- Edition four of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will start in Brittany. The opening stage will be in the heart of the Morbihan department, and the second in the neighbouring Finistère department.
- It is a first for an event that has chosen to honour a region with such deep cycling roots.
- The 2025 edition will also mark a turning point in the history of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, which will be contested over nine days of racing for the first time.
HEADING WEST, Marion Rousse, Director of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
Across three days of racing, this Grand Départ will head from Vannes to Plumelec, then from Brest to Quimper, and then feature a stage start in LaGacilly. It will draw on both the history and the roots of cycling, and of women’s cycling in particular. Thanks to its champions, its professional team Arkea-B&B Hotels Women and the support structure that guides young female cyclists towards the top level, Brittany possesses the legitimacy and the assets to be a thrilling launchpad for this fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
The 2025 race, which start in the west, will undoubtedly confirm the immense sporting and popular success of previous editions. The long Breton weekend, which will take place in the middle of the summer and follow directly on from the Tour, will mark the start of another breath-taking week that will round off a month of unceasing action.
BRITTANY, A LAND OF CYCLING, Loïg Chesnais-Girard, President of the Brittany Region
What a pleasure it is to be hosting a Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Brittany once again! In 2025, the world’s greatest cyclists will set off from Vannes and cross two Breton departments before continuing their battle across the rest of France.
This is a real source of pride for Brittany, because cycling is part of our region’s identity, our heritage, our culture and, increasingly, our daily lives. It’s a guarantee of pure emotions, a chance to share moments of real intensity. In Brittany, the regional government has set itself the task of encouraging the whole population to cycle, and, more generally, to participate in any kind of sport. This major event will not only be an opportunity for us all to come together for a great sporting event once again, but also for a festive and convivial occasion, one that reflects our beautiful region.
STAGE 1 | Vannes > Plumenec | 26 July | 95km
After starting in the port of Vannes, on the shores of the Gulf of Morbihan, and passing through Arradon, where French rugby’s new phenomenon Nolann Le Garrec grew up, the stage will finish on the circuit at Plumelec. The finish at the top of the Côte deCadoudal (1.7km at 6.2%) has been the scene of many battles in the Grand Prix du Morbihan, both for the women and the men. Bernard Hinault and Alejandro Valverde also donned the first yellow jerseys in the 1985 and 2008 Tours deFrance, respectively, at the top of this climb.
STAGE 2 | Brest > Quimper |27 July | 130km
Brest’s Place de la Liberté will revive wonderful memories of the 2021 Tour’s Grand Départ. The riders will begin on undulating roads, passing through Chateaulin and over the Menez Quelerc’h and Locronan climbs, the latter one of France’s most beautiful villages. The finale, in Quimper, will comprise a loop through the town before the finish on the crest of a hill (1km at 4.8%), the Stang Bihan, where Peter Sagan demonstrated his power to win stage five of the 2018 Tour.
STAGE 3 | La Gacilly > Angers | 28 July | 162 km
La Gacilly, which has already featured as a stage town in the Tour de Bretagne and the Tour de l’Avenir, will be the peloton’s departure point from Brittany. The birthplace of Yves Rocher, founder of the eponymous brand, it’s a wonderfully flower-filled town, nestling languorously in the green valley of the Aff.
Cédrine Kerbaol, 23, born in Brest and raised in Plouarzel, became the first French rider to win a stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift when she took a solo success in Morteau on 16 August. Sixth in the final overall classification, Cédrine backed up her remarkable performance in the 2023 race when she won the white jersey of best young rider.
Aude Biannic, 33, was French road champion in 2018 and has also won the national individual pursuit title twice (2011 and 2012). She’s set to return to the peloton next season after becoming a mother in 2024.
Marie Le Net, 24, is a double silver medallist in the Madison from the 2020 and 2021 World Track Championships. Equally at home on the road, she’s already raced the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2022.