Tour de France Femmes 2024: Stage-by-stage guide and route maps with the yellow jersey on the line for the women - Eurosport (2024)

The third Tour de France Femmes is nearly here, but there are plenty of changes to bring you up to speed on as we take a deeper look into the individual stages. For starters, there has been a calendar move thanks to the Olympics - so instead of starting as the men finish, the women’s peloton get their own chance to earn yellow deep into August on the sun-baked roads of Holland, Belgium and France.

They will also be experiencing a Grand Depart outside of France for the first time - while the men started this year’s Tour in Italy, the women are in Rotterdam. But who will be wearing yellow at the end of eight gruelling stages, culminating in what should be a legendary finish at Alpe d-Huez?

Every stage of the Tour will be broadcast in its entirety on Eurosport 1, while you can watch ad-free on discovery+.

This year’s Tour opens with a flat stage which, all things being normal, should result in a bunch sprint. But this race is following hot on the heels of the Olympics, so there could be some tired legs out there - especially for anyone who doubles up with the Paris road race and time trial.

The stage starts in Rotterdam, finishes in The Hague and takes in plenty of urban sights before finishing on the coast.

Rotterdam has previously hosted the men’s Tour Grand Depart, back in 2010 - an individual time trial, won by Fabian Cancellara. The city isn’t just hosting the opening stage: the opening three stages all take place in its vicinity, with the race then heading through Belgium before taking to the roads of France.

The sprinters will be eyeing up a chance to wear yellow, with Marianne Vos still the one to beat, although Lotte Kopecky has been in fine form all year long.

Another flat stage, this one is significantly shorter so expect some chaos as everyone jostles for position. The stage leaves the beautiful city of Dordrecht, winds past the imposing Grote Kerk before briefly heading through some countryside until finally some more urban roads with all their furniture give the riders a headache.

Those not working for the sprinters will want to stay out of trouble, as the second day hosts not just one but two stages.

The one and only battle against the clock in this year’s Tour is a short one around the by now very familiar streets of Rotterdam. The riders start near where they finished earlier, going up and back down one carriageway with a roundabout at the end to negotiate - always fun on a time trial bike. They then cross the Erasmus Bridge, before picking their way back across Noordereiland to finish at the same place as Stage 2.

Familiarity with the route should help many, but could anyone gain enough time for yellow to change hands if the opening two stages both result in a bunch sprint and so not many time splits? Chloe Dygert is the world time trial champion, but she competed at the Olympics in both the ITT and on the track - so might well be feeling the fatigue if she starts for Canyon-SRAM.

The riders head south, starting in Valkenburg near the German border. Wondering why that name is familiar? That’s because Valkenburg has played a big role in the history of cycling, with the Cauberg often hosting the finish to the Amstel Gold Race.

That’s not where the ties to the Spring Classics stop either, with the fourth stage finishing in Liege - although coming from the north, the riders won’t be tackling much of the spring Bastogne-Liege route that was won by Grace Brown earlier in the year.

This stage is where the race kicks in in earnest, with the route classed as ‘hilly’. What that means is 1,833m of elevation including Mont-Theux, which comes midway through the day - a 2.8km climb at 5.6% gradient.

That could be where we get our first glimpse of pre-race favourite Demi Vollering flexing her muscles at the front of the peloton - unless she wants to wait for the really high stuff later in the week.

The last stage for the sprinters begins in Bastogne, the springtime partner to Liege. Losing elevation for the first 60km, the peloton then need to negotiate a couple of short, sharp hills as they finally cross the border into France - with plenty of time for the sprinters to get back in touch if they find themselves off the back of the bunch.

The finish itself is a very short, sharp uphill though - so will one of the GC riders fancy their chances, or will they keep out of trouble and save themselves for the hills of Stage 6?

Another hilly stage, with some significant climbs late on as the race skirts the Swiss border, in very much a portent of what is to come.

The riders have to negotiate the Col du Mont de Fourche early on, a short sharp climb boasting a gradient of 5.9%. The harder stuff kicks in in earnest with the Col de Ferriere, which is swiftly followed by the Cote de Lavern, before the final climb of the day - the Cote des Fines, 1.8km of 6.9% when the legs are already burning.

A short descent and a flat finish could suit a breakaway, who might hold the peloton at bay into the pretty town of Morteau.

The penultimate stage of the race begins in Champagnole, the ‘Pearl of the Jura’ and finished in Le Grand-Bornand, which saw some fireworks back in 2021 courtesy of Tadej Pogacar. It’s the longest stage of the race, and the first time the peloton tackle some high mountains.

Those come right from word go, with elevation gain from the very start of the race. After negotiating Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvaux, the Col de la Croix de la Serra awaits: 12km at 5.1%.

The stage finishes atop the Montee du Chinaillon, which is 17km at 5.1%. It’s a gruelling route that will test the teams and challenge anyone who is lacking team mates, not to mention the sprinters, who will be in a race of their own to beat the clock - assuming they want to finish the race, rather than heading home early, with half an eye likely to already be on the World Championships in Zurich.

The battle for the yellow jersey will conclude on the most famous of roads. Alpe d’Huez has hosted the men’s tour many times, with Tom Pidco*ck the most recent winner up the hairpins, fighting his way through the most exuberant of fans.

Will there be a Dutch corner for the women? So much will depend on whether Demi Vollering is in yellow at the start of the stage. If she is, SD Worx will have to defend up the Col du Glandon, negotiate a frenetic descent before surviving the 8.1% Alpe d’Huez itself.

Last year, the penultimate stage of the Tour de France Femmes concluded with a summit finish on the Tourmalet, and this year should be every bit as iconic as someone truly earns the maillot jaune following a barnstorming week on the roads of Holland, Belgium and France.

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