Tour de France Femmes 2026: route preview, key stages & riders

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift enters its fifth year in 2026 and has firmly established itself as the biggest race on the women’s calendar and as a showcase event alongside the men’s Tour de France.

The nine-day race will be stacked with the world’s best female riders set to compete for the coveted yellow jersey and the chance to stand on the podium in Nice. As in the men’s race, there are also jerseys for the Queen of the Mountains, the best young rider, and the points classification leader, plus an award for the best team in the race.

Our complete Tour de France Femmes guide will take you through every stage preview, highlight key riders, where the race will be won, and explain how you can watch and follow along this summer.

• Dates: August 1 to August 9 
• Total distance: ~1,150km   
• 1 summit finishes  
• 4 hilly stages  
• 3 sprint/flat finishes   
• 1 time trials  
• 21 teams competing  
• 2 former winners on the startlist 

Unlike last year, the Tour de France Femmes doesn’t overlap with the men’s race, and instead, race organisers ASO have allowed for roughly a week between the two marquee races. With the men’s race ending towards the end of July, the women’s race kicks off on August 1 and concludes nine days later on August 9.

The Grand Départ is in Lausanne, Switzerland, with the race crossing into France on stage 3. The race then briefly heads north to Dijon before heading south towards what should be an exciting finale in Nice.

The roots of the modern-day Tour de France Femmes can be traced back to the 1950s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that female riders had their own consistent version of the Tour de France. The race was shelved, however. Towards the end of the decade, the Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale and Tour Cycliste Féminin were held during the summer months, but they had no direct link to the men’s Tour de France.

In 2014, La Course, a one- or two-day event held in conjunction with the men’s Tour de France, was formed. This helped lay the foundations for what was to come with the Tour de France Femmes, starting in 2022, with the race following directly from the men’s race and starting in Paris.   

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) won the final two stages of that year’s race and became the first overall winner in the process, as she won all three Grand Tours in what was a history-making season for her, her team, and, of course, Canyon. That same year, Kasia Niewiadoma, also on a Canyon, would finish third overall in the Tour de France Femmes, providing a clear sign of what was to come in the future.

In 2023, van Vleuten finished a credible fourth in her final appearance in the race. Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) won the polka-dot Queen of the Mountains jersey while placing third overall for the second year in a row. 

Then in 2024, Niewiadoma won the Tour de France Femmes for the first time in her career, capping an incredible performance that saw the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto rider take the coveted yellow jersey on the road to Amnéville. She would hold the race lead right through the remaining few stages, even surviving a thrilling battle with Demi Vollering on the slopes of Alpe d'Huez, with Niewiadoma winning the race by just four seconds.

Last year, Niewiadoma took another highly credible podium finish, with the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto team leader coming home in third place, behind French winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and second-placed Demi Vollering.

Race organisers ASO have once again put together a fantastic route, and the aim will be to ensure that the fight for the yellow jersey goes down to the wire. 

There are stages for every style of rider, with a blend of sprint stages, a summit finish on the mythical slopes of Mont Ventoux, several undulating stages, and the return of the individual time trial, with a key 21km stage between Gevrey-Chambertin and Dijon. 

This is a route that has an element of everything, and it should thoroughly entertain fans as they cheer on the best female riders in the peloton

The opening stage of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes has the potential to ignite the first battle for the yellow jersey. Although there are no major mountain ascents, the route includes three well-placed climbs, one of which, the Côte Saint-François, comes right at the end of the race. The riders will complete a 137km loop that starts and finishes in Lausanne, with the first two climbs - the Côte de Villars-le-Comte and Côte de Vuillens - coming midway through the stage. Neither ascent is particularly tough or long, but they will decide the wearer of the first Queen of the Mountain’s jersey and should provide launch pads for attacks or a mid-stage breakaway. It’s likely that the GC teams will keep any break within a couple of minutes before the final climb to the line at the Côte Saint-François.

The ascent is just 2.5km in length and has an average gradient of 4.6%, but positioning into the climb will be crucial, and the fight to be at the very front of the peloton will be intense. Make a mistake at this point and a GC rider could see their hopes of the yellow jersey end on stage 1. Assuming all the riders hit the final climb intact, the stage win should come down to a fight between the punchier climbers and a handful of GC stars to determine the first yellow jersey of this year’s race. In terms of the sprint for the line, timing will be the most important factor.

Stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes should be a nail-biter day for the sprinters, with a 149km test between Aigle and Geneva. The stage starts at the home of the UCI headquarters, and although there are five climbs along the route, none of them should be a challenge for the peloton, with the longest being 3.2km in length. All of the ascents also come in the middle of the stage before a flat run-in into the finish, where we should see the sprinters compete for the glory of a stage win.

The most likely scenario following stage 1 is that an early break goes up the road, takes a couple of minutes on the main field, before the yellow jersey’s team and the squads with sprinters control the race. The break will likely be caught inside the final 15km, after which we will see a chaotic and exciting sprint for the win. The GC leadership probably won’t change hands, but the bonus seconds on the line could be a factor.

Stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes is probably one of the hardest to call in terms of predictions. The 157km route heads from Switzerland into France for the first time in the race, with the peloton tackling several tough climbs in the first portion of the day. On paper, it’s a day for the breakaway specialists, but if the sprinters can remain in contention, there’s every chance they will come out on top as the terrain starts to level out deeper into the stage.

There is the relatively small Côte de Chaux-Champagny that comes within the final 30km, but that shouldn’t pose too much trouble. The short, unclassified climb just before the finish in Poligny could catch a few riders out. This is a day for teams to be aggressive and try to dislodge the sprinters.

