When the men’s Tour ends Sunday, there will be an historic occasion for professional female cyclists: they’ll have their own Tour de France. Although there was a Tour de France Feminine more than 30 years ago, an actual Tour de France for women has floundered, with smaller iterations stopping and starting since. Christophe Prudhomme is confident that this Tour de France Femmes will last. “The goal is to organize a race that will stay, that will still exist in 100 years,” he said.
The six Canadian riders who made history at the Tour de France Feminin
The Tdf Femmes is 1,029 km throughout eight stages. It has two mountain stages, four stages for the sprinters, and two that would suit rouleurs. Just like the men’s race, women will compete for four iconic jerseys: the yellow for GC leader, the green for best sprinter, polka-dots for best climber and white jersey for best young rider.
🤩The 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲 #𝗧𝗗𝗙𝗙 avec @𝗚𝗼𝗭𝘄𝗶𝗳𝘁!
🤩 Voici 𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗹 du #𝗧𝗗𝗙𝗙 avec 𝗭𝘄𝗶𝗳𝘁 ! pic.twitter.com/3Qms6zgoCv
— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) October 14, 2021
The Stages of Tour de France Femmes
Although the men finish in Paris, the TdF Femmes will start with an 82-km race around the City of Lights, finishing on the famous Champs Elysées. Riders will not only be fresh and hungry for the stage, but for the first yellow jersey. The strong teams will most likely be controlling the action as much as possible. The winner will probably come from a bunch sprint. Could Marianne Vos add the yellow jersey to her collection?
That being said, the jersey will most likely change hands the next day from Meaux to Provins with a 135-km race that ends in a tough false-flat climb. It may be a good day for someone like the Danish rider Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.
Stage 3 will hit the hills with five climbs as they head into Epernay. The finish is uphill and will most likely set the tone for the rest of the race. A rider like Ashley Moolman Pasio could be one to watch as the riders head upward. Whoever is wearing the jersey in Stage 4 will need to have a strong team, as the climbing gets even tougher with six ascents, plus four rough sections of road in the last half of the race, as they head toward finish in Troyes to Bar-sur-Aube.
The next day is the longest stage of the race, at 175 km. If…
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