clock and establish himself as the team’s No.1 man. A superior ride by the on-form Richie Porte might even bring him into the reckoning as a potential leader. 

Look out for GC riders who are strong against the clock like Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo) to lay the foundations for a podium challenge with a strong ride, while the likes of Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Michael Woods (Israel-StartUp Nation) and Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) will be desperately hoping to limit their losses. 

There’s a stage win up for grabs, too, which specialists like Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Nippo), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) will be targeting, while all-rounder par excellence Wout van Aert should be in contention too.

GC skirmishes in the Alps

After having spanned the breadth of the nation travelling west to east, the opening week will end with back-to-back Alpine stages that are sure to ignite the race for the yellow jersey.

Stage eight may end with a 15km descent to the finish in Le Grand Bornand, but the three successive category one climbs that preceded it should ensure a significant GC sort out. The same finale (which features the Col de Romme and Col de la Colombiere before the descent to Le Grand-Bornand) was also used at the 2018 Tour, on which occasion the peloton was reduced to just sixteen riders by the finish. Expect similar selections this year.

Stage nine is more difficult still, featuring both the first Hors category climb of the race (Col du Pré) and the first mountain top finish, atop the category one Montée de Tignes. The latter is a long, arduous climb that lasts over 20km, and has fluctuating gradients that make it tougher than the 5.6 per cent average suggests. It’s not the hardest finishing climb the riders will take-on this year, but it should host some proper racing with attacks and gaps between the favourites.

The big thing to look out for on these stages won’t necessarily be how the main GC contenders perform, but rather how their domestiques do. Jumbo-Visma were the best in the mountains during last year’s race, and, even in the absence of Tom Dumoulin, could be even better this year with Steven Kruijswijk and Jonas Vingegaard coming in. They’ll want to assert their authority on these two stages and send an intimidating message to anyone hoping to attack Primož Roglič. 

>>> Mark Cavendish is not going for Eddy Merckx's record at the Tour de France, according to his trainer

Ineos Grenadiers will surely be much improved after last year’s disappointing Tour, but one thing that’s less certain is what their strategy will be. For once, they aren’t riding with the top GC favourite in their team, and therefore the customary mountain train doesn’t appear to be the best strategy. Instead, look out for them to implement a tactic they’ve used throughout the season and attack with their multiple leaders, and force other teams to chase.

And finally there’s UAE Team Emirates, of whom big questions remain concerning whether they are good enough to defend Pogačar’s title. As defending champion Pogcačar will not be able to go under the radar as he did last year, meaning teammates like Davide Formolo, Rafał Majka and Brandon McNulty will have to stick with him over these high Alpine passes. It promises to make for fascinating viewing.

La Course 2021 has had to be moved forward a day in the schedule due to the second round of the departmental and regional elections in France. The race was originally going to finish on the Mûr de Bretagne climb.

The original course for the race was set to be from Saint-Brieuc before tackling the famous Brittany climb of the Mûr-de-Bretagne. Unfortunately due to the change of date, this is no longer possible meaning the riders will take on a 107.4km route from Brest to Landerneau.

It is going to be taking place on the same day as the opening stage of the men's Tour de France between the same two towns but the women's peloton takes on a much shorter route with the men racing 187km.

>>> Chris Froome says he is ‘slowly improving’ after testing legs in breakaway at Tour of the Alps

The route is going to take in the usually hilly Bretagne terrain with a finishing circuit around Landerneau to try and have a similar outcome to the original route to Mûr de Bretagne.

The finishing circuit is 14km long and will be covered three times. It takes in the short steep climb of the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups which is 3km long at an average gradient of 5.7 per cent.

The highest gradients come right at the bottom with the slopes kicking up to 14 per cent, a real launchpad for attacks for the likes of last year's winner, Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo).

All-in-all the race takes on 1800 metres of elevation, so an up and down race profile is expected. The official route profile is not yet available.

The race organiser ASO sent out a press release saying: "The eighth edition of La Course by le Tour de France avec FDJ, welcoming every year the elite of the UCI Women’s WorldTour on the route of a stage of the Tour de France, was initially set to be raced between Saint-Brieuc and Mûr-de-Bretagne on Sunday, June 27.

"Following a change of date for the second round of the French departmental and regional elections, the organisers adapt the schedule of the race in order to affect as little as possible the access to the polling stations for the citizens living in the area.

"La Course by le Tour de France avec FDJ has thus been moved to Saturday, June 26 and the women will battle it out between Brest and Landerneau, like the male’s peloton, but on a 107.4km route.

"The new course offers similar characteristics to the previous one, with a 14-km hilly finish circuit to be covered three times before the finish atop the côte de la Fosse aux Loups.

"With a total elevation of 1,800m, the challenges of the day should favour the punchiest riders, like the finish at Mûr-de-Bretagne would have."

“Lizzie you need to go to the podium!” crackled Trek-Segafredo’s race radio after the women’s Tour of Flanders.

At the top of the Women’s WorldTour rider classification, Lizzie Deignan was due to be awarded the leader’s jersey, but at Flanders this was more of a problem than normal.

Having been in the second group after the Kruisberg, the 2016 race winner felt unwell and abandoned, deciding to make her way to the finish by the quickest possible route.

“I found a bike path that went to Oudenaarde, but the bike path ended on the wrong side of the river and a bridge started to go up in front of me,” Deignan laughs. “So I was stood in my race kit, freezing cold with a load of commuters laughing at me and waiting for the bridge to go back down so I could get to the podium.

“I shouldn’t have started really. I got quite sick after Ghent-Wevelgem, but I thought I’d give it one last push to help Elisa after all the help she’s given me, but I was fairly useless.”

>>> Rapha says Chloe Dygert’s apology was ‘insufficient’ after controversial social media behaviour

It was an anticlimactic end to an excellent season for Deignan. After a few false starts with illness and crashes, for more than five weeks between the end of August and the start of October Deignan was - once again - the best one day racer in the world. 

Her record third win at GP Plouay saw the Yorkshirewoman break Annemiek van Vleuten’s (Mitchelton-Scott) six-race winning streak, and in Nice the following week she pipped Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) on the line to win La Course.

Then, after Anna van der Breggen’s (Boels-Dolmans) prodigious run of victories, from the Giro Rosa through road and time trial world titles and a sixth consecutive Flèche Wallonne, Deignan broke another Dutch stranglehold, winning at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

With the peloton wearily dispersed at the close of the abridged season, 31 year-old Deignan can look back at more than those three top level victories. There was also victory at the Giro Rosa team time trial, six top 10 finishes, including sixth place at the World Championships, and that WorldTour classification. All from 21 race days. Not a bad return.

