Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2025: The key contenders and ones to watch

The 2025 Tour de France Femmes has one of the best start lists we’ve seen in road cycling this year. Yes, there are a couple of standout favourites, but the field is deep, and there is a whole host of women chasing at their heels. Here is our form guide in no particular order, breaking it all down by climbing, descending, recovery, tactical ability, team strength and experience.

Sarah Gigante: Climbers jersey pick

Climbing: 10/10
Descending: 7/10
Recovery: 8/10
Tactical ability: 5/10
Team: 8/10
Experience: 7/10

CYCLING247’s take

Gigante recently fulfilled her promise at the Giro Donne, where she proved she’s one of the best pure climbers in the game. When it goes up, she can go fast, really fast – which is definitely going to help at this year’s edition. But weaknesses show during flatter, potentially more chaotic stages where she could lose out – she lost big time at the Giro after getting caught on the wrong side of a split. She’ll need to stay sharp early on, but makes our pick for the climber’s jersey and a chance at the podium.

Elisa Longo Borghini: Podium contender

Climbing: 8/10
Descending: 8/10
Recovery: 9/10
Tactical ability: 9/10
Team: 8/10
Experience: 10/10

CYCLING247’s take

Fresh off a Giro win, we know this Italian icon will be at the sharp end of the race. Though not the very best climber, her all-round ability, tactical savviness and general grit will see her fighting for the podium. There’s very little terrain where she doesn’t excel (or at least, attempt to excel), which makes her an exceptionally exciting rider to watch.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot: Wildcard

Climbing: 7/10
Descending: 8/10
Recovery: 8/10
Tactical ability: 8/10
Team: 8/10
Experience: 9/10

CYCLING247’s take

PFP is our wildcard. She’s done it all and won it all, both on the road and mountain bike. But there are a few question marks over her consistency in longer stage races. We’ve not seen her race since she dropped out of the Vuelta two months ago, but if anyone knows how to peak when it counts, it’s her. You just know she’s been sat on a mountaintop somewhere training hard. A strong outside bet for a top five.

Kasia Niewiadoma: Podium contender, rather than a double yellow jersey

Climbing: 8/10
Descending: 8/10
Recovery: 8/10
Tactical ability: 7/10
Team: 9/10
Experience: 8/10

CYCLING247’s take

Last year’s win came with an asterisk (a certain crash meant Vollering lost two minutes), Kasia knows how to bring her best to the Tour de France Femmes. She’s going to be in the fight, plus has a very strong team – but she’s maybe just a notch below the level of our top two picks this year, hence why we see her as making up the podium – rather than defending yellow.

Marlen Reusser: A serious yellow jersey contender

Climbing: 8/10
Descending: 9/10
Recovery: 8/10
Tactical ability: 9/10
Team: 9/10
Experience: 8/10

CYCLING247’s take

Marlen Reusser continues her upward trajectory in 2025, confidently demonstrating that she’s definitely not just a time triallist and can be considered one of the best in stage races too. Having recently won the Tour de Suisse and finished second at the Giro, she will be the rider to push our favourite to the limit. Her weaknesses? Sometimes brute force over finesse when trying to attack. If she can use her power more strategically, she’s a serious yellow jersey contender. She is our pick for the second step on the podium, but with a tailwind (literal or metaphorical), she could win outright.

Demi Vollering: A new team could mean yellow jersey redemption

Climbing: 9/10
Descending: 8/10
Recovery: 8/10
Tactical ability: 7/10
Team: 10/10
Experience: 9/10

CYCLING247’s take

The 2023 champ, Vollering is hard to look past when it comes to stage races. She’s not finished lower than second since 2022. When she’s not in control, the cracks sometimes show, which could be her undoing in the race. But with a new team this year and the strongest support squad in the race, if she plays it right, she’ll be hard to beat. If she rides with her team, not just in front of it, she’ll walk away in yellow.

Those are our big six, but keep an eye out for others chasing jerseys and stage wins. Puck Pieterse could light up the first stage and chase the white jersey. The ever-iconic Marianne Vos will always be in contention for the green jersey. And Kopecky too, if she plays her cards right.

This year’s edition is shaping up to be a proper showdown. So, tune in and get ready: the Tour de France Femmes is about to go off. Find out how to #WatchTheFemmes here and check out our route preview here.