Tour de France Femmes contenders – Demi Vollering and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot poised for fantastic duel with Ventoux finale

The men's Tour is finished, which means the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is nearly upon us, with another nine days of thrilling, close racing on the cards from Lausanne on Saturday, August 1 to Nice on Sunday, August 9.

Despite only being in its fifth year of existence, the Tour de France Femmes is firmly the focal point of the Women's WorldTour calendar, the most important stage race of them all and the one everyone wants to win.

We've had two Grand Tours already this year – the Vuelta Femenina won by the prodigious Paula Blasi, then Demi Vollering's first triumph at the Giro d'Italia Women – but the Tour is set to distil all of the GC action, drama and tension into one big race for yellow this July.

This year, the list of contenders seems somehow even more stacked than ever, with defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, of course, back to try and retain her crown, but she will be up against a hugely in-form Vollering, as well as an ultra-strong Marlen Reusser, the formidable UAE Team ADQ duo of Blasi and Elisa Longo Borghini, and plenty more riders besides.

With the race starting this weekend, we're well into the countdown, and we're kicking off our build-up to the race with a run-down of all the top 10 contenders, where they stand, which stages will suit them, plus some honourable mentions too. Here is Cyclingnews' analysis of the Tour de France Femmes favourites.

1. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez)

Demi Vollering has been practically unstoppable this year, and has more than earned her spot at the top of our list of contenders, ranking above even the defending champion. Vollering's palmarès this year alone surpasses what many riders might dream of over a lifetime, winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Tour of Flanders, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the spring before powering to her maiden Giro d'Italia Women title in June.

She didn't actually take pink until the final day, with Anna van der Breggen defending the lead she'd built up in the time trial, but once she won on top of the Colle delle Finestre, it was clear the race was going to be hers. She's been the strongest rider in the peloton this year, and it's really clicking for her at FDJ United-Suez, so now there's just the biggest goal left.

Of course, her experiences at the Tour have been mixed. She's finished on the podium every single edition – she and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney have both done that – but has only won the Tour once, a stat that feels incongruous with her status as the peloton's best GC rider. A few factors have conspired to deny her more wins, like Annemiek van Vleuten's dominance in the first year, a badly timed crash in 2024, and then the return of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in 2025. Vollering is a rider who has won, can win, and surely will win this race again, but she does need all the stars to align for that to happen.

Is that going to be this year? The signs are pointing towards yes. As we said, she's on a fantastic streak of form and FDJ are better than ever right now, so she doesn't need to worry about support – and the team have made it clear that winning yellow is their sole goal.

The big question is going to be beating Ferrand-Prévot, which of course remains a huge question mark, but things like the inclusion of a time trial, far from the Frenchwoman's favoured discipline, and the comparison of their form so far this year definitely puts ticks in Vollering's column. It's going to be a big battle, but Vollering knows how to win those, and she seems eminently ready.

2. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike)

Winner last year in spectacularly strong fashion, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot returns to the Tour this year with ambitions of nothing less than a repeat victory. Making her return to the sport specifically to win this race, which she already achieved at the first time of asking, Ferrand-Prévot doesn't care all that much about many other races on the calendar. There are a couple others she's said she would like to win, but it's mainly about the Tour.

That means that she's been working towards this nine-day stretch all year, which also means we haven't seen her race a whole lot in the lead-up to the race, and in a way, nothing she did before her intensive Tour training period really mattered that much, anyway. Second at Flanders and third at Roubaix were the highlights of her spring, but she missed out at Liege, one of her few stated aims.

The Vuelta was then disappointing, at least from the outside, with Ferrand-Prévot really showing no signs of being a Grand Tour winner. But internally, there was probably no concern at all, because truthfully, the Vuelta was inconsequential to her. It was a way to get some racing in before an intense training block, not much else.

Ferrand-Prévot is quite private about her training, so we don't know exactly what she's been up to or for how long, but we can rest assured that she has been working very hard towards her biggest goal of the year. That's how the Frenchwoman has always worked: giving absolutely everything to one specific ambition with the highest levels of dedication. And it often works. So we have to take her lack of standout results thus far in 2026 with a pinch of salt, if we consider them at all. Because we all know that PFP will turn up to the start line in Lausanne strong, focused and completely ready to win.

