Annemiek van Vleuten, Marta Cavalli, Demi Vollering… The runners to follow

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Before the big departure, place for the class photo. Without going into the presentation of the 144 riders who will take part in the women’s Tour de France on Sunday July 24, here are the headliners of the Grande Boucle. A group of seven runners which gives pride of place to the Dutch and the Italians.

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar)

Let’s go straight to the point: we are talking about the great favorite of this Tour de France women. Just crowned with a third Giro, which she dominated as patron, Annemiek van Vleuten is a scarecrow as, at 39, the Dutchwoman displays a dazzling form. With two stage victories in the Giro (in addition to the general), and a Liège-Bastogne-Liège in her bag since the start of the season, the roller has recovered well from her fractured wrist at the end of the season. april.

“She’s the natural favourite, capable of blasting the race on all terrains. We’ll see her up front often, if not every day,” warns our consultant Marion Hérault-Garnier. An outstanding climber, but not only that, she has everything to scare off the competition within a team that will ride for her.

Marianne Vos (Jumbo Visma)

Marianne Vos during the Dutch championships, June 25, 2022. (BAS CZERWINSKI / ANP MAG / AFP)

Barely younger than her compatriot, Marianne Vos (35) is presented as Van Vleuten’s great rival. Often compared to Eddy Merckx because of her gargantuan track record, both on the road and on the track or in cyclo-cross, the leader of the Jumbo-Visma also knows how to do everything on a bike. She proved it again on the last Tour of Italy (which she won three times) with two stage victories, before giving up in order to recharge for the Tour de France.

Suffice to say that it will not aim for anything other than yellow. “She won the first edition of the Course by le Tour in 2014 on the Champs-Elysées, I can see her in yellow from the first stage“, slips Marion Hérault-Garnier.

Demi Vollering (SD Worx)

Women of the Tour: the portrait of Demi Vollering

Another Dutch girl, and another serious contender for victory at the Super Planche des Belles Filles. But unlike her compatriots, Demi Vollering embodies the new generation. At 25, she has already shone on French roads by offering herself the Course by le Tour 2021, a few weeks after her success in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Puncher at ease everywhere, she also proved her ease in the mountains during the Giro 2021. After skipping the Italian edition 2022, she arrives ambitious on the Tour de France within the SD Worx armada, where she will have to live with Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, another favorite.

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (SD Worx)

Ashleigh Moolman in 2021. (KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

Less known than the Dutch stars, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio will however be a serious candidate for this first women’s Tour de France… which will also be her last. At 36, the South African has indeed announced that she will retire at the end of the season. Accustomed to runners-up, including two second places in the Giro (2018, 2021), Moolman-Pasio is a climber that few runners can follow on the steepest slopes.

Its objective will therefore be simple: to arrive at the foot of the Vosges with as little delay as possible, before the last two mountainous stages, and in particular the arrival at the Super Planche des Belles Filles.

Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope)

Marta Cavalli during her victory over the Flèche wallonne, April 20, 2022. (BENOIT DOPPAGNE / BELGA MAG / AFP)

You don’t finish second in the Giro d’Italia by chance. At 24, Marta Cavalli finished just 1’52 behind the untouchable Annemiek van Vleuten. Thus, the Italian is the only one to have stood up to the Dutchwoman, whom she even left behind in the 9th stage of the Giro. This year, the Italian cyclist also won the Amstel Gold Race, the Flèche wallonne and the Mont Ventoux vertical drop challenges. These three victories on three extremely different profiles prove that Marta Cavalli can claim the crown on the Tour de France.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope)

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig before the Tour of Flanders, April 30, 2022. (JASPER JACOBS / BELGA MAG / AFP)

In the event of failure by Marta Cavalli, the FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope will have another trump card with the Danish woman with a strong character on and off the bike. Fourth in the Giro 2020, she showed during the Tour de Burgos 2021 that she could beat the leaders of the peloton. Her qualities on the hilly and mountainous stages make her a prime contender for the podium, given the route of the women’s Tour de France.

With Evita Muzic to support her, and Marta Cavalli as co-leader, she could well blow up the Grande Boucle after a Giro full of promise (6th overall). Especially since the Danes seem to like the French roads this summer…

Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo)

Women of the Tour: the portrait of Elisa Longo Borghini

Fourth in the last Giro, the Italian arrives with full confidence on the road to the Tour. After his triumph over Paris-Roubaix this season, the experienced leader of the Trek-Segafredo, specialist in one-day races, should chase stage victories (especially in Epernay and Bar-sur-Aube).

But her second place at the Giro 2017 and her 4th this year prove that she knows how to play the general classification. At 30, she goes further than the other favorites, and will have to live with her compatriot world champion, Elisa Balsamo (two victories on the Giro 2022).


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