Seven Canadian cyclists, including five from Quebec, will be on Zwift at the start of the new Tour de France Women on Sunday in Clermont-Ferrand in the Massif Central.
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The second presentation of the race will include eight stages and almost 1000 kilometers. The list of registered runners has been published in the last few hours.
Simone Boilard, 23, will be at the start again this year. The Quebec cyclist, member of the French team St Michel – Mavic – Auber93, had already produced a promotional video with the organization of the tour. “Yes, I definitely think about the tour when I train!” she said immediately.
The Quebecer had started the 2022 Tour well with a good 8th place before falling back heavily. However, she survived the ordeal to the end.
Baril and Vallieres
Within the UAE team we will find another Quebecer, Olivia Baril, who was also present last year. The 25-year-old won the 5th Gran Premio Ciudad de Eibar, Spain on May 28, 2023.
Three more Canadians will wear the colors of the EF Education team. Albertans Alison Jackson, winner of the Paris-Roubaix spring, and Sara Poidevin will accompany Magdeleine Vallières, 21, from Sherbrooke. The young cyclist has already completed the Giro and the Tour of Spain this season.
Pilot and Émond
Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin from Neuville, whose selection was still unclear a few weeks ago, will also start with the Cofidis formation. The 30-year-old cyclist will surely be inspired by her husband Kasper Asgreen’s victory on Thursday’s stage 18 of the Tour de France.
Finally, Clara Émond from Quebec also received good news.
Émond, a former Mont-Sainte-Anne ski racer, competed in the second World Tour race of her career this season, just two years after turning to cycling.
By the end of the 2022 campaign, Émond had signed an agreement with Arkéa. The 26-year-old climber is a trained lawyer.
In the south
The Women’s Tour de France with Zwift heads south into Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, New-Aquitaine and Occitania.
The race consists of four flat stages, two hilly stages, a mountain stage with a high-altitude finish in Tourmalet and a final 22 km individual time trial around Pau.
A live broadcast is planned, 2.5 hours a day, on the France Télévisions channels and internationally.
Around 250,000 euros will be awarded and used for the teams and drivers.
A total of 154 cyclists from 27 countries will compete against each other for a week.
Annemiek van Vleuten from the Netherlands won in 2022.