The route for the 2025 Tour de France Femmes was made public earlier this week. Next year’s race will be the longest edition to date, stretching out to nine stages instead of eight. The route will also be the most mountainous in the race’s short history with three mountain stages on offer, including a summit finish up the Col de la Madeleine and a final Alpine challenge to Châtel.
The 2024 edition will be a tough act to follow. The nail-biting finale up the Alpe d’Huez saw Kasia Niewiadoma claim the yellow jersey by just four seconds over Demi Vollering who suffered a heavy crash earlier in the race. Niewiadoma and Vollering have already shared their ambitions to win the race once more, plus, a host of other familiar names have announced that they will return to the biggest race in women’s cycling.
We now know where the next Tour de France Femmes is going. Let’s try and drum up some wildly early predictions and guess who will win the nine stages, the four distinctive jerseys and end up on the final GC podium.
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Tour de France Femmes 2025: Who’s going to be there
Reigning champion Niewiadoma will be on the start line in an attempt to defend her 2024 title. We’ve already had confirmation that last year’s runner-up Vollering will also line up at the Tour de France Femmes next summer. She will lead her new team FDJ-Suez after a high-profile transfer.
Elisa Longo Borghini missed the Tour de France Femmes last year after her Giro victory. I suspect that she’ll be drafted in for the Tour for her new UAE Team ADQ squad who will be looking for big results.
Now without Vollering on their books, SD Worx-Protime will likely be led by World Champion Lotte Kopecky. The Dutch superteam are also likely to have sprinter Lorena Wiebes as well as the great Anna van der Breggen in her first year coming out of retirement. After spending some time as a directeur sportif, she will return to the peloton with ambitions of winning this race. Whether she’ll be back at her supreme level straight away remains to be seen.
Visma-Lease a Bike should be joined by Olympic mountain bike champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. She has announced her ambitions to ride in this race, hinting at a possible GC bid. On the Dutch team, Ferrand-Prévot will be joined by last year’s green jersey winner Marianne Vos who will be 38 years old at the start of next year’s race.
Predicting every stage of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes
Stage 1: Saturday 26th July, Vannes – Plumelec, 79km
For the fourth consecutive year, the Tour de France Femmes will start with a road stage. For just the second time, it will be a hilly one.
This short Breton profile will be fairly spiky. That said, I can see this all coming down to the final climb of the day, the Côte de Cadoudal. Thankfully, there's some point of reference for this Plumelec ramp. The Cadoudal hill features as the final climb in the annual Grand Prix du Morbihan, plus, the final 30km of this Tour stage is roughly the same as that lesser-known Classic.
In that race, it's rare for a rider to go to the line on their own. Usually, it's decided by a reduced sprint of around four to six riders. For this, we have to factor in puncheurs with a competent sprint.
A former winner of the Grand Prix du Morbihan Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig should be one of the favourites for the first yellow jersey. However, at her new team Canyon-SRAM, she might be wing-womaning Niewiadoma in the finale. Unlike Uttrup Ludwig, Kopecky won't be burdened by those duties – sorry Anna van der Breggen. I'll, therefore, back the Belgian for this one. Her sprint kick on an uphill finish is above anyone else in the peloton and she should be in tip-top form coming into the Tour.
Cyclist prediction: Lotte Kopecky
Stage 2: Sunday 27th July, Brest – Quimper, 110km
The second stage has a fairly similar profile.
On an identical finish at the men's Tour de France in 2018, Peter Sagan won a reduced sprint to the line. On that day, puncheurs and Classics men were sprinting in unison for the stage win. At the Tour next year, I expect a similar finale.
Boring to some, I have to back Kopecky for the second day in a row. Elisa Balsamo and Vos might have a good chance to draw level with the World Champion, but Kopecky will be the woman to beat on a stage like this.
Cyclist prediction: Lotte Kopecky
Stage 3: Monday 28th July, La Gacilly – Angers, 162km
Moving southeast, we enter flat provincial France on Stage 3. This should offer the first chance for the thoroughbred sprinters contenders to taste success.
The arrival town Angers is protected from the wind, so it's likely that the stage will end in a formulaic bunch sprint. For this, two Dutchwomen will be the ones to watch: Wiebes and Charlotte Kool.
DSM-Firmenich-PostNL's Kool won two stages of last year's Tour, despite having poor form on the run into the race. She could revitalise the same legs here, but Wiebes is more reliable. Kopecky will be on leadout duties in the yellow jersey and I think the European Champion will make it three out of three for SD Worx.
Cyclist prediction: Lorena Wiebes
Stage 4: Tuesday 29th July, Saumer – Poitiers, 128km
The second and final sprint stage of the Tour de France Femmes 2025 – yes, there are only two pure flat stages – will be similar to the previous one.
Poitiers is also sheltered from the wind, so the finale should be fairly predictable. After three days of stage success, I suspect that someone else will have their chance to taste stage glory. SD Worx, you've had your fun.
There's a bit of a drag at 2km to go, but it shouldn't be too decisive. After that, the approach to the finish will be flat and fairly wide open – at least judging from a 2020 Tour de France stage that ended on the same roads.
Cyclist prediction: Charlotte Kool
Stage 5: Wednesday 30th July, Chasseneuil-du-Poitou – Guéret, 166km
After a couple of punchy stages for the maillot jaune and some high-octane and equally high-risk sprint stages, the peloton might be lenient to a breakaway on Stage 5, the longest on the 2025 parcours.
On a profile like this, the break should appeal to rouleurs and punchers alike. Tactics will prove pivotal in the final 50km and it'll come down to who has the legs and the right tactical mindset in the final phase of the race. Perhaps this could cook up an all-star front group containing familiar Classics names.
