The Tour de France Femmes may still be eight months away, but with the route for the 2026 race announced on Thursday, the preparations and anticipation have already begun. It may officially be the off-season, but anyone who wants to win the yellow jersey will be planning now what they’re going to do in the coming months to target next summer’s nine-stage route.
With an individual time trial, an ascent of Mont Ventoux and a wealth of other stages of radically varying type and difficulty all to tackle, the 2026 Tour de France Femmes looks like one of the hardest yet. What’s certain is the potential winner will need considerable all-round strength to be in a position to claim the yellow jersey.
Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez)
Though she’s been beaten the last two years, Demi Vollering will be looking at the route for the 2026 Tour and thinking that next year is definitely her time to return to the top step of the podium. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot may have out-climbed her to victory this year, but the addition of a time trial really plays into Vollering’s hands for 2026, and she’s historically better in the medium mountains, too. Ventoux will be an all-out fight, but Vollering is the more well-rounded rider for the rest of the race.
The Dutch rider had an amazing 2025, topping the best rider rankings at the end of the year, and she won plenty of races, but missed out on her big goals. If she wants to win the Tour next year, she might want to think about following in Ferrand-Prévot’s footsteps and actually racing less to spend more time focusing on those major objectives. If she comes into the 2026 Tour in shape and motivated, the course offers an excellent chance for Demi Vollering to claim yellow for the first time since 2023.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike)
The winner of this year’s race, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has to be joint favourite for victory next year too. The Frenchwoman only returned to…
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