Mitchelton-Scott return to defend title on puncheurs course
The La Course podium (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Organisers of La Course by Le Tour de France, ASO, announced the teams that will be participating in the one-day puncheurs race on July 19 in Pau. Mitchelton-Scott won the race last year with Annemiek van Vleuten, and the team will return to compete for the prestigious title once again.
There will be 15 teams with automatic invitations that also include Boels Dolmans, Canyon-SRAM, Bigla, Ale Cipollini, CCC-Liv, FDJ-Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope, Movistar, Park Hotel Valkenburg, Sunweb, Tibco-SVB, Virtu Cycling, Trek-Segafredo, Valcar Cylance and WNT-Rotor.
There are also five teams that have earned wildcard invitations that include Astana, BTC City Ljubljana, Cogeas Mettler Look, Lotto Soudal Ladies and Rally UHC Cycling.
There were conflicting dates for the one-day race this year as it was initially thought that the race would be held on July 23. However, ASO confirmed to Cyclingnews that it would be held on July 19 and the same day as the men’s Tour de France stage 13 time trial in Pau.
The women will race 120km over five laps of a hilly circuit designed for the puncheurs. The circuit is the same course as the men's 27km time trial route, and will include a climb over the Côte d’Esquillot.
La Course by Le Tour de France was established by ASO in 2014 as a circuit race on the Champs Elysées on the final day of the Tour de France. Those races were won by Marianne Vos, Anna van der Breggen and Chloe Hosking. The race shifted to a two-day event in 2017, which saw a summit finish on the Col d'Izoard on the same day as stage 18 of the men’s race, followed by a handicapped time trial in Marseille, both won by van Vleuten.
Last year's event returned to a one-day format, a mountainous road race linking Annecy and to Le Grand-Bornand. It was one of the most thrilling races of the season as van Vleuten won the title in a battle to the finish line against current world champion Anna van der Breggen (Boels Dolmans).
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2019 La Course by Le Tour de France teams:
Mitchelton-Scott Women Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam Canyon-SRAM Racing Bigla Ale Cipollini CCC-Liv FDJ-Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope Movistar Team Women Park Hotel Valkenburg Team Sunweb Tibco-SVB Team Virtu Cycling Trek-Segafredo Valcar Cylance Cycling WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling Team Astana Women’s team BTC City Ljubljana Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycing Team Lotto Soudal Ladies Rally UHC Cycling
