After 23 years, the six-day stage race has been replaced by the Faun Tour.
Marianne Vos winning stage 2 of the 2019 Tour Féminin de l’Ardèche
On the podcast this week, we discussed the upcoming races and where riders can be seen before the world championships in a few weeks. One of the races we mentioned briefly was the Faun Tour, a new race on the calendar. Something we missed, however, was that this new race is actually a new era for the long-running Tour Féminin de l’Ardèche, one of the mainstays of the women’s end-of-summer season.
After 23 years, the Tour Féminin l’Ardèche is done. With winners like Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Marta Cavalli, Marianne Vos, Kristin Armstrong, Monica Trinca Colonel, Emma Pooley and Antonia Niedermaier, the Tour Féminin de l’Ardèche has always been an important race for riders from the top of the sport to the bottom, and now it’s up to the Faun Tour to carry the torch.
Abby Mickey | Senior Editor
First things first: Musical (DS) chairs
We already know that this transfer season is going to reshape the peloton in a similar way to 2024, when Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini and many other big-name riders moved around. But this transfer season is also unique in that, behind the scenes, teams are going to be shuffling management.
Last week, Human Powered Health announced the signing of Cherie Pridham and Dave Povall as directors alongside (we think) Magnus Bäckstedt in 2027. At least, there haven’t been any rumours of Bäckstedt leaving the team, although the arrival of Pridham might mean he is.
This also means UAE Team L’IMAD needs two new directors, but they aren’t the only team looking for new higher-ups. Canyon-SRAM and Lidl-Trek are also on the hunt for directors for the upcoming season.
Changes in riders are one thing, but changes in the follow car will also shape how the races are raced next season, so while we don’t have a ton of news just yet on who is going to be directing whom, this is something to keep an eye on…
Racing continues…
At the Faun Tour in France from September 10 to 13.
Great news! The race will be broadcast live on HBO Max, Eurosport or FloBikes depending on your location.
Stage 1 – Thursday, September 10: Guilherand-Granges to Boffres (115.7 km)
Stage 2 – Friday, September 11: Dieulefit to Dieulefit (106.1 km)
Stage 3 – Saturday, September 12: Tournon-sur-Rhône to Tournon-sur-Rhône (120 km)
Stage 4 – Sunday, September 13: Peyrus to Peyrus (134.7 km)
The start list will be available here.
We already know that Sarah Gigante for AG Insurance-Soudal is back. It will be her first race of 2026.
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), Juliette Berthet (FDJ United-Suez), Niamh Fisher-Black and Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) and Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike) are all expected to race.
Wheel Talk podcast
This week Gracie, Georgie, and I talked about the Classic Lorient Agglomèration, transfers, Lorena Wiebes going to Worlds, and more.
This post is for paying subscribers only
Subscribe now
Already have an account? Sign in
Did we do a good job with this story?
👍Yep
👎Nope