Her only weakness may be the time trial, which has never been her strength, but no doubt she will have made big improvements, and if her climbing level is as far and away as it was last year, any time lost in the TT will be unimportant by the end of the race.

3. Marlen Reusser (Movistar)

Deftly putting to bed any notion that her taller frame should make her a less capable climber, Marlen Reusser has totally confirmed herself as one of the top three GC riders since her move to Movistar for some post-SD Worx freedom. She almost won the Giro d'Italia last year, and won two other stage races besides, but didn't quite get to show her abilities at the Tour as illness took her out of the race early on.

Sadly, she has suffered with crashes and illness this year too, which took her out of her main goal of the Vuelta and saw her 'only' manage 13th at the Giro, but the thing with Reusser is that when she is at her best, she is incredible. If you forget the setbacks and focus on the races she went to fully fit, a very consistent palmarès emerges.

Since the Giro, Reusser dominated her home race to win the Tour de Suisse with ease, taking victories in both the TT and the final day with a level that looked fairly untouchable, and it seems like after her spring ailments, she's physically back to her best before the Tour and looks to be climbing fantastically.

The big advantage for Reusser will of course be the stage 4 time trial, with the World Champion capable of taking time on pretty much everyone, which could be crucial to a top overall finish.

4. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM)

Fourth may seem relatively low on this list for a former winner, but Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is a rider who, like Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, often saves her best efforts for the biggest races, which means it can sometimes be hard to tell exactly how she's faring before the goal itself. She had a good, if typically her, spring with multiple podiums but just missing out on that win, and then had a fairly lacklustre Vuelta with eighth overall, but she'd be the first to admit her expectations or ambitions were not high there.

She came back, though, with a really strong ride at the Tour de Suisse to finish third, and since then she's been in a big training block for the Tour de France Femmes, which, as we know, is a race she is more than capable of winning. The inclusion of Mont Ventoux, a climb of similar mythology to Alpe d'Huez where she sealed yellow in 2024, surely swings in her favour, but the stage 4 TT probably doesn't.

We understand that time trialling is something she's been working on a lot over the past year, more so once the Tour route was announced, but there will still be a question mark about just how much she might gain or lose on that stage. We will probably only really know the possibilities or limits of her GC bid once that stage is completed – expect her to bring out the climbing big guns later in the week, but it could be futile if she ships time against the clock.

5. Elisa Longo Borghini / Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ)

Intriguingly, UAE Team ADQ could have a slight leadership conflict brewing this year, as they will have both two-time Giro d'Italia champion Elisa Longo Borghini and this year's Vuelta winner Paula Blasi in their line-up (and that's before we even talk about their rider who finished fourth overall last year).

In theory, Longo Borghini will be the leader, with Blasi saying that she is just there to learn. It's true that Longo Borghini is more experienced, has won more Grand Tours, and is the natural leader at UAE, but she also has an exceptionally poor run of luck at the Tour, only finishing one edition, the first in 2022. She has also had a slightly troublesome 2026 so far, with persistent illness affecting her spring and then the force of Demi Vollering denying her another Giro victory.

Blasi, on the other hand, is a rider on the up. Her talent has been clear for some time now, and she took a big result winning Amstel Gold Race this spring, but took another great leap when she soared to overall victory in a really tough edition of the Vuelta Femenina, beating many much bigger names in the process.

Her Vuelta win, underlined by massive performances on two really tough climbs, bodes very well for the Tour. Who ends up as UAE's leader might only play out on the road, but what is clear is that between them and their strong support squad, the team has a very good chance of a big GC result.

6. Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime)

With Lotte Kopecky definitively shelving her ambitions of becoming a GC rider, SD Worx's overall goals lie solely on the shoulders of the same rider they were on half a decade ago: Anna van der Breggen. Despite only returning to the sport last year after a hiatus, Van der Breggen has no lack of Tour experience, having directed Demi Vollering to her victory in 2023 from the team car.

She returned to the bike partly out of a desire to ride the Tour, but didn't have a particularly strong year in 2025, and earlier this year conceded that her best GC days might be behind her. However, she's shown plenty of flickers of her old self so far this year, finishing second overall at the Vuelta and third at the Giro d'Italia after leading for most of the race, so perhaps her downplaying her abilities came prematurely.

