Cofidis have confirmed their seven-rider squad for the Tour de France Femmes 2026, with Amalie Dideriksen leading the team’s sprint ambitions and a young climbing group built around Julie Bego, Ema Comte and Malwina Mul.
The quartet are joined by Nikola Nosková, Hannah Ludwig and Victorie Guilman for the nine-stage race from Lausanne to Nice, with Cofidis making it clear they are not targeting a major general classification result. Instead, the plan is to race aggressively, place riders in breakaways and use Dideriksen on the days most likely to produce a sprint.
It will be Cofidis’ fifth consecutive appearance at the Tour de France Femmes, having been part of every edition since the modern race began in 2022.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Thomas MaheuxBego returns after her 2025 white jersey spell
Julie Bego gives Cofidis one of their most interesting options on the harder stages.
The 21-year-old wore the white jersey during last year’s Tour and remained in the young rider battle deep into the race before Nienke Vinke eventually took control of the classification. Bego’s 2025 performance established her as one of the more promising French stage-race riders of her generation and gives Cofidis a rider with recent experience of being near the front of the Tour.
She returns for a second appearance alongside two Tour debutants, Ema Comte and Malwina Mul. Comte has already shown good stage-racing form this season with fourth overall at the Bretagne Ladies Tour, while Mul gives the team another young rider capable of becoming more influential once the race reaches the hills.
Bego is also one of the riders highlighted among the Tour de France Femmes 2026 breakaway specialists, with the middle of the race giving Cofidis several opportunities to race more aggressively.
Nosková adds another climbing option
Nikola Nosková brings more experience to the climbing group and should be one of the team’s most useful riders when the race becomes selective.
Cofidis are not entering the Tour with a protected GC leader, which gives Nosková, Bego, Comte and Mul more freedom than riders working exclusively around an overall contender. That should suit the Tour de France Femmes 2026 route, particularly across the hilly middle stages where breakaways and repeated climbing can reward teams willing to move early.
Sporting director Mélanie Briot confirmed that Cofidis intend to change their approach depending on the stage.
“We’re not aiming for a place in the general classification, but we want to make our mark in our own way,” she said. “There will be stages where we’ll try to join the breakaway, and others where we’ll aim for a top placing with Amalie in the sprints.”
That freedom may become one of the team’s biggest strengths once the GC battle begins to narrow the objectives of the larger squads.
Dideriksen carries the sprint ambitions
Dideriksen is the obvious finisher when the race comes down to a bunch sprint.
The Danish champion arrives with strong form after winning the Région Pays de la Loire Tour earlier this season, giving Cofidis a rider capable of turning the flatter stages into a genuine result rather than simply a top-10 target.
The 30-year-old has the speed for conventional bunch finishes but is arguably even more interesting when the stage has been hard enough to remove some of the pure sprinters. Her power and durability have made her effective in selective races throughout her career, something reflected in her wider Amalie Dideriksen rider profile.
Stage 2 towards Geneva is one of the clearest sprint opportunities, while Stage 3 could still suit Dideriksen if the accumulated climbing does not make the race too selective. Stage 8 towards Nice may offer another chance depending on who survives the mountains.
Cofidis general manager Raphaël Jeune said her form gives the team confidence heading into the Tour.
“Amalie Dideriksen has shown she’s been in excellent form all season and hopes to build on that momentum in the sprints,” he said.
Ludwig and Guilman provide the experienced core
Hannah Ludwig and Victorie Guilman give the selection a more experienced backbone.
Ludwig starts her fifth Tour de France Femmes, making her the most experienced rider in the squad at this race, while Guilman returns for her second appearance.
Their roles should be important in a team balancing several objectives. Dideriksen needs support on the sprint days, while the younger riders need enough tactical freedom to attack without leaving the squad exposed or disorganised.
That blend of youth and experience is the central theme of the selection. Cofidis are not arriving with one rider around whom everything else must be sacrificed, so the experienced riders can help the team switch between stage hunting, sprint support and aggressive racing depending on how each day develops.
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Photo Credit: Aritz Arambarri
Cofidis want stage results rather than an anonymous GC
The absence of a major GC objective may actually give Cofidis more freedom than some of the bigger teams.
They do not need to protect a leader through every dangerous moment or commit domestiques to controlling the peloton for yellow. Instead, they can focus on getting riders into the right moves and preserving Dideriksen for the finishes where she has a realistic chance.
That should be especially useful once the Tour reaches the hilly middle section. The current Tour de France Femmes 2026 riders to watch highlights Stage 2 as one of the clearest sprint days, while the later rolling stages create more room for riders such as Bego and Nosková to race from the front.
Briot said the riders had earned their places through performances and attitude across the season.
“Our initial idea was to put together a team made up of those who had shown exemplary attitude and behaviour in races throughout the season,” she said. “All the girls who will be competing in the Tour de France have proved that they deserve their place and that they have worked hard to get there.”
Cofidis Tour de France Femmes 2026 squad
- Amalie Dideriksen
- Julie Bego
- Ema Comte
- Malwina Mul
- Nikola Nosková
- Hannah Ludwig
- Victorie Guilman
Cofidis head to Lausanne without one defining GC leader but with several clear routes into the race. Dideriksen gives them a realistic sprint option, Bego returns after making herself visible in the white jersey battle last year and Comte, Mul and Nosková provide enough climbing depth to target breakaways and selective stages.
The strategy is straightforward: race visibly, use the freedom created by having no overall contender and turn the right opportunity into a stage result.
