2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift - Ultimate stage-by-stage guide

A short, punchy stage in the heartland of Morbihan, Brittany, opens the 2025 edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

At only 79 kilometres in length, the racing will be on from the get-go, and the tension is unlikely to relent throughout on this course made for aggressive racing.

The key feature of the stage is the Côte de Cadoudal, a climb that stands 1.6 kilometres in length and averages 5.4%. The climb will be tackled three times in total, on both laps of the finishing circuit, before it hosts the finish where the stage win and first yellow jersey will be decided in Plumelec.

The second stage is presented as flat, but it’s unlikely this will be one for the pure sprinters once more.

Beginning from the port city of Brest, this stage will test the riders in multiple ways but will also treat them to some beautiful sights along the coast. In the first half of the stage, the riders will tackle the combination of Menez Quelerc’h (3km at 6.5%) and the Côte de Locronan (0.9km at 9.3%).

The stage concludes with two loops to Quimper featuring two climbs on each lap. First is the Côte du Chemin de Troheir, which is 1.3 kilometres at 5.3%, before the end of the lap and finish being set on a 500 metre ramp at 7.5% in Quimper. There could be a change in race leadership after a difficult stage such as this. 

Whilst the first two stages favour the puncheurs, this one should be destined for the sprinters as the race leaves Brittany. With only one categorised climb on the menu, which is situated in the first 40 kilometres, the main threat for the sprinters on this stage will be avoiding any incidents or accidents in the chaotic finale.

That climb previously mentioned is the Côte de la Richardière, which is 1.7 kilometres at 4.7%, but due to its position on the stage, it should merely serve as a place for the breakaway to fight for points in the mountains classification.

Stage 4 presents another opportunity for the sprinters to shine with a flat 128-kilometre stage from Saumar to Poitiers along the river Clain. With only one categorised climb on the menu, this is the flattest stage of this year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The final 5 kilometres are identical to stage 11 of the 2020 Tour de France men’s race, with Caleb Ewan winning in a four-way sprint photo finish.

This is a fun sort of stage where the finale is wide open in terms of the type of riders that could succeed. The majority of the stage is flat until the final 40 kilometres, where three categorised climbs await.

The climbs aren’t difficult enough to completely rule out some faster riders hanging in with the more natural climbers, but could also see the race split significantly if the pace is high.

Le Maupuy will be the key climb of the stage, a 2.8 kilometre test at 5.4%, but crucially with the summit coming less than 10 kilometres from the finish. A fast descent follows before a lumpy final couple of kilometres to round out what could be an interesting stage.

Stage 6 is the first of three labelled as mountainous by the race organisers, and is the hardest on paper so far. No stage in the entire race has more categorised climbs than the 5 that are on offer in this 124 kilometre affair from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert.

The most significant climb of the day is situated in the middle portion of the stage, the Col du Beal, which is 10.6 kilometres long at 5.5%. Due to its positioning and the fact that the Col du Chansert and Côte de Valcivieres follow, the race won’t be decided on the Col du Beal, but it should certainly thin out the peloton on its slopes.

With the summit of the Côte de Valcivieres coming around 13 kilometres from the finish, the false flat section over the top could be a clever point to attack. Equally, the descent down to the finish in Ambert could be a key feature of the stage if a rider is brave and skilful enough to attack.

This stage all comes down to the final 50 kilometres of racing, with the ascent and descent of the Col du Granier set to be where the race is decided. Beginning in Bourg-en-Bresse, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France, the first 100 kilometres are predominantly flat.

It is not until the approach to the Côte de Saint-Franc that the tension will rise ahead of a blockbuster final 50 kilometres. The ascent of the Côte de Saint-Franc could thin the peloton out on its 3.8 kilometre slopes at 7.2%. As could the 1.3 kilometre at 6.6% climb, the Côte de Berlanc, which is crested 35 kilometres from the finish.

However, all eyes will be pointed towards the major climb of the day, the Col du Granier, which the riders will first ascend, before descending over the other side to the finish. The general classification riders should come to the fore on this climb as it’s 8.9 kilometres long and averages 5.4%.

There’s still a long way to the finish at the climb’s summit, 17 kilometres of a fast and technical descent down to the finish in front of the Chambéry Savoie Stadium. The race could just as easily be won or lost on the descent as it could be on the ascent.

Stage 8 is a crucial day for the general classification, with the only summit finish of this year’s race set to take place on the Col de la Madeleine. It’s the queen stage of the race with over 3,600 metres of climbing packed in 112 kilometres.

The riders will be climbing from the get-go with a nasty stage to the stage on the Col de Plainpalais, which is 13.3 kilometres at 6.4%. There isn’t too much climbing in the middle portion of the stage beyond the Côte de Saint-Georges-d-Hurtières, a 4.8 kilometre climb at 5.8% that the riders will crest with just over 20 kilometres to the summit of the Madeleine.

This is where the stage will ultimately be decided, and on the 18.6 kilometre long slopes at 8.1%, which takes the riders to just below 2,000 metres above sea level, this iconic climb will have a major outcome on who will win the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

It’s time for the final roll of the dice if you’ve got anything left to give on this 124-kilometre, uniquely designed mountain stage with just over 3,000 metres of climbing in this ‘100% Haute-Savoie’ stage. It’s uniquely designed in terms of the positioning of the climbs on the menu. The stage begins in Praz-sur-Arly, which makes its debut as a start host, despite appearing in plenty of stages in the men’s version of the Tour de France.

The first climb of the day is arguably the easiest, the Côte d'Arâches-la-Frasse, which is 6.2 kilometres at 7.1%.

Next is the longest and steepest climb of the day, where the race should split into pieces. The Col de Joux-Plane stands at a whopping 11.6 kilometres and has a savage average gradient of 8.6%. With its summit coming just under 60 kilometres from the finish, there’s still a long way to the finish, so it would take a seriously impressive effort to see a race-defining attack on this climb.

The final climb of the day is the Col du Corbier, which is 5.9 kilometres at 8.5%. Again, the summit is still far out from the finish, at around 30 kilometres to go, meaning that it would need a super strong rider to go clear at this point.

Whilst there is no more categorised climbing, the road continues to go uphill in the finale with a couple of uncategorised drags for the riders to contend with. Will it be the setting for a yellow jersey coronation, or will the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift be up for grabs still come this finale?