“Le Ventoux is a dream”, “It's made for Ferrand-Prévôt”… The enthusiastic peloton on the course

Marked by the presence of the Giant of Provence and an explosive arrival in Nice, the route of the 2026 women's Tour de France won over the riders present during its presentation on Thursday.

For its fifth edition since its return in 2022, the Tour de France women pulled out all the stops, with an enticing route presented on Thursday October 23. A postcard Grand Départ in Switzerland, before arriving on the Côte d'Azur, with more stages punchy each other in the middle, without forgetting an arrival on Mont Ventoux. “It’s a very inspiring course, with very beautiful stages. But I learned that it’s only on the bike that you realize the difficulty”smiles Frenchwoman Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a bike).

“There are some great stages to look for, which may suit me”already imagines Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ), winner of two stages on the 2025 Tour. Crowned in 2024, the Polish Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) has her “can’t wait to go back and analyze the profiles and the different stages”of what will be her fifth Tour de France women. “It looks tough as always, but we weren't expecting a walk in France anyway. It's a big race that everyone wants to win, where everyone comes out on top. I am very motivated”promises the one who has always finished on the final podium (one victory, three times 3rd).

To win the 2026 edition, however, the favorites will have to get back on their time trial bike, since the solo effort will be back on the next edition. “The time trial can shape the rest of the Tour, anything can happen. We saw Marlen Reusser very strong in this exercise, it could be a turning point for the Tour”thus anticipates Maëva Squiban. “The time trial and I are a love-hate relationship. But I'm going to have to get back on the time trial bike, and make it work. Let's say that for a fun outing, I'd rather take out my mountain bike or my gravel…“, smiles Katarzyna Niewiadoma.

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The other big event not to be missed if you hope to be adorned with yellow, will obviously be Mont Ventoux, climbed for the first time by the women's Tour de France. “It’s great for women’s cycling to have a finish on such an iconic climb. It makes the whole race even more special and spectacular”thus appreciates the Pole, who nevertheless remembers having climbed it in 2018. “It was horrible. If you've ridden it, you know what it is…” Candidate for the white jersey for best young person after having worn it for six days last summer, Julie Bego confides her impatience : “I can't wait to do the Ventoux. I'll go and spot it before the Tour, for the moment I only know it from TV. A pass that we've never climbed always makes us dream a little more.”

“I did Ventoux when I was a child, I have great memories of it as a kid who dreamed while climbing. I kept telling my father that we had to go back there. Finally I'm going to go back there for the Tour de France!”

Marion Bunel

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Last highlight of the route presented on Thursday: the final loop around Nice, with four ascents of the Col d'Eze. “Mont Ventoux will cause big gaps, but the last stage in Nice can hurt too. If it starts at full speed at kilometer zero, it can cause real gaps. The Tour will not be folded at the top of Ventoux, it could still change in Nice with one hell of a stage. The circuit stages are always tough and spectacular”anticipates Maëva Squiban.

Enough to allow Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt to win a second Grande Boucle? No doubt, for her teammate Marion Bunel: “The course is designed for Pauline, even if there is a time trial. But what's more, we're going to Nice, a region that she knows well. And knowing it, she will identify each stage carefully to arrive as well prepared as possible”. “Pauline? Anything can suit her”sweeps away Julie Bego, with a smile. Response from August 1, 2026.