A total of 21 teams have been selected to compete in this year’s Tour de France Femmes, bringing together the full line-up of 14 UCI Women’s WorldTeams and seven UCI Women’s ProTeams.
That number is down from the 22-team fields seen across the previous three editions, a small but notable tightening of access that lands at the same moment as the Women’s WorldTour’s new participation framework. In principle, Women’s WorldTour races are now restricted to the top two tiers: WorldTeams and ProTeams, with Continental teams no longer part of the standard invitation pathway.
What has made early 2026 messy is that enforcement has not been uniform across organisers. RCS invited Continental teams to the UAE Tour Women, leaning on requests and exceptions to bolster the start list. ASO, by contrast, has stuck closely to the letter of the updated rules for the Tour de France Femmes and has again not invited any Continental teams.
A fifth edition with a Swiss start and a finish in Nice
Now in its fifth edition, the Tour de France Femmes takes place August 1st-9th, with a start in Lausanne, Switzerland, before the race heads into France and builds towards a grand finale in Nice.
The 2026 edition is billed as the longest yet, at 1,175 km across nine days, with a new high total elevation gain of 18,795 m. Among the headline-climbing tests, Mont Ventoux is set to feature as a summit finish on stage 7, a placement that practically guarantees the general classification will remain open deep into the race.
ProTeams: new status, returning names, and a first-time project
Among the seven ProTeams, there is a mix of continuity and fresh structure.
Lotto Intermarché Ladies and Ma Petite Entreprise are both in their first seasons registered as ProTeams, a significant step that reflects the financial and sporting lift required to operate in the sport’s second tier. Lotto is not new to the Tour, but this selection marks a return under their new status. Ma Petite Entreprise, by contrast, is new this season and set for a first appearance at the race.
Mayenne Monbana My Pie returns under new branding after racing last year as Winspace Orange Seal, while Cofidis Women Team, St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93, Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi, and VolkerWessels Cycling Team complete the ProTeam selections.
Key storylines among the WorldTeams
EF Education-Oatly makes the start for a third consecutive year, but this time as a WorldTeam, a significant shift in status that reflects how quickly the structure of the women’s peloton is changing. The team had a solid collective showing last season, backed by strong individual performances from French rider Cédrine Kerbaol, who combined consistent stage finishes with a high general classification placing.
Last year’s race was won by Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of Team Visma | Lease a Bike, with Demi Vollering of FDJ United-SUEZ and Kasia Niewiadoma of Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto completing the overall podium. It continues a striking early pattern in the race’s history: a different team has won each of the four editions so far, starting with Annemiek van Vleuten’s inaugural victory in 2022 for Movistar.
FDJ United-SUEZ enters the season as the number-one WorldTour team and, on paper, has the depth to shape the race once it reaches the decisive terrain. If the squad brings a general classification-focused roster again, the obvious spine is built around Vollering, supported by proven climbing options such as Juliette Berthet and Évita Muzic, riders who can stabilise the race on the hardest days and still threaten top results in their own right.
Teams selected for the 2026 Tour de France Femmes
Women’s WorldTeams
- AG Insurance-Soudal
- Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
- EF Education-Oatly
- FDJ United-SUEZ
- Fenix-Premier Tech
- Human Powered Health
- Lidl-Trek
- Liv-AlUla-Jayco
- Movistar
- Team Picnic PostNL
- SD Worx-Protime
- UAE Team ADQ
- Uno-X Mobility
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Women’s ProTeams
- Cofidis Women Team
- Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi
- Lotto Intermarché Ladies
- Ma Petite Entreprise
- Mayenne Monbana My Pie
- St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93
- VolkerWessels Cycling Team
