Tour de France Femmes 2022: 'You can lose entire Tour' on 'absolutely ridiculous' Super Planche

The final climb of the Tour de France Femmes is “absolutely ridiculous” and could derail the entire race for some GC hopefuls, according to Eurosport commentator Jose Been. The inaugural eight-stage race gets underway on Sunday, with the ascent up La Super Planche des Belles Filles on the last day – which tops out at a gruesome 24% – set to produce fireworks. Ad/> The race will see 24 teams compete and has attracted a start list decorated with pre-eminent names from the world of cycling, including Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), Elisa Longo Borghini, Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) and Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma).

Tour de France‘Riders stopping left and right’ – Race halted as protestors target Tour de France again21 HOURS AGO Ahead of the event, Orla Chennaoui hosted a Tour de France Femmes roundtable with fellow Eurosport experts Been, Iris Slappendel and Laura Meseguer to discuss the main themes of the showpiece event. And Been is itching for the riding to commence, telling Chennaoui that this “is the best of the best of women’s cycling and there will be a story to tell every day”. “Well, Stage 4 is of course going to be really, really long — 175km, the longest stage ever in a women's race,” said Been.

“So, I'm really excited to see what the dynamic is going to be like. “And having seen the men up La Super Planche des Belles Filles, I am so looking forward to seeing what the women can do there. It’s 24%.