Geneva, Aug. 2, 2026 (AFP) - Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory on the second stage of the Tour de France Femmes on Sunday after a hilly 147.9km run from Aigle to Geneva in Switzerland, much of it lakeside.
The Netherlands' Wiebes also won the first stage on Saturday and cut an impressive figure decked out in the yellow jersey as she burst clear of the pack from 250m out to win by several bike lengths.
The previous two winners of this race, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Kasia Niewiadoma, along with race favourite Demi Vollering, finished with the main pack.
Dutch time-trial specialist Riejanne Markus led the race alone over the final 39 kilometres and suffered the agony of being overtaken by the chasing pack less than 500m from the finish line.
With the temperature tipping 34C, a five-rider breakaway made a determined effort over the five early hills, making for a hard day in the saddle.
"We were chasing all day," Wiebes said of the 3hrs 42min slog. "And then Reijanne added to that. In the end I managed to get a clear run and gave it all over the last 250m," said the SD Worx-Protime star, who now has a women's record seven stage wins on the Tour de France.
The 27-year-old was thrown out of the Giro d'Italia after winning Stage 1 this year when it was discovered her bike was 20g too light.
But on Sunday she tightened her grip on the yellow jersey with a 14-second lead over Kim Le Court and 16 seconds over Vollering thanks to taking bonus seconds for her two wins.
Italian Elisa Balsamo was second on the day and Dutch veteran Marianne Vos, 39, was third.
The peloton will roll into France on Monday's third stage, which takes in a steep 11km climb just outside Geneva but ends with a flat 15km stretch to the finish line at Poligny with temperatures of 35C forecast.
The two crucial stages of the nine-day race come Tuesday with an individual time trial and Friday when the pretenders to the title climb Mont Ventoux.
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When Does The Tour de France Femmes 2026 Start?
The Tour de France Femmes 2026 starts Aug. 1 and will conclude Aug. 9.
The schedule includes nine stages and no rest days.
Every day, the cyclists start together. Every stage varies in distance and physical demand, and the characteristics of each stage determine what type of rider should excel or how the race should finish.
For example, some stages feature flat finishes, and that means the sprinters likely will be battling for those stage wins.
How Long Is The Tour de France Femmes 2026?
The course for the Tour de France Femmes 2026 is 1,174.5 kilometers or just over 730 miles.
The race is nine stages.
Details about the entire route can be found here.
A Look At The Route Map For The Tour de France Femmes 2026
The Tour de France Femmes 2026 will begin Aug. 1 with a flat 138-kilometer ride around Lausanne and along the shores of Lake Geneva.
Stage 2 and Stage 3 also will start in Switzerland, before the race crosses into France for the conclusion of Stage 3.
- Stage 1 - Aug. 1: Lausanne - Lausanne (138km
- Stage 2 - Aug. 2: Aigle - Genève (147.9km
- Stage 3 - Aug. 3: Genève - Poligny (156.5km
- Stage 4 (ITT) - Aug. 4: Gevrey-Chambertin - Dijon (21km)
- Stage 5 - Aug. 5: Mâcon - Belleville-en-Beaujolais (140km)
- Stage 6 - Aug. 6: Montbrison - Tournon-sur-Rhône (153.4km)
- Stage 7 - Aug. 7: La Voulte-sur-Rhône - Mont Ventoux (146.8km)
- Stage 8 - Aug. 8: Sisteron - Nice (171.9km)
- Stage 9 - Aug. 9: Nice - Nice (99.2km)
How Many Teams/Riders Compete In The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift?
This year, the Tour de France Femmes will include 21 teams of seven riders for a total of 147 competitors.
Here’s the list for 2026:
- AG Insurance - Soudal Team
- Canyon//SRAM
- Cofidis Women Team
- EF Education - Oatly
- FDJ United-Suez
- Fenix-Premier Tech
- Human Powered Health
- Laboral Kutxa - Fundacion Euskadi
- Lidl - Trek
- Liv-AlUla-Jayco
- Lotto Intermarché Ladies
- Ma Petite Entreprise
- Mayenne Monbana My Pie
- Movistar Team
- St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93
- Team Picnic PostNL
- Team SD Worx - Protime
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- UAE Team L'IMAD
- Uno-X Mobility
- VolkerWessels Cycling Team
To see the complete this of riders for 2026, click here.
Who Won The Tour de France Femmes In 2025?
Since the introduction of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2022, four different riders have taken home the coveted yellow jersey.
In 2025, it was France’s all-around cycling star Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who claimed two stages along the way. She also won Paris-Roubaix Femmes in 2025.
Ferrand-Prévot's pair of stage wins during the Tour de France Femmes 2025 came consecutively in the final two days of action. She ended up leading the General Classification by more than three and a half minutes.
Demi Vollering, the 2023 champion, finished second (3:42) and was followed by 2024 winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma.
The inaugural edition of the TDF Femmes in 2022 was won by Annemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands.
Tadej Pogacar Completes Historic Fifth Win In Tour de France 2026
Mathieu van der Poel won Stage 21 of the 2026 Tour de France in Paris after an aggressive attack with Tadej Pogacar over Montmartre.
Van der Poel finished it off on the Champs-Élysées in a thrilling final stage.
In this on-site report, we recap Pogacar’s record fifth Tour de France victory and what it took to win across 21 stages from Barcelona to Paris.
It was a dramatic end to a historic Tour.
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