A 21 km time trial, Mont Ventoux, and no real opportunities for the sprinters – the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift route is out.
ASO/Thomas Maheux
On Thursday, in a ballroom packed with cyclists in their offseason fits, journalists, and a ton of other people, the ASO unveiled the highly anticipated route for the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
A few things were known ahead of time – the race will start in Switzerland and be nine stages in length – but rumours of an individual time trial and the inclusion of Mont Ventoux were yet to be confirmed.
Both rumours turned out to be true. Stage 4 will feature a 21 km long time trial, and Ventoux will be the crown jewel of the race. The biggest surprise was the lack of sprinter-friendly stages. From the opening stage in Lausanne, the race features mostly hilly stages. The flattest stages are the opening two, but with a 2.5 km climb to award the first yellow jersey and five categorised climbs the following day, both stages will be selective.
Zwift will remain in the race name through 2029
Before announcing the route for the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Marion Rousse, the director of the race, announced the partnership between the ASO and the online cycling platform will continue through 2029. Zwift has been alongside the ASO for the full resurrection of the race, and will continue to act as title sponsor for another four years.
“The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift continues to break records and exceed even our own expectations,” Rousse said in a statement from Zwift. “It’s a pleasure to work alongside a partner that helps amplify the race and women’s professional cycling in the way that Zwift does. We’ve achieved a lot already, and I’m excited that we can continue this journey together.”
“This is much more than a sponsorship for Zwift, it’s a part of our identity, underpinned by our mission to make more people, more active, more often.” Eric Min, Zwift CEO and Co-Founder of Zwift, said. “Growing women’s participation in cycling is a critical mission. We truly believe that to be successful, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is essential. The first four years of this partnership have been incredible. The excitement is tangible and the impact is clear. I can’t wait to see what we can achieve over the next four years and beyond.”
A very Swiss start
The Grand Départ in Lausanne was already announced earlier in the summer, but a three-stage trip to Switzerland was confirmed, starting with a 137 km long opening stage to and from the lakeside city. Stage 2, 149 km, will start in Aigle, home of the UCI, and finish in Geneva. On Monday, the race will finally cross into France, with the stage starting in Genève and ending 157 km later in Poligny.
The opening stage is the flattest of the race, but the finale is atop Côte Saint-Françoise, a 2.5 km climb that averages 4.6%. This finish means the race will not be one for the sprinters, although 2025’s Lorena Wiebes could still claim the first yellow jersey. This opening stage has hints of the Grand Depart in 2025, won by Marianne Vos. As opening stages go, this one is relatively tame compared with the Grand Départ in Vannes in 2025 and Clermont-Ferrand in 2023. It will be an easier start to the week than those two editions, but still harder than the Rotterdam stage that started the race in 2024.
The first stage on French soil kicks off the climbing, with four categorised climbs over 157 km.
Finally, a worthy race against time
The last time the Tour featured a time trial was the final stage of the 2023 edition, a 22.6 km race in Pau. The 6.3 km ITT in Rotterdam felt more like a placeholder, but next year the women will have a chance to really lean into their aero position with a 21 km long race of truth.
With only 1.8 km of climbing over the 21 km distance, it’s a true time trial purists’ course, one for the most dedicated ITT riders. It is also long enough to make some minor dents in the general classification, and someone like Anna van der Breggen, second in the ITT at Worlds and former winner of the Giro d’Italia, will be thrilled to see this included in the 2026 Tour. Marlen Reusser is likely also very excited, as she will get to show off her rainbow jersey in the biggest race on the calendar.
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