Tour de France Femmes 2022: Stage-by-stage guide and route maps as the women hunt yellow

If the men’s Tour de France has whetted the appetite for the high mountains, cobbles and the like, the good news is there is still plenty of stage racing to come this month from the roads around France. The Tour de France Femmes begins on the same day the men’s race ends, with the women starting with what should be a frenetic ride around the Champs-Elysees before heading east towards a final day summit finish at the legendary La Super Planche des Belles Filles.

Ad/> But what awaits in between? Here’s a stage by stage guide of the inaugural Tour de France Femmes… Tour de France FemmesVos and Van Vleuten headline a Tour de France Femmes field packed with talent14 HOURS AGO Stage 1: Paris Eiffel Tower to Paris Champs-Elysees, 81.7km The women have competed here before, with La Course being staged around the Champs-Elysees in the past. It’s an interesting twist to start the race where the men end, with a sprint finish the most likely outcome unless the weather intervenes.

That being said, could anyone outfox the pack and go for an audacious breakaway? That’s what happened here in 2015 when the treacherous wet conditions allowed Anna van der Bergen to go for a lone break and hold off the closing pack across the line. Stage 2: Meaux to Provins, 136.4km Brie, champagne — hang on, the picnic will have to wait.

The teams will be charging across the flat on the second stage towards the champagne region, but it might not be a straight forward sprint to the finish. An early lump in the form of the Cote de Tigeaux needs to be negotiated and is the perfect place for a breakaway to get free, but the sprinters will have plenty of time to regroup on the second longest stage of the race provided there are no cross winds.