The favourites for the Tour de France Femmes GC - Domestique Stars

The 2025 Tour de France Femmes kicks off in Vannes and brings together the strongest field yet in what has quickly become the most prestigious race on the women’s calendar. Now in its fourth edition, the race has never seen a repeat winner - will that change this year? All eyes are on defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma, stage race dominator Demi Vollering and resurgent powerhouse Marlen Reusser.

So what do our creators think? Who holds the upper hand - and could a dark horse disrupt the script?

Although she didn’t win the 2024 edition, Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) is the top favourite and the woman to beat. Her team is one of the strongest in the women’s peloton, and she is the strongest rider in the mountains.

Marlen Reusser (Movistar) has a spectacular 2025 season, pushing Vollering to the limit in the Vuelta and beating her in the Tour de Suisse. Reusser was leading the Giro but lost the maglia rosa in the last day due to illness. If she has fully recovered from that, she will be Vollering’s closest rival. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) will wear the bib number 1 as the defending champion, and the Polish champion will certainly be a podium contender again. But I don’t think she is strong enough to drop Vollering when it matters.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) hasn’t raced since abandoning the Vuelta in May, but her team says she is fully ready, and she surprised everybody in the spring by winning Paris-Roubaix and must not be discounted. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) won the Giro, but that was her home race, and she arguably had a stronger team there than she will have in France. Her racing nous may come in handy to take time in unexpected places.

Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck) is one of the strongest climbers in the women’s peloton but struggles not to lose time on flat stages. If her team can bring her to the mountains without time loss, she can repeat her 2024 podium finish. Niamh Fisher-Black is Lidl-Trek’s GC card and has a strong team around her. She has been doing well in her first season as out-and-out GC leader and should continue in that vein.

Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) is arguably the best climber in the women’s peloton at the moment, having won two stages and the mountain jersey at the Giro in addition to a third place overall. But like Rooijakkers she often loses time before the mountains. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) are both known, among other things, for their downhill attacks. With three stages finishing in a descent, they will have plenty of opportunities to use their skills to win a stage and improve their GC results.

Juliette Labous and Évita Muzic (both FDJ-Suez) will mainly race in support of Vollering, but both are so strong that they can still get a good GC result after their work for the team leader is done. Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) finished runner-up in the 2023 Tour and the 2024 Giro but has not been on the same level in stage races this year, abandoning the Giro with due to back pain. The team has adjusted its goals to focus on stage victories, and there is no pressure on the world champion for a GC result.

Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) won the white U23 jersey last year, finishing 11th overall and winning a stage, but hasn’t done any stage races since. Even so, she should be able to repeat or even improve on her GC result. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) is her team’s GC leader going into the race, with Gigante ready to support her or go for her own result should the Mauritian falter. In the 2024 Giro, her first Grand Tour, she lost a lot of time on the queen stage but recovered to win the final stage the next day. With another year of experience under her belt and the confidence from winning a.o. Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Le Court-Pienaar will be in the mix for at least a top-10 spot.

*****  Vollering                
****  Reusser, Niewiadoma-Phinney
***  Ferrand-Prévot, Longo Borghini, Rooijakkers
**  Fisher-Black, Gigante, Kerbaol, Van der Breggen
*  Labous, Kopecky, Pieterse, Muzic, Le Court-Pienaar

Demi Vollering has not lost a mountain finish from the peloton in almost a year and a half; the last time such an occasion occurred was against her current teammate, Évita Muzic, at the 2024 Vuelta Femenina. It is important to emphasise this because, when there is a day in this race like the penultimate one, the Col de la Madeleine will be the finish line. There, minutes can be given to rivals. I can't help but think that Vollering is the outright winner of this race, especially with the mountain domestique line-up she has with Muzic and Juliette Labous. I still feel this way even when we see that basically every stage has hidden little difficulties, hills, and bumps that could be important in terms of bonus seconds or creating gaps.

The main question is whether Marlen Reusser, Elisa Longo Borghini, or perhaps someone else will be able to capitalise on this. Reusser was fantastic in the Tour de Suisse, making perfect use of the opportunities offered by the route and the fact that she is currently unbeatable in the women's field when it comes to pacing on flat terrain – she will have the opportunity to make advantage on this ability here, as well. 

Elisa Longo Borghini has been consistently competing at a very high level for two years now, but so far, the Tour de France Femmes has not brought her luck, with her best result to date being 6th place in the general classification. She can definitely improve on this during the upcoming edition. Some riders who have excelled in high mountains in recent years will also play a significant role in the race, including Sarah Gigante, Pauliena Rooijakkers, and Neve Bradbury. If they don't fall too far behind in the first few days, they could have a chance to stand on the final podium given the difficulty of the last three days of the race.

*****  Vollering
****  Reusser, Longo Borghini
***  Niewiadoma-Phinney, Van Der Breggen, Gigante
**  Ferrand-Prévot, Fisher-Black, Kopecky, Le Court
*  Kerbaol, Bradbury, Labous, Rooijakkers, Trinca Colonel

Demi Vollering enters the 2025 Tour de France Femmes as the clear favourite, earning unanimous five-star ratings from both of our creators. With strong support from FDJ-Suez and a track record of dominance in the mountains, she looks poised to reclaim the yellow jersey. Marlen Reusser is widely seen as her closest rival, thanks to her power on flat terrain and recent victory over Vollering in the Tour de Suisse. Elisa Longo Borghini and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney round out the top tier of contenders, each capable of seizing opportunities if the race opens up.

Further down, riders like Sarah Gigante, Pauliena Rooijakkers and Anna van der Breggen offer potential surprises, especially if they survive the opening stages without time loss. As ever, the final verdict may rest on the queen stage - and whether anyone can match Vollering when the road tilts upwards.