The third edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift kicked off in the Netherlands in Rotterdam and will run from August 12 – August 18. This year’s event features 22 teams with seven women, bringing together a total of 154 riders from all corners of the globe. Remarkably, the start list spans a record-breaking 30 nationalities, highlighting the growing international appeal of the race.
Tour de France Femmes 2024, Stage 1
Getting the Tour de France Femmes underway in incredible fashion, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL took charge of the day, riding as a unit, before setting-up fast finisher Charlotte Kool for the finale. Kool showed all of her power and unleashed a monstrous sprint, lapping up the plaudits as she crossed the line victorious in The Hague; as the team moves into the race lead and the famous yellow jersey. This comes just after the Men’s program did exactly the same with Romain Bardet taking a fantastic stage win and first yellow jersey at the men’s Tour de France.
Photo credit: Cor Vos
Always set to be a sprint finale, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL rode a smart race, making sure that they were at the front when they needed to be to stay out of danger, whilst not wasting any unnecessary energy. Coming into the closing ten kilometres the pace and nervousness went up but the team kept a cool head, holding onto the right side of the road as they navigated the twists and turns of the city streets. Expertly positioned by the whole team, Kool followed the rest of the squad as they charged under the flamme rouge, before she sensed her moment to go all-out once the last turn by the team was finished. Launching early, no-one was able to match Kool who romped home to the victory by several bike lengths; raising her arms in jubilation as she crossed the line.
It marks a historic day for Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, as the team will proudly wear the yellow jersey for the second time this year; and is the first ever team in history to win the opening stage of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes with their Men’s and Women’s programs.
Tour de France Femmes 2024, Stage 2
After making history on stage one, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL continued their incredible run at the Tour de France Femmes, sprinting to stage two victory with yellow jersey wearing Charlotte Kool for another memorable day on home Dutch soil.
Photo credit: Cor Vos
Tuesday morning’s stage saw a short but fast 68 kilometres from Dordrecht to Rotterdam. Resplendent in the yellow jersey, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL rolled out from the start line with the goal of making it two wins in two stages, aiming to set up the sprint with finisher Charlotte Kool once again. Despite a few attacks, the stage was always well controlled and coming into the finale the battle between the sprint trains was well and truly on. Biding their time and waiting to come from the back into the headwind sprint, the team moved forward at the perfect moment and brought Kool into a great position inside the last 500 metres. Showing the same strength as yesterday’s epic victory, Kool kicked hard and launched from the wheels, flying past the opposition and surpassing everyone come the line to take another fantastic win. With that, Kool and the team retain the jersey ahead of this afternoon’s time trial.
Tour de France Femmes 2024, Stage 3
Demi Vollering grabs yellow jersey after ironclad individual time trial
After the two stages in one day in the Tour de France Femmes, Demi Vollering somewhat surprisingly already has the yellow jersey around her shoulder. The defending champion rode the 6.3-kilometre-long time trial through the centre of Rotterdam at an average speed of 50.95 kilometres per hour, striking a double blow in her own region: the stage win and the yellow jersey. “This is super special. I’m never going to forget this. We are going to defend this jersey tooth and nail.”
Photo credit: (c) Getty Images / @GettySport
Demi Vollering: “I didn’t see this win coming. I thought the time trial was too short for me. I was also very relaxed. I thought: just a bit too relaxed maybe, because I did two small powernaps between the two stages. For such a short time trial you really have to be awake and alert. But it worked out well. Taking the yellow jersey in my own country was a dream of mine. That’s why I was emotional on the podium. I saw so many friends and family standing and everyone was shouting my name. Sport is emotion. You work so hard for your goals. There are many people around you who support you and do a huge amount for you. Then when you take the yellow jersey, that comes out on top.”
“I will definitely try to defend this yellow jersey. On Wednesday, the stage with start in Valkenburg to Liège is scheduled. The finale is a copy of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. This is an important stage for the general classification on the programme anyway. I had thought beforehand that the Tour would only really start here. My teammates Mischa Bredewold, Blanka Vas, Christine Majerus and Niamh Fisher-Black have been riding in the wind continuously for two days to keep us safe. So I want to thank them for all the work. Hopefully they have recovered from the efforts. I am already looking forward to starting in yellow in Valkenburg.”
