The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift didn't exactly take up where the men's Tour de France left off in Paris. Instead it began in Brittany, in France's far north-west – an area the race visits for the first time.
The best riders in women's cycling will line up to fight it out for the biggest prize in the sport. The race takes this billing despite the fact it has only existed in its modern form for what will be four editions this year. The 122-year history of the men's race is stamped all over its sister event, with the same iconic jerseys and iconic battlefields too – this year the race features the climbs of the Col de la Madeleine and the Joux-Plane.
This will be the first time the Tour Femmes is run over nine stages (it has always been eight previously), and it describes a broadly south-easterly line direct from Brittany down to what is likely to be a thrilling denouement in the Alps.
It begins with a brace of hilly stages, followed by a pair of flat days that should offer the sprinters their chances. One more (very) hilly day and then things start to get mountainous as the race hits the Massif Central range for a stage.
That is followed by a small transfer and we're into the Alps, where the GC is very likely to be decided over three big days, including a summit finish on the Madeleine on stage eight. Find out how you can follow the Tour de France Femmes wherever you are in the world with our how to watch guide.
Tour de France Femmes 2025: General classification riders
Even before the flag dropped in Vannes on stage one, the GC battle had been altered with news from world champion Lotte Kopecky that she would race for stage wins instead of the GC. The Belgian has not had a great season by her own very high standards and didn't think she was in shape to fight for yellow.
By the end of stage three, the battle lines had changed again as first Marlen Reusser then Elisa Longo Borghini both abandoned with grastointestinal issues before Demi Vollering suffered a heavy crash.
Demi Vollering wins the 2024 Vuelta a Espana Femenina
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Other GC riders to look out for include mountain bike Olympic champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot who returned to the road scene this year after six away. A win at Paris Roubaix and second place at the Tour of Flanders proved her one-day credentials, although her stage-racing results have been less impressive.
Sarah Gigante will lead AG Insurance Soudal, Giro d'Italia women winner Elisa Longo Borghini leads UAE Team ADQ while La Flèche Wallonne winner Puck Pieterse will lead the Fenix-Deceuninck team.
Tour de France Femmes: Previous winners
2024:Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon SRAM 2023: Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx - Protime 2022: Annemiek van Vlueten (Ned) Movistar All results below are from La Course, a one day race 2020: Lizzie Deignan (GBr) Trek-Segafredo 2019: Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv 2018: Annemiek van Vlueten (Ned) Mitchleton Scott 2017: Annemiek van Vlueten (Ned) Orica-Scott 2016: Chloe Hosking (Aus) Wiggle-High5 2015: Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Rabobank-Liv 2014: Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank-Liv
Tour de France Femmes FAQ
Q: Who wins the Tour de France Femmes?
A: Like any stage-race, the Tour de France Femmes is won by the rider with the lowest accumulative time over all the stages. Nine in the case of the Tour de France Femmes. Times for each stage are added together as the race goes on (and time bonuses taken off those times), meaning there is always a rider in the lead throughout the race. The lead can, and does, change hands through the race as riders gain or lose time on their rivals each stage.
Q: Is the rider at the front leading the race?
A: No, this is a common misconception. The rider at the front of the race might be in a break on that stage or just leading the bunch. It doesn't mean they are leading the race, or 'winning' the race or that stage.
The rider leading the race is the one in the yellow jersey. This means they are the rider with the lowest accumulative time for the all the stages prior to the one currently taking place.
Q: Why do they wear a yellow jersey?
A: The yellow jersey, one of the most iconic symbols in all sport, comes from the men's race. The Tour de France was set up in 1903 by Henri Desgrange to advertise the French newspaper L'Auto which was printed on yellow paper.
Q: Who rides the Tour de France Femmes?
A: 22 teams of seven riders will line up at the start in Vannes. These are all professional teams, including the 15 UCI ranked WorldTeams (the biggest teams in the sport) and all seven ProTeams, a ranking that sits one below the WorldTeams. These rankings are earned by the individual riders in each team who obtain UCI ranking points for race results through the year. The bigger the race, the more points they earn for a result. The WorldTeams are typically the ones with the bigger budgets, better riders, and bigger squads
Q: Do all the riders have to finish every stage
A: Yes. A rider cannot start the next day's stage if they do not finish the stage currently taking place. A rider may crash out of a stage, and not be able to finish, pull out with illness or injury, be disqualified for a major breach of the UCI regulations, or be eliminated by the time cut.
Q: What is the time cut?
A: Every rider has to finish a stage within a certain time of the stage winner. If they don't they will be eliminated from the race and OTL (outside the time limit) is listed against their name in the results. The time limit is a percentage of the winners time, added to the winners time, in which everyone has to finish.
So if a stage is won in three hours, and the time limit is set at 10% of the winners time, all riders would have to finish within 18 minutes of the winner. The percentage added is dictated by average speed of the stage (one marker of how hard that stage was) and the severity of the stage, ie. how much climbing there is on route.
Q: Is everyone racing for the yellow jersey?
A: Only certain riders will be racing for the yellow jersey. These are the GC contenders listed above. Within the race there are multiple other races going on. Many riders, referred to as domestiques, are there to help their team leaders, while others will be riding for stage wins, or for the other jerseys on offer.
Green jersey: The green jersey is worn by the leader of the points classification. Points are awarded at the end of each stage, with the winner of the stage receiving 50 points for a flat stage (or one 'without any significant difficulty'), second place receiving 30 points, third place 20 and so on down to two points for 15th place. For harder stages, with more climbing, the winner will only receive 20 points, meaning it's a competition that favours the sprinters. There are also intermediate sprints on each stage where points are available.
Polka dot jersey: The leader of the climbing classification wears a white jersey with red dots, referred to as the polka dot jersey. For this classification, points are award at the top of each categorised climb. These range from category 4 climbs (shorter, easier climbs) to third, second, first and hors category (beyond categorisation) climbs. the harder the climb, the more points are on offer at the top.
White jersey: The white jersey is worn by the best placed young rider on the general classification. The young rider classification is open to all riders under 25 years of age.
Stages: Each stage is a race within the overall race. While the timings of the stage are important (as they add up through the race and count for the general classification - or GC), outside of those timings a stage win on its own does not affect the GC. Riders going specifically for stage wins include the sprinters, or the riders who won't challenge for the GC. GC contenders do often win the harder stages in the mountains.
This is why you might see the race leader in yellow, not trying to win a stage if they aren't going to gain any time on their rivals. GC riders will typically focus on the stages where they can gain time on their rivals, and conserve their energy on the stages - typically the flatter ones - where they are unlikely to gain any time.
Q: How much does the winner of the Tour de France Femmes get?
A: The winner receives €50,000 out of a total prize fund of €250,000. There is prize money for stage wins and placings below, and the other classifications. Typically in cycling all prize money throughout a season is first paid to the teams (rather than the individual riders) before being divided out.
It has been tradition in the men's Tour de France that the winner gives all their earnings to their team mates who have worked for them throughout the race, safe in the knowledge that they will earn more thanks to their win. Either in appearance money, sponsorship, or a more valuable contract from their current or next team.
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Editor of Cycling Weekly magazine, Simon has been working at the title since 2001. He fell in love with cycling 1989 when watching the Tour de France on Channel 4, started racing in 1995 and in 2000 he spent one season racing in Belgium. During his time at CW (and Cycle Sport magazine) he has written product reviews, fitness features, pro interviews, race coverage and news. He has covered the Tour de France more times than he can remember along with two Olympic Games and many other international and UK domestic races. He became the 130-year-old magazine's 13th editor in 2015.
