Getting underway on the city streets of Paris, the famous Champs-Élysées will play host to an expected fast finale where the winner and their team will take the coveted yellow jersey for the first time. Leaving the capital, the following two days look good for the sprinters but with hills in the finale, or rises to the line, the attackers and puncheurs will also look to fight it out for stage honours. The fourth day of action sees the peloton take on testing gravel roads and hills, before an expected sprint stage the next day, followed by an opportunity for the attackers on rolling terrain. The final weekend of racing takes place in the mountains with Saturday’s stage filled with three challenging climbs, and albeit without a summit finish, the GC battle should take shape there with time gaps expected. The GC battle will crescendo all the way to the line as the final day of racing ends on the famous La Super Planche des Belles Filles with its steep gradients and gravel section just before the summit.
After strong recent performances in their carefully selected races, alongside well-developed training programs from the team’s specialists; the Team DSM roster are looking forward to getting underway in Paris next Sunday.
Team DSM coach Albert Timmer said: “We’re all looking forward to the Tour de France Femmes and it’s a really nice parcours for the first edition of the race. The first two days in theory should be sprint finishes and we’re hoping that is the case. The next few stages get more difficult and could end in a variety of ways; either for the break, a small group or a bigger sprint finish – particularly on stage four where we might potentially see a GC battle over the gravel. Stage five could end in a sprint but it’s one of the longest races of the year, while the following day again could be one for the break. Then the final weekend will see an all-out GC battle between the best riders in the world. We have two main goals for the race: to go for sprint success with Lorena as our fast finisher, while Juliette will go for the best GC result possible for the team; but we will also look to different days and race situations to hunt for other potential stage results too. We have a strong group of riders to support those goals and we’ve shown in recent races that everyone is in good shape. We’re all motivated for an exciting week of action and show our Team DSM colours at the front of the race.”
Full line-up:
Pfeiffer Georgi
Franziska Koch
Charlotte Kool
Juliette Labous
Liane Lippert
Lorena Wiebes