In addition to the men’s Tour de France route announced Tuesday, organizer ASO revealed the route of the fifth women’s La Course race. The one-day event will be held July 17 in tandem with stage 10 of the men’s race.
Up until 2016, the race was held on the Champs-Élysées circuit. It was a sprinters’ affair, and the first three winners were Marianne Vos, Anna van der Breggen, and Chloe Hosking, 2014-2016, respectively.
In 2017, the race moved to Col d’Izoard for a summit finish. At just 67.5km, the race was criticized as too short. Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott) won the day. She went on to win world time trial championships in Bergen, Norway in September.
Tour organizers may not have gone quite so short this year with a 118-kilometer route, but they may still be criticized for not expanding the race to multiple days.
Regardless, La Course will be one of the season’s most important and visible women’s races. The route starts in Duingt, on Lake Annecy. It will climb Col de Romme and the Col de la Colombière before the downhill run to Grand-Bornand. It will be an abbreviated version of the 159km men’s race that day.
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