“I was delighted with it,” Deignan says of her year. “It was a very mixed bag, I felt like I was crashing or I was ill or I was winning, so it was a strange season for lots of different reasons, but I was happy with it.

“I’m definitely better than I’ve ever been physically, but it’s a different ball game since I was dominating in 2016. I can look at my power files between now and 2016 and I’m as strong if not stronger than I was then, but I’m not winning every race I enter, which I think is a good thing, women’s cycling is really developing year on year.”

The season’s standout squad, Trek-Segafredo, have incredible strength in depth and were key to the Brit’s success, though it wasn’t all about her.

They began in January, US road champion Ruth Winder winning a stage and the GC at the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under. Later there were national titles for Elisa Longo-Borghini, Anna Plichta and Audrey Cordon-Ragot, who also took a stage at the Tour de l’Ardeche. The team’s five WorldTour victories were the most of any other squad.

“It was very clear from our manager, Luca Guercilena, at our first get together in December that it was about winning. I remember on the bus before Strade Bianche he said, 'I have no interest in any of you coming second or third, or top 10, we need to win'.

“It’s quite an interesting situation for your manager to say they’re not interested in podiums, they’re only interested in winning, it kind of makes your tactics very aggressive and very fearless and as soon as that started to work the ball was rolling, and I think once you’ve won one race it’s easier to win more.”

Longo Borghini bagged the team’s other WorldTour road victory, was instrumental in each of Deignan’s successes, and the pair have built a productive partnership since joining forces when the team was created at the beginning of 2019. Their relationship first paid off when the Brit won stage five at last year’s Ovo Energy Women’s Tour, and has blossomed since.

“She is a fearless competitor and an incredibly interesting person, on and off the bike,” Deignan says of the Italian. “We get on very well and I’m just inspired by her passion for cycling, she’s phenomenal.”

“When I first got pregnant she was one one of the first professionals who contacted me, she said 'my mum [Olympic cross country skier, Guidana Dal Sasso] made a comeback and I know you can do it'. She reached out to me as a stranger, then on another team. We have a very good relationship and mutual respect, it works as well.”

It was Longo Borghini’s repeated counter attacking in the closing kilometres of La Course that set up Deignan’s favourite win. Though she appeared beaten, the Italian battled back, forcing Vos to open her sprint too early, allowing Deignan to take the win.

“It was the epitome of team work,” enthuses Deignan. “Often when you’re trying to express to family or friends that cycling is a team sport it’s quite difficult to explain, but there was no explanation needed if you watched La Course. 

“It was obviously very important for our team and our sponsors, so we had a lot of pressure and we performed.”

There is an argument to say Deignan has usurped Vos as the peloton’s most complete all-round rider. Though the Dutchwoman remains prolific, Deignan now out-climbs her rival, but remains quick enough to mix it in the bunch sprints, and, as we saw at La Course, from a small group she is devastating.

Having committed her future to Trek-Segafredo until the end of 2022, there’s also plenty more to come.

Lizzie Deignan says she wasn't confident of beating Marianne Vos in the sprint finish of La Course, but the Brit combined perfectly with team-mate Elisa Longo Borghini to overcome the Dutch triple threat of Vos, world champion Annemiek van Vleuten and Demi Vollering to take the win.

"You're never confident in a sprint against Marianne Vos. Elisa played it perfectly," Deignan said after her victory. "If you want to beat Marianne you have to force her to make a mistake. And Elisa just kept pulling so that we were sure that we had the time gap. She was incredibly strong today and totally sacrificed herself for me.

"She kept pulling and then kept on doing a few sneaky moves in the last kilometers and it meant that Marianne didn't just watch me, she also had to take care of Elisa.

"Elisa then launched that final attack and it just forced Marianne to start the sprint early. I managed to just come around her at the end. It was testament to our team work that we took the victory."

>>> Why is Chris Froome not riding the Tour de France 2020? 

Before dispensing with Vos, the Trek-Segafredo duo had to take care of Annemiek van Vleuten, following her attacks when the road went uphill.

"We knew Annemiek would have to go on that second climb and we knew that we had to be in the wheel," Deignan explained. "So we followed her and let her pace us up that climb. And then we knew as soon as we came over that with the numbers we had the advantage and we knew we could play the game."

This latest win follows Deignan's victory at GP de Plouay four days ago, and while the present is bright, the future looks even brighter, after the announcement that some sort of women's Tour de France will take place in 2022, and follows a first-ever women's Paris-Roubaix later this year.

"As an athlete, of course I want a women’s Tour de France. I want to be pushed to my limits and showcase what women's sport is about," Deignan said. "And then women's sport can be more than just one stage of course. So I think obviously there's room for development and growth. I think we're going in that direction. But at the same time, I'm happy that we had this opportunity today.

"I think we're at a really exciting time in women's cycling and I was really excited and pleased that even during the pandemic year there was good news for women’s cycling. Paris-Roubaix was added to our calendar during a very difficult year for everybody in cycling," Deignan added.

"I think that's really a testament to the fact that there are lots of people who want women’s cycling to grow and I've obviously been in the sport for quite a long time now and I feel that we're improving all the time. We’re never going backwards. I know that we always need to push for more, we can't stop, but I don't think that was going to see any regression anymore and I think that's the most important step. I think if you’re a young female cyclist now, you can really see there’s a career in professional cycling, which is very exciting."

As for the rest of the season, Deignan won't, and can't, plan any concrete goals. If the World Championships end up taking place, she will try to take a second rainbow jersey, but for now it's one race at a time.

"That's a funny question. I don't know. I think just try and benefit from this good form as long as I can. It's normal for me to try to peak at this time in the season. So it seems to be following that same sort of traditional pattern anyway.

"And obviously it would be great to have the World Championships but everything has to be safe and guaranteed to be safe, and all the rest of it. So one race at a time. Next up is the Giro Rosa and I’d like to try to pay back Elisa Longo Borghini for the amazing work she’s done. One race at a time."

Lizzie Deignan won a thrilling edition of La Course in Nice on Saturday, beating Marianne Vos into second place after a tight tactical sprint.

