The 10 North Americans to watch at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift kicks off on Sunday, July 23, departing from Clermont-Ferrand for eight days of racing. Last year's first edition of the Tour de France Femmes featured action-packed racing and impressive viewer numbers. 

Annemiek van Vleuten took the overall win and the first yellow jersey in 33 years. The second edition of the Tour De France Femmes avec Zwift will have 154 riders taking on the 956km of racing, with 10 North Americans among them — three Americans, and seven Canadians. With four flat stages, two hilly stages, a Queen Stage in the mountain and a final time trial, there are plenty of opportunities for these riders to make a name for themselves or their teams.

U.S. riders

Megan Jastrab (Team DSM-Firmenich)

A former junior world champion, Jastrab, 21, has had some standout results this year, with second at Gent-Wevelgem in the spring and two top-five finishes in the Giro d'Italia Donne. Additionally, Jastrab won both the collegiate road race and collegiate criterium national titles this year. We could see Jastrab at the front of this year's Tour with a strong sprint.

Coryn Labecki (Jumbo Visma)

A veteran racer, Labecki comes off a great showing at the U.S. Pro Nationals where she won the criterium race and was the runner-up in the road race behind Chloé Dygert. After racing the Vuelta Feminina this year and helping her Jumbo-Visma team win the TTT, Labecki looks to be a force to be reckoned with as a teammate as well as a potential stage winner.

Veronica Ewers (EF-Education-Tibco-SVB)

Arguably the biggest American up-and-comer, Ewers is in great form. The climbing talent recently came close to a stage win at the Giro d'Italia Donne and finished fourth in the overall classification. With a steady trend of upward results this year, we could see Ewers looking for a significant impact on the Tour's GC.

Canadian riders

Alison Jackson (EF-Education-Tibco-SVB)

In addition to dance moves, comic relief and social savviness, Alison “Ali Action” Jackson brings a lot of experience to her squad. The 34-year-old is an Olympian, a multi-time Canadian national champion and, as of this spring, a Paris-Roubaix winner. While she’ll likely be supporting the team’s climbers, she’s not one to let a stage win pass her by if the opportunity presents itself.   

Magdeleine Vallieres (EF-Education-Tibco-SVB)

One of the youngest riders in the peloton at just 21, Vallieres has only been racing in the WorldTour for two years. Still, she had a strong ride at last year's Tour, finishing ninth overall in the young riders classification. With the Vuelta Feminina under her belt this year already, she will certainly be looking to improve on her white jersey classification performance while helping her team to a top finish. 

Sara Poidevin (EF-Education-Tibco-SVB)

Poidevin is an experienced climber who will be supporting teammate Veronica Ewers in her fight for a top GC finish as she did at the Vuelta Feminina earlier in the year. She recently helped Alison Jackson take the Canadian road race title, and will be a key teammate for the team's Tour goals. 

Gabrielle Pilote Fortin (Cofidis Women Team)

Pilote Fortin brings plenty of experience to the Cofidis Women's team, having raced professionally since 2014. A solid domestique, Pilote Fortin will be looking to help her team secure a stage win.

Simone Boilard (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 WE)

Boilard, 23, is a former junior world championship medalist and a strong climber on the Continental team of St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 WE. Boilard had some solid GC finishes in 2022 but has yet to have the same success this season. She will surely be looking for a standout result in this year's Tour.

Clara Emond (Arkea Pro Cycling)

Another strong Canadian climber, Emond finished second overall at the Vuelta Extremadura Feminas and won the polka dot jersey along the way. And with some solid riding at the Tour de Suisse, Emond looks to be in good form for a solid ride in this year’s Tour.

Olivia Baril (UAE Team ADQ)

Baril moved up from the UAE development team to the pros halfway through this season and has now been called to the Tour. She’s had some strong results, including finishing fourth overall at the Itzulia Women's Tour. A promising young talent, Baril also finished in second place in both the Individual Time Trial and Road Race at Canadian nationals.