Tour de France Femmes 2025 - Stage 1: Vannes - Plumelec | 78,8 Kilometers
The start of the Tour de France Femmes is short and sweet: at just 78.8 kilometers, it is a very short race for the professional athletes.
This means that the riding will be very aggressive and that it will be almost impossible to control what happens. Everyone is fired up, everyone has energy from start to finish. It is therefore likely to be a very hectic and fast race.
The toughest obstacle on the course is the Côte de Cadoudal, 1.7 km long with an average gradient of 6.2%. It's certainly not a monster climb, but how selective a climb is, depends not only on its length and steepness, but also on the speed at which the riders tackle it. The climb must be tackled three times in the final laps in Plumelec, with the last passage being the finish line. The race will therefore probably be decided on the final climb – either in the style of an elimination race or as a sprint from a small group.
Can sprinters succeed in such a finale? At the 2025 Milan-San Remo Donne, held for the first time with a shorter route but the same finale as the men's race, the world's current best sprinter, Lorena Wiebes, was able to stay with the leading group on the Poggio, the pre-selection climb. With the help of her teammate Lotte Kopecky, she caught up with Elisa Longo Borghini, who had broken away from the 15 rider strong group at the end of the descent, and then won the group sprint – albeit on flat terrain.
In the first stage of the Tour, however, the finish line is at the end of the climb, so there will be a shoot-out on the climb. The situation is therefore not comparable to the Poggio. It is more likely that a puncheur, such as Lotte Kopecky, will prevail. But a strong sprinter climber also has a chance.
But let's move on to technology. What equipment offers advantages for this type of race? Should the bikes be as light as possible, or are aerodynamics more important?
Anyone who has read the tech briefings for the men's Tour will suspect that aerodynamics also trumps weight here.
However, there are differences between men and women: on average, women are significantly lighter and have slightly less power in relation to their weight than men. The same rules apply to the bikes, though: a minimum weight of 6.8 kilograms is also set for women. This means that the bikes are heavier in relation to body weight than for men, and as a result, weight differences in bikes have a relatively greater effect for women.
So which bike is the fastest under these slightly different circumstances? We simulate the elimination race after the start on the last climb.
The number of the day: three tenths of a second
The Cervélo S5 wins the uphill sprint in our simulation. The key data is known from the men's tour: the S5 has top aerodynamics, but with a 1x12 drivetrain it can be brought close to the 6.8-kilogram limit.
Multiple former champion and classic specialist Marianne Vos should be happy to be riding what is, on paper, the fastest bike. We'll see if it's enough to win.
An overview of the (almost) complete field
The table shows: In the uphill sprint, the bikes with low weight and aerodynamic design lead the way.
Our expert
Robert Kühnen studied mechanical engineering, writes for TOUR about technology and training topics and develops testing methods. Robert has been refining the simulation calculations for years, they are also used by professional teams.