The win comes hot on the heels of her win GP Plouay, the most recent Women’s WorldTour race, last Tuesday, and puts her at the top of the rankings.

The British rider had been part of a six woman group which had formed early on second of two laps, and had Trek-Segafredo team mate Elisa Longo Borghini in the group to help.

With the peloton well out of contention, the six leaders rode onto the final straight of the Promenade des Anglais with time to finesse. With Deignan glued to Vos’s wheel Longo Borghini launched repeated attacks taking the pressure off her team mate.

World champion Annemiek van Vleuten also had a go, but was unable to get away. Entering the final kilometre Deignan appeared stranded on the front, but when Longo Borghini, who had been dropped after a previous dig, attacked past them Vos was forced to open her sprint early.

It looked as if the Dutch woman had done enough to win, but Deignan resolutely stuck with her, a desperate bike throw enough to give her the win.

After earlier appearing exhausted, Parkhotel-Valkenburg’s Demi Vollering crossed the line in third place.

How it happened

The 96km race took in two circuits which started with the ascent of the lap's only climb, Côte de Rimiez. After a couple of short-lived and speculative attacks, the race tackled the first ascent as one, though the lack of depth in the peloton was illustrated as riders were dropping out of the back throughout the ascent.

The climbing carried on after the summit, but it was the descent which drew out the first breakaway, with Christine Majerus (Boels-Dolmans), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope), Lotte Koppecky (Lotto-Soudal), Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) and Sunweb’s British rider Anna Henderson getting away.

As the six riders hit the flat road back to the coast they had a lead of 25 seconds on a group of about 30 riders, where many of the pre-race favourites were hiding. Of them it was Chloe Hosking’s Rally Cycling team who came to the front to lead the chase.

However, as the leaders headed back into Nice to complete the first lap the peloton swelled and the gap came down dramatically, catching the leaders with 52km remaining, before the first passage of the finish line.

Over the line and as the bunch began the second ascent of the climb world champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) launched one of her trademark blistering attacks, drawing out the group of six riders who would contest the final.

Though she led for the entire climb Van Vleuten was unable to drop the other five riders, Niewiadoma, Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv), Demi Vollering (Parkhotel-Valkenburg) and the Trek-Segafredo duo of Longo Borghini and Brit Lizzie Deignan sticking close to her wheel, and when they crested the climb they led by one minute, and even though more riders were by now in the peloton, the gap increased steadily.

Defending Liane Lippert’s overall lead in the WorldTour standings, Sunweb led the chase of a peloton which was steadily increasing in size, but even on the flat they were unable to reduce the leader’s advantage, despite help form Valcar Travel and Service.

By the time the leading six women passed Nice airport, riding onto the Promenade des Anglais they led the bunch by 1.45, allowing space for the tactical final.

Result 

La Course by Le Tour De France: Nice - Nice (96km)

1. Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Trek-Segafredo, in 2-22-51

2. Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv

3. Demi Vollering (Ned) Parkhotel-Valkenburg

4. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM

5. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott, all at same time

6. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 7 sec

7. Emilia Fahlin (Swe) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope at 1.50

8. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service

9. Soraya Paladin (Ita) CCC-Liv

10. Liane Lippert (Ger) Sunweb, all at same time

La Course has often been the centre of debate in the professional cycling world.

The women's one-day race, run by Tour de France organiser ASO, has been through varying incarnations in recent years and often coincides with the men’s event

But ASO has been criticised over the years for failing to offer a true equivalent of the men’s Tour de France, as La Course has never been run over more than two stages and often as a short circuit race.

World champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) has shared her disappointment about the 2020 La Course route, as the race will be held over 96km around Nice.

This year’s edition will be held on the same day as the Tour de France 2020 Grand Départ on August 29, with riders taking on two laps each featuring an ascent of the third category Côte de Rimiez.

However not everyone in the peloton agrees with Van Vleuten’s criticism, as Australian pro Chloe Hosking saying she believes the course will “lend itself to exciting racing.”

Double La Course winner Van Vleuten said: “Just checked the course of this year’s La Course, can’t believe what I saw.

“A 96km ‘race’, only two laps with a third cat climb – not really WorldTour level.”

The 37-year-old has previously been critical of the organisers of La Course for failing to offer inspiring race routes.

Since first behind held in Paris in 2014, La Course has been held across France and offered up some thrilling racing, including Pau in 2019 and the Col d’Izoard in 2017.

But for 2020 the organisers initially opted to take the race back to Paris, prompting Van Vleuten to dismiss the event as a “nothing more than a criterium.”

Due to the upheaval caused by coronavirus, the UCI and ASO have instead moved the race to coincide with the opening stage of the men’s race, which will stretch to 156km starting and finishing in Nice.

But Hosking, who is racing for Rally Cycling Women this year, said: “Personally Annemiek I don’t think it’s that atrocious. It will only be the second WorldTour race back after six months of no racing. For many riders, their first race.

“The course and the distance will lend itself to exciting racing, which is what the peloton and the fans need right now.”

Van Vleuten triumphed in one of the most memorable race finishes ever at the 2018 edition of La Course, chasing down Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) to catch her at the line.

>>> ‘Until this year I’d have written off a women’s Tour de France,’ says Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio 

Last year, Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) sprinted to victory on an uphill finish in Pau as Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott) was denied the win from a solo breakaway in the final 400m.

ASO will be introducing a historic race this year, as the first ever women's Paris-Roubaix will be held on October 25.

The UCI has still not announced when women’s racing is expected to return after releasing an outline of the re-worked men’s calendar. 

On Wednesday (April 15), the UCI revealed new dates for the Tour de France and confirmed its plans for the Grand Tours and the World Championships, as coronavirus has completely upended the cycling season.

But the UCI offered no news on when women’s cycling will return, instead saying a revised schedule will be released by May 15 at the latest.

The UCI’s announcement came as the women’s one-day race La Course by Le Tour de France, scheduled for July 19, was postponed to a date yet to be determined.

In a statement, cycling's international governing body said: “The UCI, in parallel and in close collaboration with the different parties concerns, continues its work to be able to announce, on May 15 at the latest, a revised version of the UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar.

“This calendar will nevertheless remain dependent on the world health situation.”

The UCI announced that the Tour de France would be pushed back from it’s planned start date of June 28, instead running from August 29 to September 20, with the World Championships running in their scheduled place of September 20-27.

According to the new plans, the Giro d’Italia would take place after the Worlds, with the Vuelta a España then following.

