Emerging from the shadow of the men’s Tour de France by taking the risk of not benefiting from its fame. This is the risky gamble that the Tour de France Femmes will take during its third edition, scheduled from August 12 to 18, 2024. For the first time in its short history, the race will not take place immediately after its male counterpart, but three weeks later. A choice forced by the presence in the calendar of the Paris Olympic Games (July 26 to August 11).
The situation does not seem to worry Marion Rousse. “We had to show this year that the first edition of the Women’s Tour was not a curiosity. We had confirmation of this this season, the race has entered the history of sport,” assured the director of the event, who came to present the route of the future edition, Wednesday October 25, at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. Especially since the place in the calendar will not be the only novelty on the menu: for the first time, the Tour de France Femmes will start far from France, and will take up residence in the Netherlands during its first three stages ( out of eight).
“It seemed logical to us that the flagship nation of women’s cycling could host the biggest cycling race in the world,” argued Marion Rousse last July, when the start in Rotterdam was announced. This departure is also a nod to the history of the men’s Tour, whose first start outside French borders also took place in the Netherlands in 1954.
The idea is in any case surely to the taste of the Dutchwoman Demi Vollering (SD Worx), winner of the event in 2023. In front of her audience, the 26-year-old champion and the rest of the peloton will be entitled to a unique challenge the next day from the start: two short stages in one day. After a first stage promised to the sprinters between Rotterdam and The Hague (124 km), the runners will have a double challenge on Tuesday: a short stage in the morning between Dordrecht and Rotterdam (67 km), before a time trial in the same town in the afternoon (6.7 km).
Two prestigious arrivals in the Alps
The latter will take the routes taken by the men during the prologue of the 2010 Tour, and could make gaps despite its short format. “Be careful of wind damage at the start of the race,” warns Marion Rousse. After a detour through Belgium, the Tour will finally head to France during the fifth stage, before concluding with the big absentee from the first two editions of the race: the Alps. After the Vosges in 2022 and the Pyrenees in 2023, the runners will end their journey by climbing certain legendary passes.
The Tour 2024 tracers have prepared two prestigious arrivals for the end of the week. The best climbers in the peloton will meet at the summit of Grand-Bornand at the finish of the seventh stage (167 km), after having notably skirted Lake Annecy. They will have to recover quickly for the finale of the race and the high mountain stage scheduled for Sunday between Grand-Bornand and Alpe d’Huez (154 km), known for its endless 21 numbered bends. Quite a challenge to conclude a week of 946 km on the bike.
These difficult climbs will perhaps be the opportunity for Juliette Labous (DSM) to achieve her first podium on the Tour de France Femmes. The Tricolore did not go far during the first two editions, finishing in 4th place in 2022 and 5th in 2023. Its presence at the Palais de Congrès on Wednesday for the announcement of the route suggests that it is far from having finished with the ordeal.