Annemiek van Vleuten
The defending champion
- Movistar Team
- Dutch; 40 years old; 1.68 m; 59 kg
- Place of residence: Wageningen (NED)
- Professional since 2009
Most important successes: World Road Champion 2019, 2022; Olympic Champion 2021 (EZF); Giro d'Italia Donne 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023; Tour of Flanders 2011, 2021; Vuelta Femenina 2023; Result Tour de France Femmes 2022: Overall victory, 2 stage victories
Strengths: Time trials, one-day races, long climbs, tours
Demi Vollering
The favourite
- Team SD Worx
- Dutch; 26 years old; 1.72 m; 58 kg
- Place of residence: Therwil (SUI)
- Professional since 2019
Most important successes: Strade Bianche 2023; Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2023; La Course by Le Tour de France 2021; Result Tour de France Femmes 2022: 2nd place overall
Strengths One-day races, long climbs, tours
Katarzyna Niewiadoma
The constant
- Canyon//SRAM Racing
- Polish; 28 years old; 1.65 m; 49 kg
- Place of residence: Girona (ESP)
- Professional since 2014
Most important successes: Amstel Gold Race 2019; Women's Tour 2017; Trofeo Alfredo Binda 2018; Result Tour de France Femmes 2022: 3rd place overall
Strengths: Long climbs, one-day races, tours
Elisa Longo Borghini
The reliable one
- Trek-Segafredo
- Italian; 31 years old; 1.70 m; 59 kg
- Place of residence: Urnafasch (ITA)
- Professional since 2011
Most important successes: UAE Tour 2023; Paris-Roubaix 2022; Women's Tour 2022; Strade Bianche 2017; Tour of Flanders 2015; Trofeo Alfredo Binda 2013, 2021; Result Tour de France Femmes 2022: 6th place overall
Strengths: One-day races, long climbs, tours
Tour de France Femmes - Favourites: Who sets the tone?
154 riders from 22 teams, each with seven women, will be on the start line. This should favour the top teams such as SD Worx, Movistar and Lidl-Trek, who have more opportunities to control the race with stronger squads.
It will be interesting to see what role Lidl-Trek and Canyon//SRAM Racing can play in the battle for the title. The Canyon-SRAM team led by sporting director Ronny Lauke has regained its former strength this season. Young Ricarda Bauernfeind from Ingolstadt has made it into the Tour squad, giving leader Kasia Niewiadoma a reliable helper. It will also be exciting to see how Lizzie Deignan from Lidl-Trek comes back from her maternity break; the Brit is likely to pull off a similar coup to 2019, when she surprisingly won the Women's Tour ten months after the birth of her first child, although she was still rather inconspicuous during the Vuelta Femenina in Spain at the beginning of May and the Giro Donne at the beginning of July.
Tour de France Femmes favourites: Lippert wants to help van Vleuten
The German riders in the women's Tour de France will primarily be at the service of their respective captains. "Everything for Annemiek," explains Liane Lippert when asked about her own ambitions for her second Tour de France Femmes: "I will definitely take on the role of helper and do everything I can to ensure that Annemiek ends up at the top again. There's nothing better than riding in the Tour winner's team now and helping her to win a second time." Last year's winner, who will probably end her unique career after this season, no longer seems as unassailable as in the past.
In the demanding one-day races, the 40-year-old achieved top ten finishes at Strade Bianche, Fleche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but she was unable to secure a victory. She went on to win the Vuelta in Spain and the Giro Donne, but the way in which her compatriot Demi Vollering brought her to the brink of defeat on the last day of the Vuelta suggests that the 26-year-old from the SD Worx team will be the rider to beat at the Tour. She is the shooting star of the season so far and with her victories at Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Vuelta Femenina, she must be considered the top favourite in France.
Tour de France Femmes: the start of a tradition
The framework for a challenging and exciting women's Tour de France is therefore in place and self-confidence has grown. "Last year, we were still a curiosity for the media," says Tour boss Marion Rousse. "Our bet was risky, but ultimately successful. Now we want to improve even further!" So on 23 July, the starting signal could finally mark the beginning of what we hope will be a long tradition.
