Demi Vollering Enters Tour de France Femmes as Race Favorite

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift gets underway in Lausanne with two stages in Switzerland before crossing into southeast France. For FDJ United-Suez team manager Stephen Delcourt and his roster, the ambition is singular: capturing the yellow jersey in Nice on August 9, according to Cycling Weekly.

Roster Build and Refined Preparation for Lausanne Start

Vollering enters the race following a strategic schedule adjustment designed to keep her physically and mentally fresh. After securing overall victory and two stage wins at the Giro d’Italia Women last month, she bypassed both the Tour of Switzerland and her national championships according to The Guardian.

The FDJ United-Suez squad surrounding Vollering combines climbing support with multi-terrain versatility. Juliette Berthet and Évita Muzic will act as chief support riders in the mountains, while Paris-Roubaix winner Franziska Koch and 20-year-old French champion Célia Gery add depth across varying terrain alongside Amber Kraak and Marie Le Net as reported by Cycling Weekly.

Altitude Camp in Tignes and Lessons Learned from Past Setbacks

Reflecting on previous seasons, team management adjusted their approach to athlete welfare and altitude preparation. Delcourt noted that Vollering fell ill after the Tour of Switzerland and crashed at the national championships last year noted Cyclingnews. To counter fatigue, the team completed a three-week altitude training camp in Tignes.

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“For that, we want the best riders around Demi, and not just the seven best riders, because especially with this Tour de France, there are a lot of stages where we need to be really careful if we want to put pressure on the others.”

Stephen Delcourt, team manager via Cycling Weekly

Management also protected the riders’ personal lives during the grueling build-up, permitting family visits during altitude blocks to manage the mental toll of an extensive calendar reported Cyclingnews.

Contenders and the Mont Ventoux Queen Stage

Vollering faces formidable opposition in her bid to reclaim the title she won in 2023. Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot leads the Visma-Lease a Bike team, entering fresh after a selective race calendar that has kept her out of competition since early May noted Cycling Weekly. Movistar time trial world champion Marlen Reusser and a resurgent Anna der Breggen leading SD Worx-Protime also pose substantial challenges according to Cycling Weekly.

The race route features a 21km time trial on Stage 4 and culminates with a historic first-ever summit finish on Mont Ventoux three days before the finish in Nice reported Cycling Weekly. For Vollering, Ventoux carries personal history from teenage camping trips where she first discovered her climbing potential according to The Guardian.