949.7km, 13,566m of ascent, 154 cyclists at the start and just one yellow jersey. The 3rd éhe Tour de France Women with Zwift is set to become even more spectacular and popular, with a long-awaited start from the Netherlands for the first time.
7 athletes will make up the FDJ-SUEZ line-up with a single goal : to make their mark this year. 3rd edition of our footprint. Evita Muzic, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Grace Brown, Amber Kraak, Léa Curinier, Loes Adegeest and Coralie Demay will be leading the most eagerly awaited stage race of the year.
The Dutch equation : flat, windy and constantly dangerous
From the province of South Holland, the FDJ-SUEZ team will set off for a flat, urban and particularly tricky first stage of the race. On Monday 12 August, stage 1 from Rotterdam to The Hague will kick off the hostilities, on a course of 123km with the passage of the imposing and ultramodern “Maasdeltatunnel”, as well as flat roads possibly exposed to the wind. A final sprint, in front of a Dutch crowd, is expected, but the first day could still be disrupted by tackles and race incidents.
Stages 2 and 3, grouped together on Tuesday 13 August, are a new feature. For stage 2, the peloton will set off in the morning from Dordrecht to Rotterdam, for a race with the feel of an urban criterium, with 69.7km of flat terrain dotted with street furniture. In the afternoon, stage 3 will take the form of a short prologue of 6.3km, ideal for the most explosive cyclists.
From Belgium to Morteau : time for the puncheuses
On a route combining the roads of the legendary Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, stage 4, 122.7km long between Valkenburg and Liège, will be animated by breakaway attempts and the start of the battle for the polka-dot jersey. Starting in Bastogne, stage 5 will be the first to exceed 2,000m of ascent to reach France and Amnéville, at the end of 152.5km. The most fervent FDJ-SUEZ supporters will note the similarities between this bumpy finish and that of stage 3 of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, brilliantly won in Epernay by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.
Between Remiremont and Morteau, stage 6 will bring the riders closer to the mountainous roads of the Jura, with a total of 159.2km and more than 2,200m of climbing. As well as a passage through Melisey, home to Thibaut Pinot, the day will be dominated by two difficulties: the route de la Roche du Prêtre, 5.5km long at 5.6% with a final kilometre at 12%, and the Côte des Fins (1.8km at 6.9%). No doubt Evita Muzic, a former VC Morteau Montbenoit rider, will be keen to do well on this demanding stage.
These three stages will be the only ones to include bonuses for 6, 4 and 2 seconds.
Alpe d’Huez to make history
Starting in Champagnole, stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes will set the tone. To reach the finish in Le Grand-Bornand, the peloton will have to cover the longest stage of the Tour de France Femmes, with 175.9km (including the fictitious stage) and 3100m of ascent. After a 7km climb, the finish will serve as an appetiser for the world’s best female climbers before a legendary following day.
On Sunday 18 August 2024, following on from the finish at the summit of the Tourmalet in the 2023 edition, the difficult ascent of the Glandon (19.7km at 7.2%) and the 21 mythical bends of the Alpe d’Huez (13.8km at 8.1%) should allow the peloton to become a legend. This stage 8, with 149.9km and almost 4000m of ascent, will seal the overall classification of the Tour de France Femmes 2024 and crown the ultimate winner of the yellow jersey.
Evita, Cecilie, Grace, Loes, Léa, Amber, Coralie and the whole FDJ-SUEZ team look forward to seeing you on the roads of the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift.
© Thibaut Mongis (Head of media relations at FDJ)