Demi Vollering has pulled ahead, as the cyclist won her second Tour de France Femmes title after holding off Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney in Sunday’s final ascent.

Niewiadoma-Phinney and Vollering ran as a pair for much of the race’s final day, before the Dutch star made a late solo run with 16 kilometers remaining — securing the overall yellow jersey in front of a roaring crowd by a margin of one minute and 18 seconds.

“I really would like to thank everyone who is here to support us,” Vollering said. “It’s amazing we can have such a great fanbase, to inspire the next generation.”

Vollering became the first cyclist in the modern era to win multiple Tour de France Femmes, after taking three out of nine stages in 2026.

“It’s not only the dream to win in yellow here, to win a second Tour de France, but it’s the dream to live this life, to work hard together with people with a lot of passion,” she added.

The Tour de France Femmes is coming in hot. The annual race is already delivering surprises, as Norwegian cyclist Sigrid Haugset took an unexpected early lead in Stage 3.

A 68-kilometer solo breakaway saw Haugset hold off two-time world champion Lotte Kopecky to lead by two minutes and two seconds overall — good for her first Tour de France Femmes stage-winner yellow jersey.

“I can’t believe she didn’t catch me. I was so dizzy at the end — I couldn’t lift my arms off the bike,” Haugset told reporters.

With six stages to go, Kopecky alongside fellow favorites Demi Vollering and defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot are expected to make gains.

Race coverage continues through Sunday (Peacock).

The Tour de France Femmes kicks off its fifth edition on August 1st with a 138km loop through the Swiss countryside. That starting line marks only the second time the race has launched outside France.

Tour de France Femmes Stage 1 Route Breakdown

Stage 1 begins and ends in Lausanne, tracing the Lake Geneva waterfront before cutting inland toward Lake Neuchatel. Along the way, three category 3 climbs whittle down the field well before the finale.

Still, the real test comes at the end.

The Cote Saint-Francois, a 2.6km ramp, tops out just 400 meters from the finish line. That uphill rally makes the first Tour de France jersey a prize for sprinters with climbing legs.

Lorena Wiebes Hunts Repeat Tour de France Jersey

Dutch cyclist Lorena Wiebes, who has five stage wins across four editions, thinks she fits that profile.

"It's important to start good and try to win as many stages as possible here," the SD Worx-Protime sprinter said ahead of the race. "Everything needs to be perfect."

Wiebes wore yellow after winning the inaugural stage on the Champs-Elysees in 2022 and wants it again. But in the Swiss stage, pure flat-track speedsters might struggle to hang on, and Wiebes will need a punchy finish to survive this year's course.

The first leg sets the tone for a Tour de France 2026 stage race that seems built to reward versatility from the gun.

Zoe Backstedt will make her Tour de France Femmes debut next week.

On Thursday, Canyon-SRAM named the 21-year-old Welsh rider to its 2026 Tour de France roster. She'll ride in support of 2024 champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney, who is chasing a second career title.

This year's Tour de France dates run August 1-9, with the Grand Depart set for Lausanne, Switzerland.

How Zoe Backstedt Earned a Date with the 2026 Tour de France

For Backstedt, the call-up follows a dominant stretch of racing. She swept the British road race and time trial titles in June. Shortly after, she won a sprint stage at the Tour de Suisse Femmes. Then she defended her Baloise Ladies Tour crown, a title she first claimed as the race's youngest-ever winner.

Cycling, of course, is the family business. Backstedt's father Magnus won a stage on his 1998 Tour de France debut and went on to complete the race seven times. Her sister Elynor competes at the top level with UAE Team ADQ. And her mother Meg is a former British road race champion.

"Everything just led towards cycling," Backstedt said of her journey in the sport. "And in the end, I'm so happy that I pursued it."

The Tour de France 2026 is coming this summer, promising more women's cycling TV coverage than ever before.

Warner Bros. Discovery has unveiled an expanded broadcast plan, and every available kilometer of the Tour de France Femmes will stream live for the first time through all race dates.

Tour de France 2026 Dates and Route Details

The fifth edition of the race kicks off August 1st with a Swiss Grand Départ and wraps nine stages later on August 9th in Nice.

The route totals 1,175 kilometers, and 154 riders will fight for the top spot. The opening stage in Lausanne sets the tone immediately with a time trial, putting individual climbers on the clock before the mountain stages reshuffle the standings. The final push into Nice is expected to settle who takes the yellow jersey.

Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of France is the one to watch this year. No rider has ever won back-to-back Tour de France Femmes titles, and she's positioned to change that.

For Tour de France 2026 TV coverage, HBO Max, Eurosport and TNT Sports will carry all nine women's stages. In the UK, Channel 5 will air daily highlights through a TNT Sports partnership.

And, for first time viewers, a few preview programs will offer context before racing begins.

How to Watch Tour de France 2026 TV Coverage

The Cycling Show's 30-minute season preview airs July 2nd on Eurosport, TNT Sports, and HBO Max.

Then on July 15th, Road to Yellow — a dedicated women's race preview — features rider interviews with Ferrand-Prévot, Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini, Lorena Wiebes, and more.

The Tour de France Femmes is heading to the United Kingdom in 2027, as organizers announced a historic three-stage UK takeover on Monday.

The Grand Départ kicks things off, running 85.7 kilometers from Leeds to Manchester on July 30th. Riders face challenging climbs including the Côte de Kirkheaton (1.7 kilometers at 7.5%) and the Côte de Meltham (3.2 kilometers at 8.2%) in the Peak District before finishing on Deansgate in Manchester's city center.

Stage two delivers a grueling 154.4-kilometer route from Manchester to Sheffield on July 31st. The peloton tackles nearly 3,000 meters of climbing through iconic ascents including Winnats Pass (1.4 kilometers at 12.3%) and Snake Pass (5.4 kilometers at 4.6%).

The modern Tour de France Femmes has grown rapidly since its 2022 debut, building momentum alongside the men’s race. The first-ever women's Team Time Trial features teams of seven racing an 18-kilometer circuit through central London, past landmarks including the Houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge. The stage finishes on The Mall.

"The Team Time Trial has always been one of the most exciting and spectacular formats in cycling," said Tour de France Femmes race director Marion Rousse. "We are very proud that the first one will take place in London."

The 2027 event marks the first time both the men's and women's Tours will take place in the same country outside France. The Tour de France men's event is returning to the UK for the first time since 2014.

"I can't wait to showcase to the cycling world what London has to offer," said Fenix-Premier Tech rider Flora Perkins. "I hope that girls in particular come out and see this race and realize that racing bikes is one of the best things ever."

The Tour de France Femmes confirmed its course for 2026 this week, setting up next year's event as the longest iteration of the race in the women's tour history.

The 2026 course will run in nine stages starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 1st and continuing through the finish line in Nice, France, on August 9th.

Cyclists will cover a total of 1,175 kilometers, with 18,795 meters of climbing.

The course will feature three flat stages and three hilly stages as well as two mountain stages and one individual time trial, with riders tackling Mont Ventoux — an iconic climb from the men's event — for the first time.

Though 2026 will only by the fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes, the race will make its debut in a standalone time slot one full week after the men’s race ends, with recent record viewership fueling the move to separate the races rather than continue the previous tactic of scheduling the two events back-to-back.

"We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist,"  said race director Marion Rousse at Thursday's course unveiling. "There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race. Now people are waiting to see us."

"People have embraced us," Rousse continued. "The new dates, separate to the men, prove it."

The 2025 Tour de France Femmes came in hot, as Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt crossed the finish line to become the race’s first French winner in 36 years — all in front of a record audience.

Cyclist Jeannie Longo was the most recent Frenchwoman to win the race back in 1989, though then it called the Tour de France Feminin. No French athletes has won the men's Tour de France since 1985 champion Bernard Hinault.

This year's Tour de France Femmes drew a total of 25.7 million French viewers across linear and digital platforms, up 33.6% from 2024 to make this year’s edition the most-watched in event history.

An average of 4.4 million French viewers tuned in on Sunday to see Ferrand-Prévôt clinch the yellow jersey in the final stage of the race.

After picking up a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Ferrand-Prévot also became the first woman to win the Tour and the Paris-Roubaix cycling race in the same calendar year.

"I came back on the road after my Olympic title and I said I will try to win the Tour de France in the next three years," said Ferrand-Prevot after Sunday's finish.

"My teammates worked super hard for me all week long. I just want to say thank you and congrats to them, to my entire team."

The Tour de France Femmes was resurrected in 2022 after a 33-year suspension, with interest in the women’s cycling event soaring ever since.