Who Are the Riders to Watch at the Tour de France Femmes 2023?

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is coming up fast, and teams have started to announce their full squads for the biggest race of the season. Starting on July 23, 2023, racers will cover eight stages ranging from 22 to 178 kilometers in length. Most of the stages are flat or hilly, with one mountain stage and a short time trial to finish the week of racing.

Expect fireworks on every single stage, since every second is going to count thanks to that final stage. Here’s who we’re expecting to be at the front of the race:

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar)

Inaugural Tour de France Femmes champion Annemiek Van Vleuten really needs no introduction—ever. She’s the heavy favorite for the win, as she’s been steadily building up over the course of the season.

She just won the Giro Donne overall and it’s obvious she’s in great form. And with retirement looming, she’s definitely going to be looking to go out on top.

Marianne Vos (Jumbo Visma)

After a less-than-successful Giro Donne—by normal “Vos is Boss” standards, anyway—Vos is likely gunning for a big result at this race. She arguably used the Giro Donne as a tuneup for this event, and may have been conserving her energy for the big show in France.

She may not be a huge contender for the overall win, but she’ll light up sprint stages and be going for another green points jersey. While there are plenty of younger riders who may be hoping to unseat the great like Van Vleuten and Vos, these two behemoths of women’s cycling remain two of the smartest, strongest women to ever race in the pro peloton.

Demi Vollering (SD Worx)

Vollering skipped the Giro Donne ostensibly to prepare for the TDFF, and will likely be coming in fresher than any of the riders who decided to double up on stage races set only a couple weeks apart.

After losing her Vuelta Femenina lead to Van Vleuten in a controversial move (Movistar went on the attack as Vollering took a pee break), Vollering definitely has an ax to grind in this race. She was second in the inaugural TDFF, so only a win could improve on last year’s race.

Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon // SRAM)

Like Vollering, Niewiadoma opted to sit out for the Giro Donne—and will be looking to defend her podium position (third) from last year’s TDFF.

She’s been putting in a lot of training at altitude and on the course this season, and will be coming into the race with fresh legs and a team selected to best help her succeed—and maybe take another Canyon//SRAM overall team win in the race as well.

Silvia Persico and/or Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ)

Silvia Persico was one of the top riders to watch at last year’s TDFF and had a solid Giro Donne last week, but her teammate Erica Magnaldi had an even better Giro Donne with a fifth place finish in the GC.

Either rider could do well in the TDFF, but anytime there are two racers on a team who are relatively equally matched in terms of GC potential, it can be tricky with team tactics. Magnaldi is more of a climber, though, and the TDFF only has one mountain stage. Persico is a bit more of an all-arounder, so she may do better in a race where most stages are flat or hilly.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl Trek)

After taking a stage win at the Giro Donne, Longo Borghini is likely feeling good heading into the TDFF. However, Lidl Trek is so packed with solid riders that there are several other women, including Lucinda Brand and Elisa Balsamo, who could also be contending for stage wins or the overall title.

It’s always interesting watching the Lidl Trek team, since they can set up several different riders for stage or overall wins.

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx)

While she may not be one of the top contenders for the overall win, as with Vos, Wiebes will be trying to scoop up as many points in sprints as possible. She left the Giro Donne early to begin preparing for the TDFF after showing the world she is on the top of her form by winning a stage in that race. Expect her to be contending for stage wins in the Tour de France Femmes while also supporting Vollering.

Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich)

After finishing second in the overall and the points at the Giro Donne, Labous will be DSM’s best bet for the TDFF. She’s a much more subtle racer than Van Vleuten, who’s often seen attacking up the road, but her style of riding keeps her very much in the mix.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Suez)

FDJ Suez has a strong squad in this TDFF iteration, with Uttrup Ludwig coming off of a solid Giro Donne, with team support including Marta Cavalli and Grace Brown.

Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB)

After a hard-fought fourth place finish at the Giro Donne, American Ewers is likely still glowing—and wondering if she could potentially improve upon that stellar performance. She just squeaked into the top 10 in the GC standings at the TDFF last year, and this year, she’s clearly in great form for an even better result.

“I’m definitely proud to race the Tour de France Femmes again,” she told Bicycling. “I’m aiming to better my result from last year, but I know that it will be a massive team effort to do that. I think it will be a really good challenge for the team to obtain that goal but I also think that we’ve grown a lot within the team and are a force within the peloton at this time.”

A Few Still-Unknowns

There are a few other teams who haven’t yet released rosters. Team Jayco AlUla still hasn’t listed their riders, and could have strong contenders entering the mix.

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