Tour de France Femmes: The climb in demands and performance
In just three years, the Tour de France Femmes has added over 4,000 metres of climbing and 5,000 kilojoules of race effort. Sports scientist Alice Maggio dove into the numbers and reveals how the race is pushing riders - and preparation - to new extremes.
Since its modern return in 2022, the Tour de France Femmes has rapidly evolved into one of the most demanding and influential events in the women’s calendar. In just four editions, the race has not only grown in prestige but is also shifting the performance profile required to compete at the top.
The 2022 Tour de France Femmes covered 1,033.6 km over eight balanced stages. Since then, climbing and technical difficulty have increased: 2023 featured 960.5 km with more elevation, 2024 had a similar distance but tougher summit finishes like Alpe d’Huez with nearly 3,900 m of climbing. In 2025, the race expanded to nine stages and 1,168.6 km, with total elevation rising sharply to around 17,240 meters, up from 14,000 in 2024 and just over 13,000 in 2023.
Based on power data analysis from several WorldTour riders who competed in all three editions from 2022 to 2024, the total estimated energy expenditure during the race has increased significantly. These athletes averaged around 12,000 to 13,000 kilojoules (kJ) expended over the entire Tour de France Femmes in 2022 and 2023, rising to over 17,000 kJ in 2024. Early projections for 2025 suggest even higher totals, reflecting both the more demanding climbs and the rise in the relative intensity of racing, with riders spending more time at high percentages of their functional threshold power.
Alongside this, an analysis of time spent in power zones revealed a growing percentage of time above threshold (FTP) throughout the race. This means that, despite the overall race duration increasing, riders are also spending proportionally more time at very high intensities - often around 4 hours total above FTP across the stages. Even if this absolute time were to remain constant, sustaining it within a longer, more cumulative race load is physiologically more demanding due to accumulated fatigue and reduced recovery margins.
| Edition | Duration | Distance (km) | TSS | Elevation gain (metres) | Work (KJ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | 27:08:01 | 1,025.0 | 1,712 | 11,812 | 13,094 |
2023 | 27:34:44 | 995.0 | 1,831 | 12,752 | 12,864 |
2024 | 28:05:55 | 1,004.3 | 1,924 | 12,507 | 17,035 |
2025 (Prediction) | 1,168.6 | 17,420 |
This growing energy demand has directly influenced preparation strategies. Marco Pinotti, performance coach at Team Jayco AlUla, offers valuable insight from his experience in both men’s and women’s pro cycling, having witnessed the sport’s evolution from inside the peloton and now from the team car.
“The level has clearly increased in the past three years. Top riders are now spread across more teams, which forces each squad to raise its game,” he explains. Training camps in women’s teams have become more structured and collective, with altitude blocks and detailed reconnaissance now standard. “These camps used to be individual,” Pinotti adds, “but now they’re part of the team calendar, which is easier to manage thanks to a less congested race schedule.”
He also highlights a broader trend in stage race design: “Men’s Grand Tours are trending toward shorter stages, while women’s races like the Tour de France Femmes are becoming longer and tougher, pushing athletes to develop greater aerobic endurance.”
This exponential rise in performance standards is further confirmed by Luca Zenti, performance coach at UAE Team ADQ— Team fresh off a Giro d’Italia Women victory. “The women’s peloton has become much more professionalized,” he explains, “from equipment choices (aerodynamics, suits, bike components) to nutrition and recovery strategies.” In terms of training, Zenti highlights a shift toward more volume and a renewed focus on aerobic development, with tailored carbohydrate intake to better absorb the increased workload.
“We’re seeing longer sessions—up to six hours—at higher average intensities, while still preserving overall weekly volume.” He also underscores the importance of strength stimulus in the women’s field, “not just for performance, but for its positive hormonal cascade, which is particularly valuable in female athletes.”
The evolution of the Tour de France Femmes marks a fundamental rise in both metabolic and tactical demands. The women’s peloton is responding with sharper preparation and higher standards - setting new benchmarks in elite cycling. And expectations are rising not only for athletes, but also for coaches and support staff, whose expertise is now more critical than ever.
