Published October 24, 2025 12:34AM
Thursday marked the launch of the route for the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the fifth edition of the biggest race in women’s cycling.
Starting in Lausanne in Switzerland and concluding with a tough stage in Nice, France, the race should continue the upwards momentum of the event.
The race is gaining more and more attention and enjoyed record TV viewership this season, thanks in part to the victory of Olympic MTB champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.
After reviewing the 2026 route, here are the things we’re paying attention to.
1: It’s the longest edition yet
The route of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes (Photo: ASO)
The Tour de France Femmes has come a long, long way since its humble beginnings. When pressure first grew on ASO to reintroduce a women’s Tour, the early editions were a far cry from what is now on offer.
In 2014 ASO launched La Course by Tour de France. The first three editions were flat single-day events held in Paris. 2017 was a quirky two-day event in which a limited number of riders could compete on day two but it returned to a single-day format between 2018 and 2021.
Since the Tour de France Femmes debuted in 2022, the distance has shot up. The first three editions were eight days in length, covering 1033.6km, 960.5km and 949.7km respectively.
Last year the race increased to nine days and leaped up to 1,168.6km. The 2026 edition features a TT stage of just 21km on day four, but will still be the longest edition yet overall: next summer the riders will face 1,175km of competition.
It’s a huge difference from that 89km La Course held in 2014.
2: It’s also the hardest edition
Mont Ventoux is one of the most iconic locations in cycling, and next summer will feature in the Tour de France Femmes for the first time (Photo: Chris Auld)
The race has got longer but it’s also becoming more difficult. Next year’s edition includes the first-ever use of Mont Ventoux and will also see the riders scale the Col d’Eze four times on the final stage. Those climbs plus the ascents which feature on other days rack up a leg-sapping total of 18,795 altitude meters.
Contrast that with 2022 (13,140 vertical meters), 2023 (14,000), 2024 (13,566) and last year’s total of 17,240. The race is getting harder all the time.
3: It’s continuing the international trend
2024’s race was the first to feature an overseas grand départ, with Rotterdam in the Netherlands hosting the big opener. ASO has decided to repeat that formula in 2026, with the first three stages wholly or partly in Switzerland. Stage 1 begins and ends in Lausanne, with stage 2 stretching from Aigle to Geneva and day three starting in the latter city and then crossing the border into France.
4: There’s something for each type of rider
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) triumphed in 2025. (Photo: Julien De Rosa /AFP via Getty Images)
The race may be harder than ever, in terms of total altitude meters, but that’s not to say that the non-climbers are locked out.
Stages 1, 2 and 8 are classified as flat by ASO, and could well favor sprinters, while stage 3 to Poligny is hilly early on but does get easier towards the end.
That day bodes well for the breakaway riders, while the hilly fifth and sixth stages could also suit the same category of competitors, as well as the puncheurs in the peloton.
Time trialists lost out last year but have 21kms against the clock to look forward to on the undulating roads to Dijon on stage 4.
And the pure climbers will also be relishing their chance. Stage 7 clocks up a dizzing 3,565 meters of altitude gain en route to the top of Mont Ventoux.
The big concluder on stage 9 in and around Nice will also appeal to the uphill specialists, thanks to four ascents of the iconic Col d’Eze.
5: The sponsors have reupped again
Zwift came on board as the title sponsor back in 2022 and now, four editions later, it’s committing for at least another four years.
“This is much more than a sponsorship for Zwift,” said Zwift CEO and co-founder Eric Min on Thursday.
“It’s a part of our identity, underpinned by our mission to make more people, more active, more often. 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.”
The company and ASO will hope other big backers step up too, helping the race build further momentum.
6: The event is getting bigger and more prestigious, but not richer
Standards are raising all the time in both the Tour and the sport itself. (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski/Getty Images)
When the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes rolled out of Paris in 2022, the riders were fighting for a share of a prize fund of 250,000 euros.
Of that, the winner would take home 50,000 for the final yellow jersey.
Since then the scale, the distance and the difficulty has soared, as well as the amount of attention the race gets from media and spectators.
However the prize fund has not budged. According to ASO, the total prize fund for 2026 is 250,000 euros, with 50,000 of that being awarded to the GC winner. That remains identical to the 2022 total. With the men’s champion earning 500,000 euros, it’s surely time for an increase.
7: Past winners seem to like what they see
Riders are taking an end of season break and consequently reactions to the race are a little slow to come by. However two of the recent winners have given a thumbs up to what was released on Thursday.
Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto) was upbeat.
“I definitely like the course. There’s a lot to be looking forward to,” the 2024 champion said.
“I think that even starting in Switzerland is very special because, of course, riding around Lausanne is very hard and challenging, so I think the Tour has it all.
“Again, we’re going to have very challenging and hard stages, but also the time trial. And of course, the last two stages are all about going all in.”
That said, the flyweight climber did acknowledge the race against the clock will require a lot of dedication on her part in the months ahead.
“What stood out to me the most was probably the time trial, just because I know it’s something I’ll probably spend the most amount of time working on.”
Kasia Niewiadoma triumphed two years ago. (Photo: Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
As for defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, she too gave the route a big thumbs up.
“It’s a super nice route. It’s going to be beautiful, and I really like it,” the Visma-Lease a Bike rider said Thursday.
“I’m already excited to work hard towards defending my title. Finishing in Nice is fantastic. It means a lot to me, since I live in the area. I know the roads extremely well, which is an advantage.
“Mont Ventoux is also a climb I’ve done many times. It’s actually quite easy for me to train there and to get to know the climb even better.”
Like Niewiadoma, she too is strongest on the uphills. But she welcomed the race against the clock, seeing it as a big opportunity.
“I think it’s great to have a time trial, especially in this region. I know the area quite well, riding through the vineyards is amazing. I’m really happy about that stage and looking forward to it.
“I’m ready to put in the work on the time trial. It’s a chance to ride a different bike and develop yet another discipline, which is something I really enjoy.”