After a thrilling opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes brought the best riders in the world to the fore, Stage 2, beginning in Brest and finishing in Quimper, is set to bring more exciting action.
Covering a total of 110km, the second stage is a day of the Brittany Grand Départ is one which could suit several riders, with hills in the final allowing versatile sprinters, puncheurs, and the top GC contenders to battle it out.
Four climbs line the route heading south, with Menez Quelerc'h (3km at 6.2%) being followed by the Côte de Locronan (800m at 8.9%), and two times up the Côte du Chemin de Troheir (1.1km at 5.7%) before an uphill finish in Quimper.
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The Côte du Chemin de Troheir arrives with 5km remaining to the finish, so it should see the race kicked off by the strongest puncheurs, who want to distance the versatile sprinters, before a breathless battle for victory ensues on the uphill finale.
Once again, the roads will twist and turn in typical Breton fashion, even more so than during stage 1. The weather, meanwhile, is forecast to be fairly similar to Saturday's opener. It'll be warm, dry, and cloudy without much wind.
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) proved the strongest at the conclusion of the short but sharp opening stage, faring excellently on the longer climbs leading into the finish. With the yellow jersey on her back, she should be in contention to defend it on day 2 and perhaps even for a few days beyond.
Her teammate and GC leader, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, is another solid option for the punchy final, especially after her late attack on stage 1. The home favourite looked set for a big win in Plumelec before the chase group got back across, with her acceleration serving as a reverse lead-out for her Dutch sprinter teammate to surge to the victory.
With the climbs being short and steep, it will be perfect for all riders who excel in one-day classics and sprints, notably Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), who was runner-up to Vos on stage 1 and put in a big move to get across to Ferrand-Prévot.
Lorena Wiebes, the sprinter who fared well in Plumelec despite the disarray of her SD Worx-Protime team, is another name to watch. Movistar's Liane Lippert could also fare well if she has recovered from her crash and a disappointing opening stage for her team, while Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) is going well following a sixth-place finish.
The GC contenders should be well in the fight on Sunday as they were on Saturday, with defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) and 2023 winner Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) finishing in fourth and fifth, respectively, on the opening stage.
After last year's race ended as the closest Tour in history, men's or women's, with just four seconds separating the top two, all of those chasing yellow will know how important bonus seconds could be on these early punchy finals, before the race reaches the mountains in the latter stages.
Those left counting the deficit after stage 1 will be keen to avoid a repeat on Sunday afternoon.
Mountains
- Menez Quelerc'h (3km at 6.2%), 50.7km
- Côte de Locronan (800m at 8.9%), 68.4km
- Côte du Chemin de Troheir (1.1km at 5.7%), 79.9km
- Côte du Chemin de Troheir (1.1km at 5.7%), 105.7km
