The fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes began on Saturday, 1 August, with a 138km road race starting and finishing in Lausanne, Switzerland. The nine-stage race runs through to 9 August, ending in Nice on the French Riviera.
Stage one featured a hilly course with a demanding uphill finish. Racing was disrupted by at least two crashes inside the bunch, with several riders taking time to remount and rejoin the peloton.
Four Riders Establish an Early Break
A group of four riders broke clear of the main field during the opening stage. Océane Mahé of Ma Petite Entreprise, Maud Rijnbeek of Volkerwessels, Idoia Eraso Lasa of Laboral-Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi, and Nikola Noskova of Cofidis built a lead of around six minutes over the chasing peloton.
Mahé claimed the Queen of the Mountains points at the Côte de Châbles, with Eraso Lasa and Rijnbeek taking second and third respectively.
Alison Jackson Chases Alone
Canada’s Alison Jackson, riding for St. Michel–Preference Home–Auber93, made a solo bid to bridge across to the leading group. She spent considerable energy in pursuit but was ultimately swept up by the peloton, falling more than two minutes behind the break. Jackson won a stage of the La Vuelta Femenina in 2024.
Canyon/SRAM’s Zoe Backstedt, who won the British time trial, told broadcasters before the stage that the day could suit general classification riders or not — the uphill finish leaving the outcome genuinely open.
GC Battle Set to Define the Week
The overall contenders heading into this year’s race are formidable. Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot returns with Visma | Lease a Bike after winning the 2025 edition. Demi Vollering of FDJ United–SUEZ is her principal rival, having finished in the top two at every edition of the modern race — winning in 2023 and finishing runner-up in 2022, 2024, and 2025.
Former champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney lines up for Canyon/SRAM. Marlen Reusser is well placed to target the individual time trial on stage four, a 21km test in Dijon.
Nine Stages, One Mountain Showdown
The 2026 route includes sprint stages, hilly terrain, that Dijon time trial, and two major mountain days. Mont Ventoux features on stage seven — its debut in the Tour de France Femmes — where over 3,500 metres of climbing are expected to reshape the general classification.
The final stage covers 99km around Nice, incorporating four ascents of the Col d’Eze before finishing on the Promenade des Anglais.
Elisa Longo Borghini leads the UAE Team LIMAD squad, while Anna van der Breggen and Antonia Niedermaier are among others with GC ambitions across the week ahead.