Women’s cycling union, The Cyclists’ Alliance, said: “We have repeatedly approached the UCI to be a part of the discussions concerning the 2020 UCI women’s race calendar. This announcement comes without the rider’s interests or voices represented.

“We continue to press the UCI that we want to be involved in future planning.”

Rider Alison Tetrick said on Twitter: “2020 is rough and scary, but with a pandemic and a complete shift in prioritisation, now would be a good time to embrace respect, equality, safety and opportunity.

“What better time to do what’s right than right now.

“Just be fair and equitable and respectful.

“Invest in humans and the sport, not a specific gender or identity.”

Executive director of the The Cyclists’ Alliance, former pro Iris Slappendel, said: “Not impressed by this, and that’s an understatement.”

>>> Chris Froome is officially on Zwift and has been putting in some monster rides 

Along with aspects of daily life and all other sports, women’s cycling has suffered a major blow during the coronavirus crisis.

Dozens of women’s races have been cancelled or postponed as only one Women’s WorldTour event having been run this year, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in February.

A number of major races, including Liège-Bastogne-Liège, The Women’s Tour and the Giro Rosa, have all been called off.

The next Women’s WorldTour race scheduled to run is the Vargarda WestSweden team time trial on August 8.

Annemiek van Vleuten has revealed her disappointment about the 2020 edition of La Course as the race returns to Paris.

Newly-crowned world champion Van Vleuten has called the decision to hold the women’s one-day race in Paris “a step back” after three years of varied racing.

The organisers of the Tour de France and La Course, ASO, revealed the routes of both races on Tuesday (October 15), confirming that the women’s race would be held as a 90km course covering laps of Paris.

>>> Zwift Academy semi-finalists announced after biggest ever female field 

La Course, now in its seventh edition, will be returning to the French capital after three years of exciting racing elsewhere in the country, including Pau in 2019 and the Col d’Izoard in 2017.

But Van Vleuten was critical of the 2020 course in an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS.

“Have I heard La Course is in Paris?” the Mitchelton-Scott rider said. “To my disappointment, yes. "

“This is a step back.

"It is now nothing more than a criterium. While it is still known as a WorldTour competition, but for the men, criteriums are not included in the WorldTour."

The 2020 edition of La Course has been scheduled for July 19, the same day the men’s peloton will finish the Tour de France in Paris, a return to the format used in the first three years of La Course’s existence.

In recent years La Course has been held on similar routes to stages of the men’s Tour, this year taking place over laps of the 27km time trial course in Pau.

>>> Quality of some women’s races is under threat from UCI calendar changes 

A thrilling edition this season saw Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) sprint to victory on the uphill finish as Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott) was denied the win from a solo breakaway in the final 400m.

Van Vleuten, who won the 2019 World Championship road race in Yorkshire last month, added: “I don't need a multi-day La Course, but a tough stage would be nice. There are so few WorldTour races in which we go into the mountains. At this La Course I get the idea that they were like ‘oh yes, we have to organise La Course as well, let's do it in Paris’. "

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig has perfectly summed up a captivating edition of La Course with some of her trademark flair.

The Bigla Pro Cycling rider found herself in a small group of hitters with around 40km left to race, only to be caught and fight hard to take a podium spot on the line.

As Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) decimated the reduced bunch on the final climb in Pau, Uttrup held her nerve and sprinted to third, her best finish in the race.

>>> Amanda Spratt says she believed she could win until the very final moments of La Course 2019

Speaking after the stage, the 23-year-old said: “It’s a beautiful sunny day to have some fun.

“The race was actually quite hard and there was a lot of tactical games being played.

“I tried to have ice in the stomach as they say, keep it cool, and then we knew the last lap was going to be a bunch sprint. In a situation like that Marianne is a pretty good wheel to have. It was a fight to that last left corner then it was just full gas up.

“It was such a good ride [for me] and the team did amazing and we had two riders in the breakaway so we were always represented.”

Uttrup finished fourth in La Course last year, going one better in 2019 as the women’s peloton fired around laps of the men’s time trial course for stage 13 of the Tour de France.

Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott) was the animator in the final, launching a long-range solo attack that only failed on the final climb with 400 metres left to race, as Marianne Vos pulled out a gap and blasted the peloton to take victory.

Uttrup said: “I’m improving one spot at a time, so in a couple of years maybe I’ll stand on the top step.

“We had fun and it’s so nice to finish it off with a podium for the team.

“Everyone wanted [Vos’s] wheel. She’s just super strong. I got as close as I could and the girls helped me at the end to try and position. All in all I think we can be proud.”

Britain’s Pfeiffer Georgi also helped her Sunweb team to an impressive second place with Leah Kirchmann.

Georgi, riding her first La Course in her debut season in the women’s WorldTour at 18 years old, had been tasked with working for the team early in the race.

>>> ASO looking to launch women’s race akin to the Tour de France

She told Cycling Weekly after the stage: “It was good, the team were really strong.

“With those two main climbs and then that little kick at the end, you always had to be on the ball and be at the front.

“I really enjoyed it. With the crowds, I’ve never had anything like that before so it’s exciting.”

Amanda Spratt said she never stopped believing she would win La Course as she held onto a precarious solo lead into the final kilometre.

The Australian launched a long-range attack 25km from the finish, riding brilliantly to hold off the chasers with a yo-yoing advantage.

But the day ended in heartbreak for Spratt, who was passed by race winner Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) on the final short climb of the day before the peloton also surged by.

>>> ASO looking to launch women’s race akin to the Tour de France 

Speaking after the stage, Spratt said: “I think you always races with the belief you can get to the line and I never gave up believing until they passed me with 400 metres to go. That’s the mind-set I have, I want to just give it a go and never stop believing until they catch you.

“I was just suffering. I kept getting feedback of who was chasing and what was happening behind, but actually all I had to do was keep going as hard as I could until the finish line, that was the main thing I was focussing on.”

The 2019 edition of La Course offered was a thrilling watch, despite still only being a one-day race after being knocked down from two days in 2017.

Spratt attacked a select group of favourites with 25km, with a group of 30 or so riders prepared to chase behind over laps of the men’s course for the Tour de France stage 13 time trial.

After pulling out a gap on the undulating course, Spratt entered 15km to go with a gap of around 30 seconds, but that dropped rapidly before extending out once more.

Heading into the last steep slope in the final kilometre, Spratt held just 10 seconds over the chasers and the attack from Vos was the final nail.

