Mayenne Monbana My Pie have confirmed their seven-rider squad for the Tour de France Femmes 2026, with Karolina Perekitko, Natalie Quinn, Fiona Mangan, Marine Allione, Alice Coutinho, Kiara Lylyk and Constance Valentin selected for the nine-stage race from Lausanne to Nice.
The French team head to the Tour without one obvious overall contender, but with a squad that should have freedom to race aggressively across the flatter and hilly stages. With no need to protect a major yellow jersey favourite, the emphasis is likely to be on breakaways, visibility and taking chances when the larger teams begin looking at one another.
That approach fits a Tour de France Femmes 2026 route containing several stages where teams without GC responsibilities can gain more from attacking than waiting for the final kilometres.
Perekitko gives the team an experienced reference point
Karolina Perekitko is one of the more experienced riders in the selection and should be important when the race becomes tactical.
For a team likely to spend much of the Tour looking for opportunities rather than controlling stages, that experience matters. Knowing when to follow an attack, when to conserve energy and which moves have enough quality to survive can make the difference between spending a day in a doomed breakaway and reaching the final hour with a genuine chance.
Perekitko can also help guide the younger riders through a race where the physical demands are only part of the challenge. Nine consecutive stages require consistent positioning, recovery and tactical judgement as much as outright strength.
Fiona Mangan brings another attacking option
Fiona Mangan gives the squad another rider who can be useful when the race opens up.
The Irish rider should be one of Mayenne Monbana My Pie’s options on stages where a breakaway has a realistic chance of staying clear, particularly once the general classification starts separating the riders the bigger teams need to control from those they can afford to let go.
That should become increasingly important through the middle of the race. The Tour de France Femmes 2026 breakaway specialists guide highlights how Stages 5 and 6 in particular could reward riders willing to anticipate the favourites rather than waiting for them.
For Mayenne Monbana My Pie, getting ahead of the race may be much more productive than trying to compete directly with the strongest WorldTour squads once a stage becomes controlled.
Quinn, Allione and Coutinho add depth across mixed terrain
Natalie Quinn, Marine Allione and Alice Coutinho give the team further options across the days where the route sits between a straightforward sprint and a major mountain test.
Those stages are often where smaller teams can have the greatest impact. If the GC squads are saving resources and the sprint teams are uncertain whether their fastest riders can survive the climbs, the responsibility for chasing can disappear surprisingly quickly.
The 2026 Tour contains several days with exactly that character. Stage 3 from Geneva to Poligny can become selective without being a pure climbers’ stage, while the hilly stages later in the week offer even more room for aggressive racing.
Mayenne Monbana My Pie do not need every rider to have one narrowly defined role. Versatility is more useful when the objective is finding opportunities rather than controlling the race.
Lylyk and Valentin complete a squad built around freedom
Kiara Lylyk and Constance Valentin complete the seven-rider selection and reinforce the sense of a team built around collective opportunity rather than one protected leader.
Mayenne Monbana My Pie are unlikely to dictate the shape of the race from the front of the peloton, but they do not need to. Their best results are more likely to come from anticipating how the race will develop and getting a rider into the move before the major teams decide whether it needs to be chased.
That can be especially valuable on a Tour where the main riders to watch are divided between GC contenders, sprinters and established stage hunters. The more those objectives conflict, the more space opens for teams willing to attack.
A rider in the right breakaway can give Mayenne Monbana My Pie hours of visibility and potentially a major stage result without requiring the depth needed to control a race against the strongest squads.
The hilly stages should provide the best opportunities
Stages 5 and 6 stand out as the most attractive days for the team.
The middle of the 2026 Tour route contains repeated climbing without every stage being tied directly to the yellow jersey battle. That creates the possibility of strong escapes receiving meaningful freedom.
Stage 6 may be particularly interesting because it comes immediately before Mont Ventoux. GC teams could be reluctant to spend domestiques chasing riders who pose no threat overall when those same teammates will be needed on the race’s biggest sustained climb the following day.
That is the sort of tactical situation Mayenne Monbana My Pie need to exploit.
If one of their riders reaches the right escape, the responsibility for bringing it back belongs elsewhere.
Mayenne Monbana My Pie Tour de France Femmes 2026 squad
- Karolina Perekitko
- Natalie Quinn
- Fiona Mangan
- Marine Allione
- Alice Coutinho
- Kiara Lylyk
- Constance Valentin
Mayenne Monbana My Pie head to Lausanne without the pressure of a major GC objective, but that may suit the race they need to ride. The squad has enough versatility to attack across different terrain and can focus on getting riders into moves rather than defending a place in the overall classification.
For a team in their position, the best Tour will come from being visible on the right days and making one of those opportunities count.
