The 2024 Tour de France Femmes (officially Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift) was the third edition of the Tour de France Femmes. The race took place from 12 to 18 August and was the 22nd race in the 2024 UCI Women's World Tour calendar. The race was organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which also organises the men's Tour de France.
Overview +Stage characteristicsStageDateCourseDistanceType 112 AugustRotterdam to The Hague (Netherlands)Flat stage 213 AugustDordrecht to Rotterdam (Netherlands)Flat stage 313 AugustRotterdam (Netherlands)Individual time trial 414 AugustValkenburg (Netherlands) to Liège (Belgium)Hilly stage 515 AugustBastogne (Belgium) to AmnévilleFlat stage 616 AugustRemiremont to MorteauHilly stage 717 AugustChampagnole to Le Grand-BornandMountain stage 818 AugustLe Grand-Bornand to Alpe d'HuezMountain stageTotal
Classification standings LegendDenotes the leader of the General classificationDenotes the leader of the Mountains classificationDenotes the leader of the Points classificationDenotes the leader of the Young rider classificationDenotes the leader of the Team classificationDenotes the winner of the Combativity award
Stage 1 12 August 2024 – Rotterdam to The Hague (Netherlands), The first stage of the race took riders on a flat course from Rotterdam to The Hague, with a fourth category climb of the (1km with an average gradient of 3.1%) located before the finish.
In the early part of the stage, numerous riders attempted to escape in breakaways to no avail. With remaining, Cristina Tonetti () attacked from the peloton. Tonetti's lead grew following a crash in the peloton, with seven riders down. Tonetti therefore took the Queen of the Mountains (QoM) points available at the Massdeltatunnel, before she was caught shortly after by the peloton. The pack stayed together for the rest of the stage, with Marianne Vos () taking the intermediate sprint.
In the sprint finish, the expected favourite for the stage win Lorena Wiebes () suffered a mechanical issue with her derailleur, meaning that she was unable to sprint for the line. Instead, Charlotte Kool () won the stage a bike length ahead of her rivals, taking the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) of the general classification (GC), as well as the points classification. Second place on the stage was Anniina Ahtosalo () who took the lead in the young rider classification. Tonetti took the lead in the mountains classification, following her solo attack earlier in the stage.
Five riders abandoned the race during the stage – four of them from the , after they were unable to keep with the pace of the peloton on the flat stage. The team was criticised for its poor performance, with only one rider crossing the finish line in the main group.
Stage 2 13 August 2024 – Dordrecht to Rotterdam (Netherlands),
The second stage took the riders from Dordrecht to Rotterdam, over a short, flat course. The stage took place in the morning, with stage 3 (an individual time trial) taking place in the afternoon.
The short stage led to nervous racing, with numerous splits in the peloton early on in the stage. With remaining, Audrey De Keersmaeker () attacked in a solo breakaway. She was caught with to go in the stage, with teams preparing for a sprint finish.
In the final sprint, worked to position Wiebes perfectly, launching her sprint with 200 metres to go. However Kool was faster than Wiebes and took the stage in a photo finish, her second stage win in the Tour. The bonus seconds available at the finish extended Kool's lead in the to 14 seconds, with Kool also remaining in the lead of the points classification. Ahtosalo maintained her lead in the young rider classification, and the lack of climbs on the stage meant that Tonetti stayed in the polka-dot jersey.
Stage 3 13 August 2024 – Rotterdam (Netherlands),
The third stage of the race was an individual time trial over a short course in the centre of Rotterdam. The flat course only had nine major corners, with two slight rises over the Erasmusbrug and Willemsbrug bridges.
Maëva Squiban () was the first rider to set a time under eight minutes, with Elena Pirrone () then setting a time 6 seconds faster that was not beaten for 25 minutes. Loes Adegeest () set a fast time of 7 min 30 s, with Dutch favourite Ellen van Dijk () and double Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner () both setting times a second slower. Olympic time trial champion Grace Brown () suffered a puncture, losing around 30 seconds as the short course allowed no time to catch up.
Chloé Dygert () was the first rider quicker than Adegeest, setting a time just 0.17 seconds faster. Defending champion Demi Vollering () then set the fastest time, around five seconds quicker than Dygert. Wearing the yellow jersey, Kool was last to attempt the course. However, she was unable to keep up with the top contenders, setting a time of 7 min 50 s – falling to 33rd overall. She retained her lead in the points classification.
Vollering therefore took the lead in , just three seconds ahead of Wiebes and five ahead of Dygert. Ahtosalo maintained her lead in the young riders classification. Vollering was delighted with her stage win, tearily stating that she "really didn't see this coming".
Stage 4 14 August 2024 – Valkenburg (Netherlands) to Liège (Belgium),
The fourth stage took the riders south from Valkenburg to Liège, over a hilly course with eight categorised climbs. The route used climbs such as the Cauberg and Côte de La Redoute, which feature in the Ardennes classics races of Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes and the Amstel Gold Race. The stage was held in wet weather.
Passing over the initial climbs in the Netherlands, the peloton stayed together. With to go, Sara Martín () went on a solo breakaway, gaining over a minute ahead of the peloton. Kool won the sprint in the peloton behind for the intermediate sprint, increasing her lead in the points classification. A closed level crossing delayed both Martín and the peloton, with a gap given to Martín when racing resumed – however she was swallowed up by the peloton on the third category climb of Mont Theux.