Spratt added: “We came here knowing Marianne Vos is favourite, so we wanted to create a situation where she was under pressure and I think that’s what it created.

“I knew when it was only 10 seconds it would be hard, especially with that final kick before the line that was pretty much made for Marianne. I’m happy with my ride.

“I was a bit disappointed for sure. I believed I could win in that situation so of course there’s a bit of disappointment but I’m just proud of the way I raced. I wouldn’t change anything.”

>>> Amazing and horrendous all at once: how it feels to ride the Tour de France as an amateur 

Mitchelton-Scott opted for a dual leadership opportunity, sending Spratt on a long-range attack as she felt her legs were lacking on the day, while Annemiek van Vleuten waited to pounce if Spratt was caught.

Van Vleuten was Mitchelton’s best-placed finisher in seventh, seven seconds behind Vos, while Spratt finished 24th, 14 seconds behind the winner.

Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) won the fifth edition of La Course, passing Anna Van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) in the final fifty metres.

The podium positions looked to be cemented with 200 metres to go, Van Vleuten's fatigue following the ten day Giro Rosa - which finished on Sunday - marked as her head thrashed almost in time with her legs over the finishing stretch.

However, as the line grew closer the Mithelton-Scott rider pushed a heavy gear to draw level and then pass her comparatively fresh legged Dutch compatriot.

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (Cervelo-Bigla) rolled in third, after her team mate Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Cervelo-Bigla) worked as a carrot for a three rider break to chase over the final climb of the race.

The 112.5 kilometres route from Annecy to Le Grand-Bornand comprised of very little flat land. Riders were treated to four classified climbs, including the cat 1 ascents of Col de la Romme and Col de la Colombiére - before a 13 km descent which gave way to a 1.5km finish stretch.

Organisers, ASO, opted to place the women's race on the day of the men's stage 10 - which just so happened to fall only one day after the final of the Giro Rosa.

The consecutive races both feature in the Women's World Tour calendar -  so the most prolific members of the women's peloton were at both, and thus the tactics and dynamics of the day were massively influenced by the 10-days of racing in the legs of a large proportion of the field.

How it happened

Cracks appeared before the peloton arrived at the bottom of the first classified climb. However, it was following the cat four climb, the Col de Bluffy, when a strong group of three managed to gain a decisive gap on the peloton.

The first key break of the day was instigated by Leah Kirchmann (Sunweb), who was eventually joined by Lotta Lepistö (Cervelo-Bigla), Leah Thomas (UHC Pro Cycling), Małgorzata Jasińska (Movistar) and Anna Christian (Trek Drops).

Come 60km to go, the break's advantage had extended to 1-15, though in the peloton a number of attacks made building an advantage tough work - including one from Shara Gillow (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope).

With 55km to go, on the descent of the Côte de Saint-Jean-de-Sixt, Christian dropped from the break; and at 45km remaining the quartet had 2-20 over the peloton, and 1-15 over Gillow and Christian, who were floating in the no-man's land between the two.

At the arrival of the Col de la Romme, Christian and Gillow had dropped back, leaving only the quartet out front to enliven the race.

As the slopes of the 9km climb - with its average gradient of 9 per cent - began to bite, Lepistö fell off the pace, followed by Jasinka, and finally Kirchmann - leaving only Thomas to go solo.

The next rider to attack from the peloton was Uttrup - leaving team mate Moolman-Pasio, who was second overall at the Giro Rosa - to nestle safely into the midst of the peloton.

Uttrup rode her way through the disintegrated break, to reach front player Thomas with 30km left - by which point she had 26s on the peloton, which largely consisted of team leaders aiming squarely at the win, with many domestiques dropped.

The Danish rider crested the climb with around 30s on the peloton, and with 35km to go, she had increased her lead on the descent - stretching the gap to 1-26.

On the descent, Lucinda Brand (Sunweb) - who was forth overall at the Giro Rosa - showed her negotiations with hairpins were markedly better than those of many who had climbed their way to the front of the bunch.

She passed Thomas with 22km remaining, making her the second rider on the road behind Uttrup. Brand was third in the Giro Rosa's mountain time trial - so represented a clear threat as the slopes of the Col de la Colombiére approached.

With 20km left, Mavi García (Movistar) attacked the peloton - giving way to a counter from Anna van der Breggen (Boels Dolmans) - with La Course's defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) and Moolman-Pasio on her wheel.

Uttrup's gap had sunk to 55s with 19km left, whilst Van der Breggen, Van Vleuten and Moolman-Pasio caught Brand with 18km remaining. The group was momentarily an out-front quartet - before the attack came and Brand was left to pedal her way to the top alone.

With 16km left, Van Vleuten put in a number of soft attacks, Moolman-Pasio free to leave Van der Breggen to close the gaps as Uttrup continued her solo plight, 17s up the road.

Once Van der Breggen made contact with Uttrup, Moolman-Pasio attacked immediately. However, a counter from Van der Breggen looked like it cost her very little effort to distance the other two. The only one of the trio not to ride the Giro looked significantly more comfortable than her companions.

Cresting the climb and on to the descent, Van der Breggen had clear road between her and the duo of Moolman-Pasio and Van Vleuten.

As the road tipped down, with 5km left Van der Breggen was 10s ahead of Van Vleuten and a good 45s ahead of Moolman-Pasio, who was being closed down by Brand, and behind her the remainder of the peloton.

With 3km left, world time trial champion Van Vleuten was, contrary to all likelihood, closing the gap - 7s between her and the fresh legs of Van der Breggen, down to 5s with 1.5km remaining as the road flattened out.

In the last 100 metres - it looked clear than Van Vleuten would never be able to catch those fresh legs. However, defying all expectation, at 50 metres she was level with and then passing her competitor.

The Giro Rosa winner pipped her competitor on the line, winning by a margin of 1s, whilst Moolman-Pasio rolled in third.

Results

La Course 2018, Annecy to Le Grand-Bornand (112.5km)

1 Annemiek van Vlueten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott, in 3-20-43

2 Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels-Dolmans at 1s

3 Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (RSA) Cervelo-Bigla, at 1-22

4 Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Cervelo-Bigla, at 1-58

5 Megan Guarnier (USA) Boels-Dolmans, at 2-19

6 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, same time

7 Katie Hall (USA) United Healthcare, at 2-22

8 Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at same time

9 Ane Santesteban (Spa) Ale Cipollini, at 2-24

10 Erica Magnaldi (Ita) BePink, at same time

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Orica-Scott) took victory on stage two of La Course, comfortably hold off a concerted chase by Lizzie Deignan and Megan Guarnier (Boels Dolmans), and Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle High5).

