The route of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes has been announced. It will start on Monday 12th August in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and finishes on Sunday 18th August atop the iconic Alpe d’Huez.
The race is usually held in July after the men’s Tour de France, but its place in the calendar has pushed back for 2024 due to the Olympic Games being held in Paris from 26th July until 11th August.
The 2024 route will feature three countries – the Netherlands, Belgium and France – and includes four mountain ranges in the Ardennes, Vosges, Jura and Alps. There will be three flat stages, one individual time-trial, two hilly stages, two mountain stages and will reach its climax on top of one of cycling’s most storied climbs, Alpe d’Huez.
Tour de France Femmes 2024: Key information
Dates: Monday 12th August to Sunday 18th August
Grand Départ: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Finale: Alpe d’Huez
Total elevation gain: 10,700m
Total prize money: €250,000
UK television coverage: Eurosport, GCN+
2023 winner: Demi Vollering (SD Worx)
Most overall wins: Annemiek van Vleuten, Demi Vollering (both one)
Most stage wins: Lorena Wiebes (three)
Tour de France Femmes 2023 route
The 2024 Tour de France Femmes will begin with three stages in the Netherlands, marking the first foreign Grand Départ in the race’s short history. After an initial sprint stage, Stages 2 and 3 will be held on the same day, the former a short sprint stage and the latter a 6.3km individual time-trial.
The peloton will then cross into Belgium and travel from Valkenburg to Liège, winding up in intensity with eight climbs on Stage 4 on a route that combines the highlights of Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Once the race reaches familiar ground in France, it will head to the mountains. Stage 7 will have a summit finish in Le Grand-Bornand in the Alps, before the race comes to its conclusion at the summit of Alpe d’Huez on Stage 8.
Tour de France Femmes 2024: Stage-by-stage preview
Stage 1: Monday 12th August, Rotterdam – La Haye, 124km
The Netherlands will host the Grand Départ of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes. The race begins with a flat 124km day from Rotterdam to La Haye. It’s primed for a sprint finish but there is a chance of crosswinds.
Stage 2: Tuesday 13th August, Dordrecht – Rotterdam, 64km
Stage 2 might appear short at just 67km, but it will be followed by a time-trial on the same day. The pan-flat route will take riders back to Rotterdam, where a snack break and bike change awaits.
Stage 3: Tuesday 13th August, Rotterdam – Rotterdam, 6.3km, ITT
Short and sweet, basically a 2b stage. SD-Worx’s Marlen Reusser we will be looking at this one as it’s the only individual-time trial of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, but the short distance will make it very close.
Stage 4: Wednesday 14th August, Valkenburg – Liège, 122km
Halfway through the race and things get more serious for the General Classification. Crossing into Belgium for a mini Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège crossover, with eight climbs on Stage 4 that includes the Cauberg, Côte de la Redoute and the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons. Perfect for puncheurs.
Stage 5: Thursday 15th August, Bastogne – Amnéville, 150km
Finally, the Tour de France Femmes sees France on a day packed with over 2,000m of climbing on a series of short ascents that the sprinters could survive.
Stage 6: Friday 15th August, Remiremont – Morteau, 160km
Stage 6 passes through Mélisey, the birthplace of Thibaut Pinot, on its way to Morteau. The two climbs of La Roche du Prêtre (5.5km, 5.6%) and Côte des Fins (1.8km, 6.9%) so close to the finish could whittle down a select group.
Stage 7: Saturday 16th August, Champagnole – Le Grand-Bornand, 167km
At 167km, the peloton will face their longest day in the saddle while heading into the Alps for the first of back-to-back summit finishes.
Stage 8: Sunday 17th August, Le Grand-Bornand – Alpe d’Huez, 150km
If the final mountain stage of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes is anything to go by, in which Demi Vollering defeated Kasia Niewiadoma and Annemiek van Vleuten in a cloud of fog on the Tourmalet, then we should be in for a treat here. The 2024 edition scales the Col du Glandon, the highest point in the race, and culminates on top of the Alpe d’Huez. Plenty of big names have won stages here, its first appearance in 1952 won by the legendary Fausto Coppi and most recently conquered by Tom Pidcock.
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