Alpe d’Huez is one of the most well-known climbs among cyclists, and we recently witnessed an astonishing finish at the Tour de Femmes. But how fast are these professionals, really? To find out, we’ll conduct a test where volunteers from the GCN Megabase will take on the Alpe d’Zwift challenge and aim for their best possible time. Will they measure up to the professionals?
From Cyclist.co.uk
The Tour de France Femmes, returns on the 12th August 2024. The third edition comes after a successful launch of the new race in 2022.
In 2024, the race will begin abroad in The Netherlands. The parcours will see the riders travel down France via Belgium to the Alps where the race will conclude atop the iconic Alpe d’Huez.
The race begins later than normal this year due to the scheduling of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, taking place from 12th August 2024 to 18th August 2024.
The reigning champion is Dutchwoman Demi Vollering of SD Worx-Protime. Vollering will start as the favourite following a barnstorming Vuelta Femenina performance in May. This is also likely to be her last Grand Tour in SD Worx colours after rumours have circulated surrounding her future at the team. Other favourites will include the recent Giro d’Italia Women winner Elisa Longo Borghiniof Lidl-Trek, last year’s polka dot jersey Kasia Niewiadoma of Canyon-SRAM and French hope Juliette Labous of DSM-Firmenich-PostNL.
At the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, four jerseys will be up for grabs. The yellow jersey will be the main prize for the GC, just like at the men’s Tour de France, and the green jersey and polka-dot jerseys are also the same as in the men’s Tour. However the white jersey for the best young rider is only open to riders under the age of 23 – unlike the men’s, which is under 25.
From SI.com
Up against the sport’s long, male-dominated history and its masculinity-driven marquee event, the women of cycling secured the first official women’s Tour de France stage race in 33 years.
Coryn Labecki credits childhood summer nights staying up late in California watching the Tour de France on television with teaching her how to race.
“I’d watch the climbers and then the sprinters, and then the windier days, and the breakaway days … and I think that’s where I actually learned a lot about what a long stage race would be like.”
Now a professional rider for Dutch team Jumbo-Visma, Labecki was like many Americans in that way. Though countless cycling road races go on each year, most receive only a fraction of the attention and recognition of the Tour de France, which is well known worldwide. But Labecki only ever saw men as part of that prestigious peloton, because for most of the last 120 years, there were only men riding the Tour de France.
But this year will be different. On July 24, Labecki and her team will be a part of the inaugural Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift—an 8-day stage competition that kicks off in Paris, marking the first time in 33 years there will be an official women’s Tour de France stage race. After years of controversy and stalling about a women’s Tour from the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which organizes the Tour de France, this year’s men’s race will pass a baton of sorts. The day the men’s peloton will ride to the finish line along the Champs-Élysées, the women’s peloton will begin their race on the same road. The women will ride 1,033.6 km total (about 642.2 miles) over the eight diverse stages, ending on the climb to La Planche des Belles Filles on July 31. The prize purse is the highest in all of women’s cycling (€250,000 or about $256,108), the race will be broadcast in 170 countries and Zwift, the cycling video game platform, is on board as a title sponsor.