After winning stage one of La Course up the Col d'Izoard, Van Vleuten rolled off the start ramp with a 43-second lead over Lizzie Deignan, and 1-23 over Elisa Longo Borghini, the first woman across the line being declared the overall winner.

With that advantage Van Vleuten set off hard right from the start, while Deignan opted to take it easy for the opening kilometres and wait for other riders to catch her and collaborate in the chase.

The British road champion waited for Longo Borghini and team-mate Megan Guarnier before the trio began to get their heads down and work together to try and reel in Van Vleuten, who had opened a gap of 1-40 to the chasers.

>>> Tour de France LIVE: Chris Froome defends narrow lead in race-defining time trial

Longo Borghini and the two Boels Dolmans riders worked well together for the first half of the course, but Van Vleuten looked incredibly strong, holding here lead steady as she approached the only climb on the course with 7.5km remaining.

Having shown that she was the best climber on the race on stage one, Van Vleuten continued to look strong on the climb to Notre-Dame de la Garde as the group behind fractured, Guarnier struggling as Longo Borghini pushed the pace on the steep ascent.

Her lead still at more than 1-30 by the top of the climb, there was going to be no catching Van Vleuten, who could afford to enjoy the last couple of kilometres, crossing the line in the Stade Velodrome to take a comfortable victory.

Results

La Course by Le Tour de France 2017, stage two: Marseille to Marseille, 22.5km (ITT)

1. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Orica-Scott, in 32-52

2. Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Boels-Dolmans, at 1-52

3. Elisa Longo-Borghini (Ita) Wiggle-High5, at 1-52

4. Megan Guarnier (USA) Boels-Dolmans, at 3-00

5. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Orica-Scott, at 3-26

6. Shara Gillow (Aus) FDJ, at 3-48

7. Lauren Stephens (USA) Team Tibco, at 3-52

8. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) WM3 Energie, at 4-35

9. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) Cervelo-Bigla, at 4-35

10. Ana Cristina Sanabria Sanchez (Col) Servetto, at 4-46

If Annemiek Van Vleuten's attack to win stage one of La Course up the Col d'Izoard wasn't impressive enough, her performance also meant she rode up the final part of the climb faster than the vast majority of male Tour de France riders.

The Orica-Scott rider launched her decisive attack with five kilometres to go to the summit of the hors-categorie, accelerating from 12kph to 23kph in the space of seven seconds to quickly ride away from Lizzie Deignan who had been setting the pace for much of the climb.

She then held an average speed of 17.9kph for the rest of the climb (admittedly helped by the short descent with two kilometres remaining where she briefly hit 60kph), to cover the final third of the ascent in 15-34.

>>> Lizzie Deignan 'surprised' by great form as she rides to second place on Col d'Izoard at La Course

You might expect this time to be beaten by the male riders in the Tour de France a few hours later, but of the 41 riders who uploaded stage 18 to Strava, only two were able to top Van Vleuten's time: stage winner Warren Barguil and second place overall Romain Bardet.

That meant that Van Vleuten was faster than the likes of Damiano Caruso, who was fighting to try and move into the top 10 overall, as well as Tiesj Benoot and Alexey Lutsenko, both of whom finished in the top 30 of the stage.

Finishing second at the top of the Col d’Izoard today, British champion Lizzie Deignan (Boels-Dolmans) exceeded her expectations. Though not planning on riding for the win, Deignan set a blistering pace up the climb, thinning the group and finishing second behind Annemiek Van Vleuten (Orica-Scott) in the Women’s WorldTour race.

After her team-mates did much of the work, 28-year-old Deignan went to the front with over 10km of the climb left to ride intending to set up her Boels-Dolmans team mate, Megan Guarnier. However, such was the pace Guarnier was dropped, eventually finishing in fourth place, 45 seconds behind the Briton.

>>> Annemiek Van Vleuten wins stage one of La Course atop Col d'Izoard; Deignan second

“I felt really good in training, particularly after the Giro,” Deignan said after the race. “Megan put her hand up and said she could be leader. I perhaps did a bit too much work because we wanted Megan to go for it, but that’s cycling, that’s how it goes sometimes.

“I surprised myself for sure. I think I overestimated the climb, I had not done a recon and I didn’t find it as hard as the nightmares I had about it. It wasn't as steep as I had expected it to be.

“I have never never been successful on a mountain top in my career, so I did not have the confidence to be leader today. I am pleased with the form I had.”

Thursday’s race was the fourth edition La Course, a race created after pressure from a number of women’s cycling advocates calling for a women's Tour de France. In previous years the race was held in advance of the Tour’s final stage, on the Champs-Elysées circuit. Today’s mountain race arguably provided riders with a better experience of the cycling’s crowds.

“It loved it,” Deignan continued. “Especially being able to ride through crowds like that. It would be great to do it more often, but it’s a positive experience. Difficult but positive.”

>>> The Col d'Izoard: A giant of the Tour de France

When originally announced the race received much criticism for being just 67km long, but Deignan saw the event as a success.

“It’s really positive that we have a mountain top finish, but I think it needs some work in terms of organisation, it’s great but but it felt like a little bit of an afterthought sometimes, with the organisation.”

One of the event’s overwhelming favourites, La Course was won by Dutch woman Annemiek Van Vleuten.

“After the Giro she was certainly in great form but I think there was a little bit of unknown after the ten day period after the Giro,” her Orica-Scott team manager Gene Bates told Cycling Weekly. “You could see some people were struggling to maintain form and some are still on the up and up.

“A climb that severe you can’t make too many plans, it has to be done on sensations and she took her opportunity. It did go perfectly to plan. We came here to win and we did.”

>>> ASO defends changes made to La Course for 2017

Dutch time trial champion Van Vleuten will take a 43 second lead into Saturday’s pursuit style time trial race, run on the same course as the penultimate Tour stage in Marseille.

Unlike the mountain stage, it is not even classified as a UCI competition, instead being an invitation race with only the top 19 riders from the Col d’Izoard starting.

Riders will start in Thursday’s finish order and with time gaps, in a race where drafting is allowed and only road bikes permitted.

