Cycling: Also this year, a women's race will take place on the Champs-Élysées on the day of the last Tour de France stage. With the exception of the injured Marianne Vos, the world's best professional cyclists are at the start.
July 26 is marked red on the women's cycling calendar: the race of the final stage of the Tour de France is one of the most important dates of the season. LA COURSE by le Tour - the somewhat cumbersome title - is intended to offer professional cyclists a special stage and to advertise women's cycling. And a victory in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe is particularly prestigious - for the ladies as well as for the men. The first edition last year was very well received and experienced an exciting race. The then world champion Marianne Vos prevailed in a gripping sprint.
This year, too, the women will be driving on the same almost seven-kilometer circuit in the heart of Paris, as the men did a few hours later on the last Tour de France stage. The race is 12 laps and 89 kilometers long and starts at 13.25:120 p.m. 19 riders from XNUMX UCI teams and one national team will fight for victory. Not present this time is last year's winner Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv), who experienced a year of epidemics and has repeatedly struggled with injuries.
The outcome of the race is all the more open. Vos' teammate, new world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, will do everything to triumph in the rainbow jersey, but the competition is fierce: the absolute elite of women's cycling are at the start, including Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini and Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Honda) , the Dutch women Kirsten Wild (Hitec Products, last year's second) and Ellen van Dijk (Boels Dolmans), the Brit Lizzie Armitstead (Boels Dolmans) and also the Swede Emma Johannson (Orica – AIS). Last year's fourth place finisher Lisa Brennauer (Velocio-SRAM) is one of those holding up the German colors.
The principle of integrating a women's race into the last stage of a three-week men's tour will be continued in September: on the last day of the Tour of Spain, LA COURSE by La Vuelta will take place in Madrid. However, when there will be another Tour de France for women is uncertain.