Date: Tuesday, July 29
Distance: 128km
Start location: Saumur
Finish location: Poitiers
Start time: 14:35 CEST
Finish time: 17:35 CEST (approx.)
A sprint finish is expected on stage four of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, a stage which rolls through the picturesque heart of the Loire-Val de Vienne region. Departing from Saumur, famed for its white wine, troglodyte caves, and elegant châteaux, riders will pass through vineyards and alongside the Vienne river. Expect the aroma of local delicacies — cheeses, saffron-hued rillettes, and tarte Tatin wafting from roadside markets. Montsoreau and Chinon are quaint riverside towns boasting medieval ramparts, craft-makers, and buzzing market squares filled with regional music. The finish town of Poitiers has one of the oldest churches in France, the Baptistère Saint-Jean, which dates back to the fourth century.
The riders face the only categorised climb of the day after 96km of racing. The Côte de Marigny is a modest 900m ascent at about 5.4% gradient. Beyond this gentle ascent, the peloton will glide across rolling roads through farmland towards Poitiers. The finale mirrors the finish of the 2020 men's Tour, featuring a long false-flat run-in over the last five kilometres. Given the day's largely flat profile and single minor climb, stage four looks like a nailed-on bunch sprint. After the Marigny climb, the sprinters’ teams will work tirelessly to maintain their position.
Contenders
Stage two winner Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) is the out-and-out favourite, as she has been all year in bunch sprints. On the finish to Angers, she was led out by Lotte Kopecky and we can expect to see a similar scenario on the run into Poitiers.
Other sprinters like Lidl-Trek's Elisa Balsamo (depending on how she is following a late stage three crash) and Charlotte Kool (Picnic–PostNL) will look to get the better of the Dutch rider, and as Kool showed at last year's Tour, if everything falls into place, she can beat her.
Meanwhile, stage one winner Marianne Vos (Visma–Lease a Bike), now back in the yellow jersey after stage three, will be eyeing more green jersey points, and pushed Wiebes all the way in Angers.
Likewise, Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) took third place on stage three and will be looking to keep the form up on another perfect route for the sprinters.
Prediction
We think Lorena Wiebes will make it consecutive wins on the flat finish in Poitiers.