“I wouldn’t call myself a time trialist, but it’s on a road bike so we’ll see what happens I think Megan is just behind me, so maybe I should wait and chase her down together,” Deignan concluded.

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Orica-Scott) won the gruelling opening stage of La Course by Le Tour de France on Thursday, which took the riders straight up the Col d'Izoard in the Alps.

The Dutchwoman attacked inside the final 5km of the 67.5km of the route from a select group of riders, that included British national champion Lizzie Deignan (Boels-Dolman).

Deignan came home for second, with Italian Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) in third.

The day kicked off from Briançon at a fast pace, with several riders attempting to break free from the bunch. Boels-Dolmans and WM3 Energie rode at the front of the peloton to control the pace-setting.

Even before the foot of the Izoard, the peloton had started to shed numerous riders over the undulating terrain.

New Zealander Linda Villumsen (Veloconcept) was the first rider to make a move stick, launching an attack with 35km to go. She opened up a significant gap as Deignan hit the front of the bunch in the chase. At this point, Deignan was working for team-mate Megan Guarnier, who was tipped as one of the leading favourites for the win.

>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, reports and race info

Deignan ground out a relentless pace in an impressive display, all the while shedding more and more riders from the group. Villumsen was caught with 9km to go to bring the lead group back together.

Surprisingly, Guarnier and Katarzyna Niewiadoma (WM3 Energie) were two of those that were dropped off the pace set by Deignan. When Van Vleuten attacked with 4.6km to go, Deignan set off in pursuit followed by Shara Gillow (FDJ) and Longo Borghini.

Van Vleuten powered ahead, quickly opening up a gap that would prove to be unbridgeable. Her aero skinsuit and aero helmet signalled her intent – although a momentary mechanical problem with her gears saw her nearly come to a standstill heading into the last 2km.

Deignan continued the pace that she had set throughout almost the entire climb, dropping first Longo Borghini and then Gillow. Gillow then slowed, and was passed by Longo Borghini and then passed by Guarnier, who was staging a comeback on the Izoard's upper slopes.

Van Vleuten was 38 seconds ahead of Deignan by the time she went under the kilometre-to-go banner, with the victory sealed. Deignan was left ruing what could have been had she not put in so much work on the lower part of the climb for her team.

The fourth edition of La Course scrapped the circuit-based event of the past three editions, which took place on the Champs Élysées in Paris prior to the final stage of the men's Tour. Instead, there is Thursday's mountain stage and a 22.5km time trial in Marseille on Saturday.

Riders will transfer between the two stages on Friday, when no racing takes place. The TT uses a controversial handicap format, with the top 20 riders on Thursday taking part on Saturday with staggered starts relating to their time gaps on stage one.

Results

La Course by Le Tour de France 2017, stage one: Briançon to Izoard, 67.5km

1. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Orica-Scott, in 2-07-18

2. Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Boels-Dolmans, at 43 secs

3. Elisa Longo-Borghini (Ita) Wiggle-High5, at 1-23

4. Megan Guarnier (USA) Boels-Dolmans, at 1-28

5. Shara Gillow (Aus) FDJ, at 1-33

6. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Orica-Scott, at 1-41

7. Lauren Stephens (USA) Team Tibco, at 1-51

8. Ana Cristina Sanabria Sanchez (Col) Servetto, at 2-24

9. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) WM3 Energie, at 2-52

10. Hanna Nilson (Swe) BTC City, at 3-04

General classification after stage one

1. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Orica-Scott

2. Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Boels-Dolmans, at 43 secs

3. Elisa Longo-Borghini (Ita) Wiggle-High5, at 1-23

4. Megan Guarnier (USA) Boels-Dolmans, at 1-28

5. Shara Gillow (Aus) FDJ, at 1-33

6. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Orica-Scott, at 1-41

7. Lauren Stephens (USA) Team Tibco, at 1-51

8. Ana Cristina Sanabria Sanchez (Col) Servetto, at 2-24

9. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) WM3, at 2-52

10. Hanna Nilson (Swe) BTC City, at 3-04

Despite losing two Wiggle-High5 team mates in three final lap crashes, Australian Chloe Hosking won La Course by Le Tour de France in Paris on Sunday Afternoon.

The 25-year-old, in her second year with the British-registered team, began her sprint early, using the slipstream of late escapee Ellen van Dijk (Boels-Dolmans) to stay clear of Finnish champion Lotta Lepistö (Cervelo-Bigla) and Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv), who won the first ever edition of the race in 2014.

While last year’s rain-soaked race was won by Vos’s team mate Anna van Der Breggen from a lone breakaway, normal service was restored this year with warm, sunny weather greeting the riders, and a sprint finish was always likely despite an aggressive race.

Recently-crowned British champion Hannah Barnes (Canyon-SRAM) was part of a four-woman break which went clear after four laps. With her were Chantal Blaak (Boels-Dolmans), Lucinda Brand (Rabo-Liv) and London 2012 Bronze medalist Olga Zabalinskaya (Be-Pink).

>>> 2015: Anna van der Breggen wins La Course as slippery cobbles cause havoc

Once that break was caught, with six of the 13 seven-kilometre laps left to ride, and despite her sprint prowess, Barnes remained prominent at the front of the peloton in an attempt to set up her Australian team-mate Tiffany Cromwell, winner of a stage at the recent Giro Rosa.

With that early break to heel, the race became a cagey affair, the pace remaining extremely high and despite a number of small breaks forming, teams with strong sprint options were unwilling to let them get away. However, with just two laps to race three strong riders escaped, including Hosking’s Dutch team mate Amy Pieters, who, with American Lauren Stephens (Team TIBCO-SVB) and, once again, Brand.

With Pieters ahead, her team did not have to work and Hosking was able to use her remaining team mates to position herself for the final, staying out of the wind until she opened up her sprint on the Champs Elysées.

Watch: Women's WorldTour contenders 2016

“I was jumping from train to train,” Hosking said after the race. “I came through the bottom corner, which is still 400 to go, on Pauline’s [Ferrand-Prevot] wheel and then she swung with 300 to go, which was way too early, so I kicked, sat on Ellen’s wheel then went again. I was waiting for them to come and they didn’t come.

“My family and my fiancé are about 200 past the line and we’re all in disbelief at the moment.”

The race is Hosking’s third WorldTour win of the year, following overall success at the Tour of Chongming Island in May.

The Women’s WorldTour moves to Britain for next week’s Prudential Ride London Grand Prix on Saturday.

