A CORONATION ON THE PUY DE DÔME
Key points:
The route of the sixth edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, revealed at the Palais des Congrès de Paris by its director, Marion Rousse, will be a long slog from north to south. The peloton will ride from the English city of Leeds all the way to Auvergne and the iconic Puy de Dôme, where the queen of the 2027 edition will be crowned.
From 30 July to 7 August, the battle for the Yellow Jersey will unfold across a wide range of terrains sprinkled with plenty of opportunities to shake up the race. Things will get serious as early as the first two stages, in which the short but nasty climbs dotting the Yorkshire landscape will begin to sort out the pretenders from the contenders. London will then provide a dramatic backdrop for the first team time trial in the short history of the event. Back in France, there will be opportunities for breakaway riders, puncheurs and sprinters. Then, over the final three stages, the slopes of the Massif Central will provide the terrain for the decisive showdown.
Alongside the Tour, two challenges await amateur cyclists in summer 2027: L’Étape du Tour de France on 11 July, covering 150 km from Cluses to the resort of Les Saisies; and L’Étape du Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on 8 August, taking riders on a 138 km journey through the volcanic range, with the Puy de Dôme as its centrepiece, where the professional women will have crossed the final finish line the previous day.
As it continues to refine its successful formula, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift often returns to some of those mountains that become synonymous with the sport and gone down in Tour de France and cycling history. From La Super Planche des Belles Filles in 2022 to Mont Ventoux last summer, each of these high-altitude battles has yielded epic showdowns, thrilling attacks and breathtaking panoramas.
The Grand Départ in England (the third one beyond French borders, after the Netherlands in 2024 and Switzerland in 2026) will be a real crowd-pleaser, with gripping duels from day one. Demi Vollering, eyeing a historic three-peat, will have to keep a motley crew of challengers at bay until the last three stages, where the pendulum will swing in her favor.
Yorkshire is one of those places where the old saying “Fortune favours the bold” rings truer than anywhere else. Attackers will have a lot to work with on the bumpy road between Leeds and Manchester (stage 1) and the even bumpier one between Manchester and Sheffield (stage 2). After that, it will take a well-oiled machine to zip past the most glamorous landmarks in London and win the stage 3 team time trial.
Between the sprinters and the breakaway specialists, it is hard to predict who will prevail in the first few stages held on French soil… Both stage 4 to Calais and stage 5 to Magnanville save the worst for last. A bunch sprint seems a bit more likely in Bourges (stage 6), but victory at La Loge des Gardes (stage 7) is beyond the reach of all but the toughest climbers. The next day, six climbs will thin out the peloton before it rolls into Clermont-Ferrand (stage 8), which will be hosting the race for the third time, after the 2023 Grand Départ and a stopover in 2025. The queen of the 2027 edition will only emerge from the shadows inside the final kilometre of the ninth and final stage, at the top of the Puy de Dôme.
L’Étape du Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift: in the shadow of the Puy de Dôme
The L’Étape du Tour de France concept was extended to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2025 with the challenge of the Col de la Madeleine, tackled by several thousand amateur riders just hours before Pauline Ferrand-Prévot delivered a commanding victory on the same slopes.
In 2027, the 3rd edition of L’Étape du Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will take place on 8 August in the Puy-de-Dôme department, beneath the gaze of the ancient volcano where the champions will have fought their final battle the previous day.
A variation on the route of stage 8 for the professional riders, the loop from the Panoramique des Dômes to the Charade circuit covers 138 kilometres and features 2,460 metres of elevation gain. As they explore the volcanic range, particularly the Sancy massif, riders will tackle climbs including the Côte de Guéry and the ascent to the resort of Super Besse.
