Tour de France Femmes 2026 to roll out of Lausanne with Ferrand-Prévot defending and Vollering chasing

The 2026 Tour de France Femmes will set off from Lausanne on Saturday, 1 August, for a nine-day journey that ends on the French Riviera. It is the fifth edition since the race was revived in 2022, and the organisers have scaled up the challenge: 39 classified climbs are on the programme, up from 24 a year ago, spread across 1,174 kilometres. The highest point will be Mont Ventoux on stage 7, a summit still threatened by wildfires in the region. Around 24 million viewers tuned in last year, and the race will be broadcast in 190 countries.

Defending champion and main challenger

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot returns in the yellow jersey after sealing the 2025 title with back-to-back mountain stage wins. She will lead Visma-Lease a Bike and has made no secret of her desire to win for a second time.

I hope the public will be behind me like they were last year. It really gave me wings. I want to succeed for myself but I also want to succeed for the French public.

The most decorated threat to her crown is Demi Vollering, who crashed out of contention in Angers last July and now races for FDJ United-Suez. Vollering arrives in Switzerland having already won the Giro d'Italia Women, the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège this spring.

I'm above all very enthusiastic, I really can't wait to be there and I had a great training camp with my teammates. This year I come with a positive state of mind and a good feeling. Even if the Tour doesn't go as planned, my season has been incredible.

French talent in supporting and starring roles

The home nation will field several riders who have already made their mark. Célia Géry, the 20-year-old French champion, makes her Tour debut after a breakthrough first professional campaign that included a stage win at the Giro. She will ride primarily in service of Vollering but remains open to seizing any freedom she is given.

Cédrine Kerbaol, the first French stage winner of the revived Tour in 2024, carries a sense of unfinished business after a late crash dropped her from fifth to eighth overall last summer. She enters the race on an upward curve, having finished second at the Tour de Suisse and won a stage at the Vuelta a España. Kerbaol said she is "vengeful about the final note of last year" and intends to use her descending ability, especially on the final day's repeated ascents of the Col d'Èze.

Maëva Squiban, a double stage winner in the Alps in 2025, will step into a domestique role for UAE Team L'Imad, supporting Elisa Longo Borghini. Constance Valentin, riding for Mayenne Monbana My Pie, will hunt breakaways while also protecting her team's leaders on the mountain and sprint stages.

A race growing in scale and ambition

Race director Marion Rousse pointed to a jump in public and commercial interest. The publicity caravan has grown from 19 vehicles last summer to 25, and the event is now broadcast in 190 territories.

There is a real enthusiasm on all sides, whether from the media or from people who love cycling. And in fact, we know that this result, we obtained it thanks to the Tour de France name and the magic that operates around this event.

The demanding parcours includes 18,795 metres of total elevation gain. After the Swiss opener, the fourth stage will be an individual time trial in Dijon on 4 August, where a supporters' club from the Mayenne team will travel to cheer on Valentin. The queen stage across Mont Ventoux hangs under the cloud of nearby fires, though organisers have confirmed the climb remains on the itinerary for stage 7. The closing weekend will feature multiple ascents of the Col d'Èze before the finish near Nice.