Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées 2024 History
The Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées comes into 2024 with a new name after a disastrous 2023 edition, whilst known as the CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées. That race became infamous for ignoring rider safety as the opening stage saw live traffic on the race route as it circled around the finishing town. The next day saw more live traffic on supposed closed roads and the inevitable rider strike as a result. The riders simply stopped in the road as a new plan was devised. With a stage finish on a dead-end road up Hautacam, the race was neutralised all the way to the base of the climb as rider safety couldn’t be guaranteed.
Some of that wouldn’t have been too bad if the organisers hadn’t also come out saying that the riders expected too much of a 2.1 race and thought it was the Tour de France. That effectively trashed any confidence the riders had and the final stage 3 was cancelled before it began. It all left rather a sour taste in the mouth for a race which had started well in 2022 with some good racing dominated by Krista Doebel-Hickok and the EF Eduation-TIBCO-SVB team.
Under a new organisation for 2024, hopefully, the race is able to put last year to bed and secure an edition without drama where we can discuss what the riders do on the road. The Col d’Aubisque will be tackled on Stage 2, which I think is a first for the women’s peloton as I can’t find another instance of that legendary climb being ridden…but some of the historical routes for races are tough to find.
Previous Winners
2023
Marta Cavalli
2022
Krista Doebel-Hickok
2021
Not held
Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées 2024 Stage Profiles
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
TV Coverage
Friday 14th June – Sunday 16th June 2024
Live on Eurosport/Discovery across Europe
Stage 1: 13:00-15:30
Stage 2: 13:15-15:30
Stage 3: 12:00-14:15
All times in BST
Twitter: #TFIP
Startlist: FirstCycling
Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées 2024 Contenders
With a lack of big names, there’s a chance here for Lea Curinier to show that she’s nipping at the bud in these sorts of races. She’s been on a good run ever since Amstel Gold really, having to take a step back when others are around but being a consistent finisher in the teens. 10th on the final major climbing stage of Vuelta a Burgos shows what she can do and that should be enough against the others here at the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées. On the two flatters stages, it’s a chance for Vittoria Guazzini to try and pick up a win. She was knocking on the door at Catalunya last weekend with a 3rd and 4th place finish behind Vos and Wollaston. She was unfortunate to crash out of the Vuelta but looks to be in good shape and will be very much in the hunt here.
Cofidis will sense they can get something from this race. Julie Bego had a quieter Volta Catalunya than expected but will be looking to replicate that 3rd place at the Alpes Gresivaudan Classic recently. Maybe there’s starting to be a hint that she’s better at one-day races rather than stage races in her first year in the Elites – we’ll see if that plays out again. Josie Talbot will fancy the flatter stages after finishing 8th and 9th in the Tour of Britain Women last weekend as well. After a few struggles, they were comfortably her best results of the season and hopefully springboard her onto some more like that. Hannah Ludwig should ride as a strong support rider across all of the stages but you can’t rule out an attack to recreate her win at Navarra Elite Classics. Morgane Coston is in a similar boat too. She does get opportunities, with Alpes Gresivaudan a staple (11th this season), maybe a home race here will give her another shot.
Thalita de Jong has done everything but won a race so far this season. It’s been a super resurgence and she took her 5th 2nd place of 2024 last weekend at Dwars Door het Hageland too. She will get a couple more opportunities here and should be a lock for some more top-10s and maybe finally that first win since the 2022 Ronde de Mouscron. After the way she rode at Itzulia, there’s an outside chance of being a GC threat too.
Karolina Perekitko continues to impress and is on a good run at the moment. She was closed at the Vuelta but just struggled towards the end of a tough week at WWT level but has started to chip away with 11th at Navarra Elite Classics, 6th at GP Ciudad de Eibar and 5th at Alpes Gresivaudan Classic. She’s one who is on course to do very well on the summit finish here and provided she stays out of trouble on the flatter stages has the potential to be a GC top-5 finisher.
Another rider who went well at the Alpes Gresivaudan Classic was Valentina Cavallar. She really came to the fore there with a 4th place finish which delivered on the hype started at Vuelta a Burgos when she took the QoM jersey for a few days before finishing 2nd to Demi Vollering in that competition. The former Olympic rower is starting to look like a very good find by Arkea and will fancy her chances on Stage 2. Lotte Claes should also go well on that stage and was 9th in the Alpes too. That was her best result of the 2024 season so far in what has been a little bit of a quiet one. She’s a good climber and should be some useful support for Cavallar who seems the best horse to back.
Winner at GP Ciudad de Eibar, Yurani Blanco was hugely impressive that day timing her ascent of the final steep climb into Arrate perfectly. She clawed back her rivals and passed them with a few hundred meters to go that day. I kinda expected a little bit more from her at the Vuelta Andalucia which followed but she still took 13th in GC there. Usoa Ostolaza was the rider who impressed there instead for Laboral Kutxa, finishing 5th in GC. She was 2nd behind Blanco at the GP Ciudad de Eibar and so might be the shout here for the team. A good climber, she’s clearly in some form and worth watching out for.
Giada Borghesi is one of the most impressive Continental riders in 2024 so far. The Italian is on a run of 6 1.1 races with a top-10 finish now, which for a BTC City Ljubljana Zhiraf Ambedo rider is very solid indeed. Only 21, she will be coming to the attention of bigger teams for sure ahead of next season. It’s all the most impressive because she only raced the Italian nats on the road in 2023 with a DNF and no road races at all in 2022, all of her other results were in cyclocross and gravel.
Leonie Laubig continues to be just on the cusp of a really big result. The German continues to ride well, often going on the attack as well which doesn’t show up on the results sheet. She’s done ok this year in Spain month but her best results game in March at the Trofeo Ponente in Rosa with a stage finish of 3rd and 7th in GC there.
For Komugi-Grand Est, there are a pair of options in Ségolène Thomas and Maria Yapura Plaza. Segolene Thomas had her best result of the season so far in the Alps with 15th. She’s been a solid one-day racer on hilly courses but maybe hasn’t quite pushed on yet. The Argentinian rider Maria Yapura Plaza was right behind her in 16th but she took some good results in Italy earlier in the year with 11th in GC at Giro Mediterraneo in Rosa and 12th at the GP Della Liberazione PINK. That makes her a fairly useful all-rounder who is capable of doing well across all the stages.
Top 3 Prediction
- Lea Curinier
- Usoa Ostolaza
- Valentina Cavallar