The individual time trial returns to the Tour de France Femmes with a 21km test between Gevrey-Chambertin and Dijon. The route is straightforward, with a long flat section of around 8km before the road begins to climb Lacets de Marsannay, a 1.8km climb that averages around 6 percent. This is followed by a long descent and the final stretch of flat roads towards the finishing town of Dijon.

Although not a particularly long test, this stage has the capacity to redefine the GC standings, and the time trial specialists will look to put the hammer down and trouble the pure climbers with every pedal stroke.

The race organisers have designed a truly tough test for the peloton on stage 5, with a day crammed with climbing. There may not be a summit finish, but the eight classified climbs between Mâcon and Belleville-en-Beaujolais will make this one of the hardest and most stressful days of the entire Tour de France Femmes. The 9.6km Côte de Cenves comes within the opening few kilometres of the stage and will most likely be the launchpad for several major attacks as riders further down the GC look to form the day’s breakaway.  

The wave of attacks will no doubt put pressure on whichever team is leading the overall standings, and they will need to ensure that none of their key rivals is allowed up the road, while the subsequent terrain should allow the breakaway to build a lead before the finish. The final climb of Mont Brouilly comes with around 12km to go, and that should act as the perfect moment for one of the breakaway riders to try to forge clear and win the stage. This is one of those stages you won’t be able to take your eyes off.  

Stage 6, from Montbrison to Tournon-sur-Rhône, follows a similar format to stage 5, with five categorised climbs on the menu as the race heads south into the leafy Ardèche region. The first four climbs come within the first 70.5km of racing, but with 2,574m of climbing in total, this is set to be another tough day in the saddle. Teams that missed the break on stage 5 will be desperate to be in the thick of the action, and the fight for the first move of the day will be intense from the start.

There’s barely a metre of flat racing throughout the stage, and while the final climb comes within the last 20km, the road kicks up once more before the finish. There will be a lot of tired legs at this point in the race, and the GC riders will be hoping to save as much energy as possible for the final three days that will decide the race.

The Queen stage of the race sees the Tour de France Femmes climb the legendary Mont Ventoux, for what will undoubtedly be the defining stage of this year’s race.

The stage also holds three smaller climbs en route, with the Col de la Grande Limite, Col du Colombier, and the Col de Suzette, spread out during the 144km test, but all eyes will be on the 15.5km final test and only summit finish of this year’s race... This is where the Tour de France Femmes will be won and lost with GC riders going head-to-head.

This is where the Tour de France Femmes will be one and lost with GC riders going head-to-head. We’ve seen some incredible battles in the mountains at the Tour de France Femmes in the last few years, and this could certainly be the best yet.

The penultimate stage of this year’s Tour de France Femmes is the longest of the race, with the peloton covering 175km from Sisteron to Nice. Although the stage isn’t as demanding as the previous day’s test to the summit of Mont Ventoux, it’s still a tough day in the saddle, with over 1,800m of vertical climbing. The first half of the stage is uphill, with two categorised climbs, before a long descent as the race heads towards the coast.

There are two short, punchy climbs before the finish that could cause a surprise or two, but this certainly looks like a day for the breakaway. If the GC is still separated by a couple of seconds, the favourites could still test each other out before the finish. 

The final stage of the race might be only 99km, but it packs a real punch with a relentless, roller-coaster mountain circuit around Nice that tackles the legendary Col d'Eze. The climb is 7.8km long and averages 6 per cent, with the last ascent coming within the final 20km. This is the last chance for the GC riders to go head-to-head, but it’ll take something incredibly special for the race lead to change hands at this point. But as the Tour de France Femmes has shown time and again, anything is possible on the final day of the race.

CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto have yet to announce their full line-up for the Tour de France Femmes, but we can expect former race winner and last year’s podium finisher Kasia Niewiadoma to be on the start list. The former UCI gravel world champion is the only rider to have made the podium in every one of the last four editions of the race, and she will no doubt be in the hunt to keep that amazing streak going.

Niewiadoma will probably be joined by teammate Zoe Bäckstedt, who should be a contender for the individual time trial. Antonia Niedermaier and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig are likely to be part of the team’s stacked line-up.  

Movistar will also field a strong team at the race as they chase a GC result and stage wins. The Spanish team will hope Marlen Reusser is fit in time for the race, with the Swiss rider a favourite for the time trial and the GC. Liane Lippert is another rider to watch, with the German a former stage winner in the race. The 28-year-old is one of the best breakaway specialists in the peloton, and Cat Ferguson could be in line for her Tour de France debut. The British rider has been racing on a Canyon since her early days in the sport, and the former double junior world champion has already demonstrated she can win from breaks or in bunch sprints.  

Finally, Fenix-Premier Tech will head into the race full of confidence and hope. The Belgian team have one of the most accomplished and well-rounded squads in the peloton, and with the fast-finishing Carina Schrempf for the sprints, former white jersey Puck Pieterse for the GC, and Yara Kastelijn for the climbs, the team have plenty of options.

In the UK, you can watch the 2026 Tour de France Femmes on TNT Sports, Discovery+, and HBO Max. 

In France, Eurosport, France Télévisions, and L'Équipe are set to show the race. In other major European territories, Eurosport are likely to show the race, but remember to check ahead of time so that you don’t miss out.

In North America, you can watch the race on NBC Sports and NBC Universal's streaming service, Peacock. SBS in Australia is also expected to show it this year. In Canada, the event is set to be streamed by FloBikes. All of the above broadcasters charge varying subscription fees in their respective territories.

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