The challenging opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes could bring with it the spirit of the 2023 opener in Clermont-Ferrand, which saw the GC action begin on day one as Lotte Kopecky powered to a 10km solo victory.
Contrasting with starts for the sprinters and time triallists in 2022 and 2024, this year's race features a hilly start once again. The 78.8km opening day of the race replicates the tricky course of the GP Morbihan, a Coupe de France one-dayer run in May, won this year by Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ).
Silvia Persico and Grace Brown have also won the race in recent seasons, which can generate significant time gaps of 20-30 seconds at the finish.
At the GP Morbihan, which also features a men's edition won by Benoît Cosnefroy, the peloton was tasked with an 84km race featuring several laps around Plumelec and nine ascents of the Côte de Cadoudal, a hill on the outskirts of town which averages 6.2% for its 1.7km.
The hill also featured in the inaugural UEC European Championships, held in Plumelec. The podium that day? Anna van der Breggen, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, and Elisa Longo Borghini.
The Tour peloton will pass by the picturesque ancient city walls of Vannes before heading into the Breton hills (Image credit: Getty Images)
The Tour peloton will face a slightly lesser test than that on Saturday evening – the stage finishes at around 19:30 local time – with all the numbers, aside from those percentages, a little lower.
The 1,300 metres of the GP Morbihan are reduced to around 900, while the ascents of the third-category Cadoudal are reduced to three, although all come inside the final 30km of the stage. The early Côte de Botségalo (800m at 5.6%) adds to the climbing, along with an uncategorised 2.5km, 2.4% hill on the closing circuit in Plumelec.
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2,000-year-old Grand Départ host town Vannes will see the riders roll out from the picturesque harbour at the Gulf of Morbihan and race along the ancient city walls and the pretty, well-manicured Ramparts Gardens before heading out into the Breton countryside.
A flat opening 20km gives way to the hills and more twisting, rolling roads in the mid-part of the stage before the riders hit the most challenging part of the day – the technical and hilly closing circuit in Plumelec.
Of course, at this year's Tour, the biggest hills and mountains are concentrated in the second half of the race. But that's not to say that the opening day is one for the sprinters. Instead, riders such as Lorena Wiebes and Charlotte Kool will likely have to wait a little longer for their chance at glory.
It's day one of the Tour, and so racing should be hard from the get-go, especially on the closing circuit. Expect then, for the puncheurs and GC hopefuls to show out on the Cadoudal.
The Tour won't be won on this stage, with the day's major difficulty being a relatively short climb, but considering last year's race was won by just four seconds, those hoping to reach Châtel in yellow could well end up shedding a Tour-losing margin of time here.
Stage 1 is suited to SD Worx-Protime stars Lotte Kopecky and Anna van der Breggen, though the finish might be too tough for Lorena Wiebes (Image credit: Getty Images)
Reigning champion Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) will be among the favourites, as will Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), whom she beat last year.
Lianne Lippert (Movistar) is another top candidate following her final day win in the hills of Imola at the Giro d'Italia Women, while other puncheurs such as Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) will be aiming for the first yellow jersey of the race.
World champion Lotte Kopecky is another to watch, of course, along with her SD Worx-Protime teammate Van der Breggen, even if she's unsure of her Giro-ending back injury.
In addition to the Breton roads and hills – and each other – the 154 riders in the race will have to watch out for the wind.
The stage starts close to the Bay of Biscay, and the wind is set to blow in from the west at around 30-35kph. Many of the roads on the stage will be relatively sheltered, though some of the roads heading north are more exposed, meaning there could be a risk of echelons before the race even hits the Cadoudal.
Race-altering rain isn't forecast to fall during the stage. However, there's a slight chance of showers late on, while temperatures will hover around the 20-25°C mark as the stage rolls over into the early evening.
The stage will begin at 17:25 local time in Vannes and is scheduled to finish at 19:33 in Plumelec. Head to our How to watch the Tour de France Femmes guide for all the broadcast and TV information.
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The profile of stage 1 of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes(Image credit: ASO)
The map of stage 1 of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes(Image credit: ASO)
Mountains
Côte de Botségalo (800m at 5.3%), 29.3km
Côte de Cadoudal (1.7km at 6.2%), 65.1km
Côte de Cadoudal (1.7km at 6.2%), 78.8km
Sprints
Plumelec, 51.4km
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
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