The route of the 2027 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was revealed in late October, featuring a Grand Départ in the UK, a jaunt through central France, and a summit finish atop the Puy de Dôme. The sixth edition of the revived women’s Tour will kick off on Friday, July 30, and conclude on Saturday, August 7, after nine days of racing.

In just five editions, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has become the pinnacle of the women’s WorldTour calendar. And looking at the 2027 route, we’re in for another nine days of aggressive racing, a hard-fought GC battle, and opportunities for a wide range of stage winners. Yet some route choices leave me lukewarm, and a few things are missing altogether. There’s no trek into the Alps or Pyrenees, no individual time trial, and still no Paris finale.

Now, I don’t doubt that the women’s peloton will make the most of the route it’s given, but whether it’ll match the spectacle of previous editions is another question.

The Good

First, the highlights, starting with the three-day Grand Départ in England.

On the Doorstep of Millions

The 2027 route puts a lot of the fireworks up front, so there’s no easing into this Tour. It opens with a short, punchy 86km stage from Leeds to Manchester. Officially classified as flat, it still packs in three categorized climbs. So while the sprinters may get their chance at the first yellow jersey, it’s not guaranteed. Then comes a bumpy stage two that, a local tells me, is much harder on the legs than it looks on paper. And then we’ll get the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift’s first team time trial in London.

The crowds turned out for the women at the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain.

Leeds, Manchester, London. The 2027 edition will put women’s racing in front of millions. That’s a huge opportunity to draw roadside crowds and reach new audiences. Those opening stages could also give the GC an intriguing shape. An early winner backed by a strong team performance in London might carry a rider in yellow deep into the race.

Puy de Dôme

Then there’s the Puy de Dôme. The volcano occupies a special place in cycling history, having hosted 14 men’s Tour de France stage finishes, including the famous 1964 head-to-head between Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor.

A more recent memory of the Puy de Dôme is that of Matteo Jorgenson’s heartbreak on stage nine of the 2023 Tour. The American attacked alone with almost 50km remaining, only for Canadian Michael Woods to catch and pass him some 450 meters from victory. Jorgenson ultimately finished fourth.

It’s easy to imagine the volcano hosting another exciting chapter in the Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) and Demi Vollering (FDJ United–Suez) rivalry.

An Opportunity for a Variety of Stage Winners

In 2025, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift delivered six different stage winners and three riders in yellow. This year, it was six and five respectively. The 2027 route should again give a broad cast of riders their chance, with plenty of terrain for versatile stage hunters alongside opportunities for the sprinters and climbers.

So many potential stage winners in a single photo from Stage 6 of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

That’s something I like about the Tour. A Tour stage can define a rider’s season; just look at the breakthrough victories of Maëva Squiban (UAE Team L'Imad), Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education–Oatly), and Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance–Soudal) in years past.

The Meh

Different Profiles Don’t Guarantee Different Outcomes

The route opens the door to well-rounded riders, but the overall will still likely be decided on the final two mountainous days. But if climbing decides the Tour, I’d like to see some high-mountain racing in the Alps or Pyrenees. If the intention is to give more riders a shot at the GC, then I want to believe that they can actually take the yellow home, rather than just borrow it for a few days.

Of course, Vollering and Niewiadoma excel on punchy terrain too. And that’s part of my concern: different profiles don’t guarantee different outcomes. Perhaps the shorter climbs will keep more riders in contention, but I’m not convinced this route broadens the fight for yellow as much as it prolongs it.

The Team Time Trial

Then there’s London. I’m excited about the setting, but the racing format leaves me underwhelmed. I prefer an individual time trial where every rider controls her own performance. No matter the timing rules, a team time trial tends to favor stronger, bigger teams, with more money to spend on a deeper roster, equipment, testing, and optimizing. A rider from a team with fewer resources could leave London with a time loss that reflects her team's budget more than her own performance.

The last time that a Women’s World Tour race had a Team Time Trial was Stage 1 of La Vuelta Femenina 2025.

Eighteen kilometers may limit the damage, but as 2024 showed, when Niewiadoma-Phinney won the overall by just four seconds, every single second counts.

The Missed Opportunities

While Britain gets the big-city showcases, I feel roadside fans in France get a bad deal. The route bypasses the country’s largest cities on its way to a finale where spectator access remains uncertain.

Strict environmental protections are in place on Puy de Dôme, and organizers are still exploring if they can admit a limited crowd at the summit. I understand the need for protection, but a repeat of 2023’s empty upper slopes would be a lonely way to welcome in the Tour winner. If fans aren’t welcome, surely it’s worth asking whether this is the right place to finish.

The women deserve to race in Paris.

And while a summit finish can deliver exciting racing, I’m still waiting to see the women’s peloton finish on the cobblestones of Paris, same as the men. Wout van Aert’s victory in 2025 and Mathieu van der Poel’s all-out effort in 2026 were absolute highlights of those Tours for me. The Montmartre circuit has shown how much racing in Paris can offer, beyond a ceremonial procession. After watching Vollering and Niewiadoma duel in France and again in Montréal, with Marlen Reusser never far behind, I want to see what these women could do on those streets.