On the second category climb of Côte de La Redoute (1.6km with an average gradient of 9%), Puck Pieterse () began to pull away from the peloton, being chased back by contenders Vollering and Katarzyna Niewiadoma () and the peloton. The second to last climb was Côte des Forges (1.3km with an average gradient of 7.8%), with Justine Ghekiere () attacked, gaining a 20-second lead on the descent. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig () crashed on the wet roads of the descent.
On the final categorised climb of the day – Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3km with an average gradient of 11%) – led the peloton's chase of Ghekiere, catching her 300 metres from the top. Vollering, Niewiadoma, Pieterse and Pauliena Rooijakkers () pulled away from the peloton, with Pieterse taking the points at the top.
Descending towards Liège, the trio of Vollering, Niewiadoma and Pieterse pulled away from Rooijakkers – with Vollering taking bonus seconds on a minor climb located around to go. With to go, the three riders had a 30-second lead over the peloton. At the finish, Pieterse outsprinted Vollering to take her first stage win of the Tour in a photo finish.
Vollering retained her yellow jersey of the , extending her lead to 22 seconds. Pieterse took second place, the lead of the young rider classification as well as the polka-dot jersey of the mountains classification. Niewiadoma took third place, 34 seconds on behind Vollering. Kool retained her green jersey of the points classification.
Stage 5 15 August 2024 – Bastogne (Belgium) to Amnéville,
The fifth stage took the riders south from Bastogne to Amnéville, over a flat course with five categorised climbs.
No breakaways got away from the peloton in the early stages of the race, with Adegeest escaping with to go, later joined by Julie Van de Velde () and Fem van Empel (). With of the stage remaining, the three riders had a 2 min 45 s lead over the peloton. By the top of the Côte de Briey, the gap had fallen to 1 min 30 s, after , and increased the pace of the peloton. On the final climb of the day, Pieterse pushed hard to close the gap to the trio – extending her lead in the classification by crossing the summit ahead of others in the peloton.
With to go, the gap was at 23 seconds but then fell rapidly. However, with remaining a sharp corner out of a roundabout located caught the peloton by surprise, with around 25 riders crashing at high speed. Riders who lost time included the yellow jersey of Vollering, 2nd placed Pieterse and young rider contenders Shirin van Anrooij () and Neve Bradbury (). Vollering took some time to remount her bike, and was visibly in pain as she rode towards the finish. Two riders abandoned the race following their injuries sustained in the crash, with Pfeiffer Georgi () suffering a fractured neck and broken hand.
A small group of remaining riders including Niewiadoma, Faulkner, Blanka Vas (), Liane Lippert (), and Cédrine Kerbaol () caught the breakaway with to go. In the final kilometre, the group fought amongst themselves, with Niewiadoma and Faulkner both attempting attacks. Finally, Lippert went in the final steep section, however Vas was strong enough to overtake her and take her first stage win in the Tour.
Niewiadoma took the lead, with a 19-second lead ahead of Faulkner and 22 seconds ahead of Pieterse. She expressed her delight in taking the yellow jersey, stating that "It feels very special". Despite her crash, Pieterse retained her lead in the and young rider classifications. Vollering had crossed the line 1 min 47 s behind Vas, and fell to 9th place overall, 1 min 19 s behind Niewiadoma. Vollering noted that she was glad not to "suffer any broken bones" given the speed of the crash. There was criticism of for not sending riders to support Vollering to the finish line, with Vas noting that her radio was not working.
Stage 6 16 August 2024 – Remiremont to Morteau,
The sixth stage of the race took the riders further south from Remiremont to Morteau, on a hilly course with five categorised climbs, including the second category climb of La Roche du Prêtre (5.5km with an average gradient of 5.6%).
A group of 10 riders broke away from the peloton early on in the stage, with Ghekiere taking the points at the top of Col du Mont du Fourche. This break was caught with remaining, but attacks soon followed to establish another break.
A second breakaway was established with to go, with 13 riders, again including Ghekiere. 4 more riders (including Niamh Fisher-Black () and Vos) joined them later – with the break establishing a 2-minute lead over the peloton. Ghekiere took the maximum points at both the Col de Ferrière and the Côte de Laviron, moving into the lead of the mountains classification. Vos won the intermediate sprint in Sancey, reducing the margin between her and Kool.
The peloton began to thin out and break on the La Roche du Prêtre climb, reducing to just six riders. At the summit, Fisher-Black took the maximum points. Multiple attacks followed, as the peloton reduced the gap to around 30 seconds. On the final climb of Côte de Fins, the peloton caught the break, with Pieterse taking the points.
On the descent of the final climb, Kerbaol and Rooijakkers attacked, quickly gaining 10 seconds. With remaining, Kerbaol had gained a 30-second lead following a high-speed descent, with Rooijakkers swallowed by the peloton. A final steep climb remained in the final , however Kerbaol pushed towards the finish line to take France's first ever stage win at the Tour. Behind Kerbaol, Vos won the group sprint for second place, thereby taking the lead in the points classification from Kool.