Welcome to Strong Girl Talk, where we dive into the latest in sports science, performance, and well-being—all with a focus on women and girls in sport. This week Sasha and Molly are talking Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift! Plus, we’re replaying the episode recorded earlier in the year with Kate Veronneau.
Before we dive in, do us a huge favor and make sure you give the podcast 5 stars and click follow:
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Before we dive into chatting all things Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (TdFFaZ), we had to talk about the ‘breaking news’ - the July 30th Press Release from World Athletics announcing SRY gene testing for all wishing to compete in the female category before the World Athletics Championships. We sarcastically say ‘breaking news’ because we covered the World Athletics consultation and following press releases* on an emergency episode April 2nd - almost 4 months ago! Technically the new eligibility rules comes into effect on September 1st but all national federations (like Athletics Canada and USATF) are required to provide the testing and WA will only provide $100/test. From our research it’s $300-$500USD per test. What a set back!
(* You have to scroll through this press release to see the eligibility in female category)
For a good giggle, listen to Sasha and Molly talk IUD’s and progress with perimenopause talk at the 6:45 mark!
Now, the TdFFaZ, we do a deep dive for all new followers of the event. We’re going to include a lot of notes here so you can cross-reference them as needed.
First, up, Molly is on a new pod, Queen Stage. It’s covering all 9-stages of TdFFaZ and will continue with coverage of all the UCI world tour road events. Sasha’s already given it a 5-star review and recommends y’all tune in wherever you listen to podcasts.
The Tour de France Hommes (TdFH) began in 1903 with the sole purpose of selling a huge number of newspapers. The newspaper was printed on yellow paper and to advertise the leader wore a ‘yellow’ jersey, sponsored by L’auto! The women had their start in 1955, but it was short lived. The race returned again in 1985 for 5 years and then vanished. Queen Stage episode 1 does a great job at explaining the history. Plus, we definitely recommend the doc, Breakaway Femmes. Maybe we can host a virtual screening!
This year’s TdFFaZ is 9 stages, starting in the north-west and heading across France and finishing on the south-east. Queen Stage episode 1 also includes a discussion of all 9 stages. The race this year is 1,165km (724mi) with 17,240m (56,547ft) of climbing. This is the 4th edition since the re-launch in 2022 and also includes a mass participation event, L’Etape du Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. It’s hosted on the Queenstage of this year (no, not the podcast). A Queenstage is the hardest climbing stage of a multi-day stage race. Hosted on stage 8, the penultimate day riders alike, elites and everyone else, finish on the Col de la Madeleine. It’s going to be the party of the year watching the women finish at the top of the Col.
This year’s TdFFaZ has 22 teams, 15 UCI Women's WorldTeams are participating, plus 7 Continental Teams. Each team has 7 riders for a total of 154 riders. For comparison the TdFH have 8 riders per team. We’re curious if 2026 will see 8 women per team on the start line.
The TdFFaZ is not just one race, it’s a race with multiple races, where the leader (because they’re not the winner until the end) gets to wear a specific jersey. Let’s take you through that:
* The Yellow Jersey is worn by the overall leader, the general classification (GC) Leader. So you take the combo of the 9 stages (or whatever stage you’re on) and whoever has the lowest total time is the GC leader. It can be confusing because there are time bonuses, and if you’ve been watching it’s what separated the race the first few days.
* There is the White Jersey, similar to the yellow jersey, but for someone who is under 23 years old.
* The Polka dot jersey, which is white with red polka dots. This is for the climbers it’s a points race that occurs over all 9 days. Points are ‘on offer,’ which is the language you hear in the broadcast to say given to or awarded, at the top of each hill and mountain or at the summit finishes. Hill or Mountain category dictate the number of points available. (see below on that classification).
* The Green Jersey, similar to the polka dot jersey, is a points race across all 9 days, but it’s for the sprinters. Points will be given out at the finish of every stage and at intermediate sprints.
* The stage winner, which really is at it sounds, the person who crosses the finish line first each day. If you think about it as a 9 day stage race, each day is also an individual race, which a rider can win.
* The most aggressive rider for the day, which is the person who make the race the most exciting. You’ll usually see them in a ‘break’ - up ahead on the road by themselves or with others - or ‘attacking’ the peloton - the group of riders - throughout the stage.
* The team classification, which is the leading team. A team is made up of the top 3 riders of a 7 rider team.
ALL Jerseys and winners go up on stage (except the overall team)
Then there is the type stages:
* Flat (sprinter stages),
* Hilly (combo flat with hills but not massive mountains),
* Time Trials (not included this year, so we’ll skip)
* Mountain Stages
Now let’s talk about the points available. First climbing classification and points - Category 4 (easiest - 1 points at the top), Category 3 (2 points to first across, 1 to the second person), Category 2 (with 5, 3, and 2 points on offer, Category 1 (almost the hardest with 10, 8, 6, 7, 5, and 1pt on offer), the HC hors-categorie with meaning beyond category (20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2 points available). Remember that Col de Madelin Saturday for the pros and everyone else, well it’s a HC climb! Have fun.
Next, the sprinting stages, where the first 15 across the line get points. The following points are on offer: a Flat stage finish 50, 30, 20 points …; a Hilly stage finish - 30, 25, 22 points …; a Mountain stage finish - 20, 17, 15 points…; and Intermediate sprints, which are any sprints between the start and finish line - 20, 17, 15 points…
There is also a time cut, meaning you have to finish within a certain percentage of the winner’s time. Every rider must finish within this time cut, and it’s calculated daily based on several factors, which we’ll leave out for now. If a rider fails to make the time cut, is outside the time limit (OTL) they are not allowed to start the next day.
Well that’s the highest, level overview possible. You can find show notes from the original episode with Kate Veronneau here.
Remember you can follow Molly and Sasha on Social Media including:
Molly - @mollyjhurford @stronggirlpublishing
Sasha - @SGollishRuns @Yellow_Running_Shoes
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