The time trial will be a huge asset to the former TT world champion – she won the Giro's uphill TT – and if there's one area where she shines, it's big climbs like Ventoux. The idea that she needs to downplay her GC ambitions seems unnecessary now, and she should be considered a serious contender for a top result this Tour.

7. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal)

Kim Le Court-Pienaar had a brilliant Tour de France last year, swapping her striking Mauritian champion jersey for four days in yellow after a stage win and three other top-three results. She only yielded in her GC efforts in the final days when she rode in support of Sarah Gigante, who went on to finish sixth overall, but with the Australian still struggling to come back from an injury, Le Court-Pienaar will likely step into a leadership role this year.

She's yet to ride a Grand Tour this year, but has been up at altitude training for the Tour alongside Urška Žigart, and has proven her climbing abilities in other stage races, such as the Tour de Suisse where she finished fourth overall.

AG Insurance-Soudal have turned into a really formidable Tour team, and she'll have strong support. The only sticking points could be the TT – not her strongest discipline – and of course Mont Ventoux, where her abilities will be tested to the limits. She may not be the most out-and-out climber, but Le Court-Pienaar's strong all-round abilities should be rewarded.

8. Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek)

Niamh Fisher-Black left SD Worx-Protime for better leadership opportunities at Lidl-Trek a year and a half ago now. So far, the move has been a success, with the New Zealand rider given her own freedom and easily proving that she's a top-10 GC rider in the current peloton.

She's a steady, consistent climber rather than someone who wins regularly, but consistency is key with stage racing, and that's how she finished fifth at the Tour last year. This year so far, she's also taken fifth at the Giro d'Italia Women, showing off her superior climbing talents to finish ninth on the Colle delle Finestre and second on the final stage to Saluzzo.

Like several riders on this list, the main worry for Fisher-Black will be the TT, which really isn't her discipline given her small frame. Stage 4 will be about limiting losses, and then looking ahead to where she can pull back time – being one of the best lightweight climbers in the bunch will help with that.

9. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech)

Primarily a (very successful) mountain biker, we tend to think of Puck Pieterse as more of a Classics rider for the few excursions onto the road she makes each year, but she has a history of pulling out a good overall performance for the Tour, too. She memorably finished 11th overall in 2024, climbing to the best young rider's jersey as well.

Last year, she went a bit too hard with altitude training pre-race and struggled to find her previous best, going well in the opening stages but fading in the mountains. This year, however, she will have learnt from the mistakes of last year, and, after a fantastic spring again, she'll be hoping for another good Tour, where a top 10 on GC or a stage win are both achievable.

10. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly)

Several riders could have claimed this 10th spot on the list, and indeed that probably reflects the racing we're about to see, where the lower part of the top 10 is really open and up for grabs.

But in this case we've gone for EF's Cédrine Kerbaol. Kerbaol became the first French stage winner at the women's Tour in 2024 when she ripped to a solo victory, and last year she proved that she's more than just a stage winner by claiming eighth overall at the end of the tough edition.

She had a fairly average Vuelta, but then showed where her climbing ability is this summer by securing second overall at the Tour de Suisse, and she is clearly more than capable of putting together a solid GC campaign. She's 10th in our list, but don't be surprised if she ends up higher than that in Nice next weekend.

Honorable mentions

If Femke de Vries was on any other team other than Visma-Lease a Bike with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, she'd be an easy top 10 (if not top five) favourite for this Tour, and she's seriously broken through with sixth at the Giro and fifth at Suisse. As it stands, she will go into this race as a support rider for Ferrand-Prévot, but keep an eye on the Dutchwoman – she's a huge talent.

It seems wild to put last year's fourth-placed finisher only in the honourable mentions, but Dominika Włodarczyk rides for such a stacked UAE Team ADQ that fourth last year might not mean leadership this year, as unfortunate as that is. She's so strong, though, and will definitely be making her mark on the race.

Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) had a fantastic season in 2025, and has been solid in 2026 with seventh at the Vuelta and 15th at the Giro, so she should lead Jayco's GC ambitions and be aiming for the top 15.

Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM) will likely play second fiddle to Niewiadoma-Phinney but cannot be overlooked as a contender after finishing second overall at the Giro.

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