Teams begin preparation for the biggest race of the year, which starts on August 12 in Rotterdam
Charlotte Kool will be aiming for stage wins and the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes(Image credit: Getty Images)
With the Paris Olympics road racing drawing to a close on Sunday after Kristen Faulkner's solo win, attention now turns to the next major event of the season, the Tour de France Femmes.
The biggest race of the Women's WorldTour year begins in Rotterdam on Monday, August 12, and teams are beginning preparations for the first foreign Grand Départ.
DSM-Firmenich PostNL have become one of the first teams to confirm their seven-rider squads for the race, with Charlotte Kool aiming for sprint stage victories and an attempt at taking the yellow jersey on home ground in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, French rider Juliette Labous will be leading the team's GC charge following a top-five finish last year and at the Giro d'Italia Women last month.
"I'm really excited for the start of the Tour de France in the Netherlands; it's really special," Kool said. "The first few stages are actually around where my boyfriend is from, so I know the roads really well there and stage three begins in Valkenburg which is also super close to the team's Keep Challenging Center in Sittard, so they are also home training roads for us.
"I think the route is special this year, with a lot of opportunities for the team. We have some real hard stages where Juliette can go for it in the GC, but there are some flatter stages at the beginning of the race where we will go for it with me as finisher in the sprints.
Kool will be facing off against SD Worx-Protime and their star sprinter Lorena Wiebes, who she used to be the last lead-out rider for as teammates on DSM, in the early sprints as both women seek glory as the race starts in their home country.
"For me personally this year I will be satisfied if I do everything to be the best version of myself at the Tour de France. Of course, we are aiming to go for a stage win but it's important to try everything we can and enjoy it too.
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"With Juliette, we really want to try and aim for another top result in GC again, I have a lot of confidence and trust in her so we will fully support her for those goals. We have a really strong team that can give our all each day. I'm just really excited to get started."
Francesco Barale, Rachele Barbieri, Pfeiffer Georgi, Franziska Koch, and Becky Storrie round out the DSM-Firmenich PostNL squad for the Tour.
Mavi García will be riding for a top GC placing at the Tour (Image credit: Getty Images)
Liv-AlUla-Jayco have also confirmed their lineup for the race, with Mavi García leading the lineup as she aims for a strong general classification challenge following a sixth place at the Paris Olympics road race.
After finishing 10th at the inaugural Tour de France Femmes, she'll once again be aiming for a high GC placing on the road to L'Alpe d'Huez.
"We have a very nice Tour de France Femmes route this year in which the whole team will go with a lot of desire to do it well," García said. "We have a very complete team for this race with riders that can do well on many days! There are a lot of classic-style stages, and as the days go by, it will be very hard for everyone.
"This has been a very concentrated part of the season's objectives for me with the Giro d'Italia and the Olympic Games this summer and I'm hoping for a strong result at the Tour."
Australian road champion Ruby Roseman-Gannon will support García, though the 25-year-old will be handed the freedom to seek out stage wins at the week-long race.
Amber Pate, Caroline Andersson, Jeanne Korevaar, Quinty Ton, and Silke Smulders will join the pair in France.
"When I did the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, it certainly felt like the biggest race I've ever done, just due to the number of spectators and media interest," Roseman-Gannon said. "It was a really incredible atmosphere and I'm excited to come back this year with two more years of training and experience.
"I think we have a super strong and versatile team which suits the varied terrain, and attributes required to perform in the technical city circuits of the Netherlands and the mountains of the French Alps."
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