Result

La Course by Le Tour de France, 89km

1. Chloe Hosking (Aus) Wiggle-High5 in 2-01-27

2. Lotta Lepsstö (Fin) Cervélo-Bigla

3. Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabo-Liv

4. Joëlle Numainville (Can) Cervélo-Bigla

5. Roxanne Fournier (Fra) Poitou-Charetntes Futroscope.86

6. Pascale Jeuland-Tranchant (Fra) Poitou-Charetntes Futroscope.86

7. Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Canyon-SRAM

8. Joanne Kiesanowski (NZ) Team TIBCO-SVB

9. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies

10. Maria Confalonieri (Ita) Lensworld-Zannata all same time

Fresh from winning the ten-day Giro Rosa, Anna van der Breggen won today’s rain-soaked La Course in Paris.

On the final lap the Dutch Rabo-Liv rider escaped the clutches of the peloton and finished the 89-kilometre race just one second clear. Belgian champion Jolien D’hoore (Wiggle-Honda) won the bunch sprint for second place ahead of Amy Pieters (Liv-Plantur).

The race was marred by the weather, with rain starting to fall just before the event got under way. After only a few minutes the roads were soaked and slippery, especially on the cobbled Champs Elysées. A number of massive crashes punctuated the race, causing 57 riders to abandon.

>>> Young Brit Jessie Walker making an impression in Italy’s Giro Rosa

After spending the majority of the race well-positioned in the top 20, Britain’s Lucy Martin (Matrix-Fitness) was caught in the last of those crashes, just after the flame rouge. Despite this, the 25-year-old was pleased with her performance when she spoke with Cycling Weekly.

“I like racing on the rain — I can position myself better, I just stay up the front. It’s easy!” she told us. “Christine [Sigaard] and I were going to sort the sprint out on the road. I was right behind her for the sprint, then with one K to go bang, that was it. It’s a shame because I really enjoyed this race. I loved it.”

It has been a tough couple of years for Martin, who helped Lizzie Armitstead to her silver medal at the London Olympics. She has lacked consistent results and last year suffered when her team refused to pay her after the first three months of the season. Today, however, was a return to form,

“I’ve been struggling the last couple of years, but today I felt like my old self. The thing that I’m best at is positioning, being at the front and staying at the front, so when it’s like this it was perfect.”

Crashes may have defined the race, but they did not effect the result. Van der Breggen has had a stellar season, including wins at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Flèche Wallonne and the overall at the Giro Rosa. Her attack was well timed and she managed to stay clear of a group led by the sprinters’ teams.

“I knew that if you had a chasing peloton behind it is really difficult to hold it until the finish line,” she said afterwards. “It was good for the team also, because the other teams have to chase you, so you go full gas to the finish line.

“It feels really cool, crossing the line and seeing the Arc de Triomphe after a crazy race like this.”

Britain’s Lizzie Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans) finished fourth. It will be good preparation for next week’s World Cup race in Germany, which she will start as leader of the competition overall.

La Course by Le Tour de France - Result

1 Anna van der Breggen (Rabo-Liv)

2 Jolien D’hoore (Wiggle-Honda)

3 Amy Pieters (Liv-Plantur)

4 Lizzie Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans)

5 Lotta Lepistö (Bigla Pro Cycling)

6 Lisa Brennauer (Velocio SRAM)

7 Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS)

8 Lucinda Brand (Rabo-Liv)

9 Kirsten Wild (Hitec Products)

10 Christine Majerus (Boels-Dolmans)

Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv) won the bunch sprint to win the inaugural edition of La Course by Le Tour de France in Paris on Sunday. The World Champion beat fellow Dutch woman, Kirsten Wild (Giant-Shimano) into second place, winning the race she had a part in inspiring and organising.

The win was just reward for Vos’s efforts in creating the event. “This is a dream come true,” Vos said after the finish. “It was fantastic to race here. This was our chance to show that women’s cycling is great to watch.”

After a quiet start, the race was punctuated by repeated attacks from those teams looking to avoid a bunch sprint. However, it was closely controlled, with Rabo-Liv setting up Vos for the win.

“It went more or less the way we thought,” Rabo-Liv team manager, Koos Moerenhout told Cycling Weekly. “It was hard to make the breakaway, the tempo was really high and every time a group went, everybody looked to us. We were good in the race and put Marianne in a good place for the sprint.”

Lizzie Armitstead, whose team mate and World Time Trial champion, Ellen van Dijk, was off the front for about 15km, crashed under the flamme rouge. The former British Champion spoke to reporters after the race sporting a nasty cut to her elbow.

“I had a bit of bad luck, I dropped my chain twice and had to change my bike,” she said. “In the final I was a little bit out of position but I was on Vos’s wheel so I was not too panicked, then her team mate just put me in the barrier.”

“It’s the elbow and shoulder, really, I’ll be fine, it’s just a nuisance, but I’m 100% sure I’ve not broken anything,” she said, confirming her appearance at the Commonwealth Games.

La Course was created after the creation of Le Tour Entier a group calling for more equality for women’s cycling. One of that group is the British Time Trial champion, Emma Pooley, who told Cycling Weekly: “It’s a fantastic opportunity for women to have a race associated with the Tour de France, and especially considering how quickly ASO got it up and running. They’ve seen the potential of women’s cycling and I think it’s definitely a fantastic first step.”

Result

La Course by Le Tour de France, 89km

1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabo-Liv

2. Kirsten Wild (Ned) Giant-Shimano

3. Leah Kirchmann (Can) Optum

4. Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Specialized-Lululemon

5. Shelley Olds (USA) Ale Cipollini

6. Coryn Rivera (USA) United Healthcare

7. Jolien D'Hoore (Bel) Lotto-Belisol

8. Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica-AIS

9. Simona Frapporti (Ita) Astana Be Pink

10. Roxane Fournier (Fra) Poitou-Charantes Futuroscope all same time

Other

21. Hannah Barnes (GBr) United Healthcare at same time

24. Sharon Laws (GBr) United Healthcare at 10 secs

84. Emma Pooley (GBr) Lotto-Belisol at 1-16

96. Lizzie Armitstead (GBr) Boels Dolmans at 3-11

Wiggle-Honda sign Kathryn Bertine ahead of La Course by Tour de France race

Co-founder of Le Tour Entier campaign group joins leading British team ahead of inaugural edition of iconic Parisien event.