Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma, who did not take part in the Giro d’Italia Women, are clearly focusing their preparation on the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. I believe they are the two favourites. Then again, of course, anything can happen. But based on their physical characteristics and how they’ve structured their season, they seem the most credible contenders to me.
Elisa Longo Borghini, fresh off her win at the Giro d’Italia Women, has everything it takes to aim for the Giro–Tour double. I sincerely wish her the best. But to be objective, I have to say I see Vollering and Niewiadoma a step above, also because they’ll arrive at the Tour with more energy.
2025 marked a major shift in the dynamic of the peloton: Anna van der Breggen returned to racing with SD Worx–Protime, while Demi Vollering moved to FDJ Suez. A bold move. Now it’s up to her new team to prove they can support her in the best possible way. After all, the Tour is the most difficult race there is.
The first part of the Tour de France Femmes is demanding, in Brittany, followed by a transition phase, and finally the decisive mountain stages. The eighth and ninth stages include two of the toughest climbs of the entire race: the Col de la Madeleine and the Col de Joux Plane.
It was precisely on the Col de la Madeleine, during my first Tour victory in 1995, that I opened the largest gap of that edition of the race: I won the stage finishing in Bourg d’Oisans, if I remember correctly, with over eight minutes ahead of the second-place rider, Jeannie Longo.
That day we also tackled the Col du Glandon, before the descent toward the finish line. The Madeleine was the first climb of the day. The fact that in this edition it comes at the end of the stage is a key detail: it completely changes how the race is managed and could prove decisive for the general classification.
The Giro–Tour double, whether for men or women, proves that it’s a possible feat. But it requires an enormous mental effort. After the Giro, there’s no time to relax: you have to refocus immediately with the next goal clearly in mind.
I, for instance, would go to Livigno after the Giro: it allowed me to recover and get back into proper training for the Tour. The only drawback was that, doing so, I was never able to peak again for the World Championships in October. If you plan your season to perform at both the Giro and the Tour, it’s really hard to maintain top form for Worlds as well. Some manage it—but it’s rare.
Fabiana Luperini (left) won three consecutive editions of the Tour cycliste féminin (Photo: Getty Images)
The Tours I raced were longer: two full weeks of racing, with just one rest day. We tackled both the Alps and the Pyrenees. Back then there were fewer teams, but in the first two editions I won—1995 and 1996—we raced with national teams: each country brought its six best riders. It was almost like a stage-race World Championship. From 1997 onward, the race switched to trade teams. It was no longer a "two-week Worlds."
Today’s riders are lucky: we’re not yet at the level of men’s cycling, but the progress is clear. And I’m happy about that. Now we can truly talk about professionalism.
Race radios existed in my time, too. Then as now, in the end, it always comes down to legs and head—but above all, to strong teams. You need a solid leader, but also a team capable of helping you through critical moments: a crash, a bad day. To win, every element has to work perfectly.
It’s nine days—not three weeks like the men’s race. If you come in with good form, it’s harder to have a bad day—but it can still happen. Maybe you slept badly, digested poorly, or it’s raining, and something goes wrong. The important thing is that it happens on a flat stage, where it’s manageable. In the mountains, though, it gets more complicated. But if you're in good shape, even a tough day can be overcome.