Riders that come to mind include Emma Norsgaard, Kim Le Court, Pfeiffer Georgi, Chloe Dygert, Anna Henderson and Kristin Faulkner. Close your eyes and throw a dart. I'll go for Dygert. She's long overdue a Tour stage win and her climbing greatly improved during 2024.
Cyclist prediction: Chloe Dygert
Stage 6: Thursday 31st July, Clermont-Ferrand – Ambert, 124km
The first mountain stage will be much-anticipated. In fact, this will be the earliest a major mountain stage has featured in the Tour de France Femmes in its short history.
Prepped for a GC showdown, the riders will be very attentive to any moves. The Col du Béal will occupy a big chunk of the day's racing. Given that the summit is only 40km from the line, the first softening moves might be made here. I'd expect the filtration to carry on over the following two climbs, both of which are much shorter than the Béal and less dramatic in gradient.
On a punishing profile like this, the GC could be sieved out to only a handful of contenders. I don't expect to see heavy blows, however, since none of the climbs after the Béal quite have the conditions for a race-altering move. In that case, a select group of favourites will manage to hold on for the finale. I'm thinking Longo Borghini, Van der Breggen (if she's back to her best), Vollering and Niewiadoma. It'll therefore come down to a reduced sprint between the yellow jersey favourites. Choose your fighter.
Cyclist prediction: Elisa Longo Borghini
Stage 7: Friday 1st August, Bourg-en-Bresse – Chambéry, 160km
Wedged between the two most decisive mountain stages of this Tour, Stage 7 to Chambéry should give the breakaway a good chance at victory.
Of course, with the Col du Granier on the profile, strong climbing legs will be a necessity for those reaching out for glory. An 18km downhill at the end should favour the strong bike-handlers, so I'm inclined to throw Puck Pieterse's name in the ring. I imagine she might be fairly high up in GC, however, given how strong she was in the 2024 race.
In terms of the GC riders, there's every chance that a duo or trio of podium candidates escape over the top of the Col du Granier. Vollering should be in good stead on that ascent given the relatively flat profile beforehand. In that case, FDJ-Suez might utilise their arsenal of Évita Muzic and Juliette Labous to drastically thin down the group.
Cyclist prediction: Mavi García
Stage 8: Saturday 2nd August, Chambéry – Saint François Longchamp, 112km
Stage 8 will be the only pure summit finish of the 2024 race. At 112km in length, the elevation gain on Stage 8 totals 3,490m.
The final climb to the Col de la Madeleine is very steady. The gradients are consistent at around 8% for the full 18km. This difficulty should yield an all-out GC day. Whoever wins atop the Col de la Madeleine is fairly likely to take the overall crown of the Tour de France Femmes the following day.
Proved to be the best climber in the world at recent Grand Tours, Vollering will be the overwhelming favourite. With a bolstered roster next year, Vollering will have strong support. It's also likely that her team will be a little more coherent than her SD Worx squad.
Niewiadoma is a strong contender. She's proved that time and time again at the Tour de France Femmes, especially on the centrepiece mountain stages. However, I don't see her toppling the FDJ-Suez super-train up the Madeleine. Instead, she'll likely have to try and consolidate a runner-up spot on the day.
Cyclist prediction: Demi Vollering
Stage 9: Sunday 3rd August, Praz-sur-Arly – Châtel, 124km
And like that, we've made it to the final stage, a 124km mountain test past some of the Alps' most popular ski resorts.
It's hard to tell how this day will pan out. After the goliath of a stage before, the riders will have to push through the fatigue one last time. The opening phase of this stage will be pandemonium as plenty of riders and teams need to salvage something from their week-long stint in France.
If the race situation settles down, the Col de Joux-Plane might offer a real launchpad for moves at 60km. On the climb, I imagine FDJ-Suez will thin out the group to a very selected group of elite favourites. This might create a bit of a stalemate in the GC, but if that's what it takes to win the race, FDJ-Suez will do it.
The long uphill slog to the line should favour late attacks if any hopeful still has anything left in the tank. I imagine second-tier favourites will have their chance to chase the stage honours. This could favour the likes of Riejanne Markus, Antonia Niedermaier, Silvia Persico or Justine Ghekiere. If Kopecky is still hanging about towards the front of the race, this could be a good place for her to go. To put it bluntly, expect scrappy racing in the final 20km.
Cyclist prediction: Antonia Niedermaier
The GC podium and jersey predictions
The Tour de France Femmes with the most climbing to date should go to the best climber in the world. That, to me, is Vollering. I think we'll notice her take a huge step up in 2025 courtesy of her new team. FDJ-Suez have brought in an all-star mountain roster to support Vollering's grand Tour de France ambitions. On top of that, the directeur sportif behind Vollering's 2023 victory Lars Boom will join the squad for the race next year.
In the race for second, Niewiadoma stands out as the most likely candidate. She's a strong climber with a good pedigree at the Tour de France Femmes. As for third, it's a little trickier to call. Part of me thinks FDJ-Suez could bag another podium spot, but I'll be less radical and pick Longo Borghini. I suspect the Italian will pick up heaps of bonus seconds and thrive on the hillier profiles in the first half of the race. She'll eventually limit her losses on the Col de la Madeleine and steal the final podium spot.
In my eyes, Kopecky will be the favourite for green. If she comes into the race on half-decent form, she should bag at least one stage. The Belgian is also strong enough to hang around on sprint stages and could crack the top ten on the mountain stages towards the end of the race. After the 2024 Giro, I'm convinced that she might even be able to make the final GC podium.
The two remaining jerseys are harder to call, but I suspect Neve Bradbury could claim the white jersey and the polka-dots will go to Justine Ghekiere again. She's made a name for herself as the queen of the mountains, having won the Giro and Tour's mountains prize last year.
