Irish trio make history with Tour de France Femmes starts
became just the fourth Irish rider to wear the yellow jersey in the
Tour de France
this year, but three women will make their own piece of history when they become the first-ever Irish participants in the Tour de France Femmes.
The nine-stage race gets under way on Saturday in Vannes, Brittany, and there
Lara Gillespie
, Mia Griffin and Fiona Mangan will line out for their respective teams in the biggest race in the calendar. It concludes on Sunday week at Châtel Les Portes du Soleil in the Alps.
The Tour de France Femmes is in its fourth year and began following years of campaigning by women to have their own version of the race. It has surged in popularity and helped move the sport to a new level.
Megan Armitage was due to make Irish cycling history in 2023 when she was selected by her-then Arkéa Pro Cycling Team, but she was hit by a bus two days beforehand and was ruled out due to concussion.
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A women's race run by the Tour de France organisers was previously held between 1984 and 1989. No Irish women competed in that event, but Susan O'Mara and Marie Eribo did participate in the Tour of the EEC Women in 1990 – a separate stage race held to replace that early women's Tour.
Contesting the Tour de France Femmes is special for Gillespie, Griffin and Mangan, and a measure of how Irish cycling is developing abroad.
Gillespie has won European track championships at different age groups and is a huge prospect. She was fourth on a stage of the Vuelta Espana Femenina in early May, securing a WorldTour contract with UAE Team ADQ after she won the Antwerp Port Epic Ladies race plus the Giro Mediterraneo Rosa last year.
Last month she had a big crash in the Elmos Dwars door het Hageland, bruising her sacrum bone, but has recovered. She spent a period of time recently in Majorca training and is in good condition.
'I am buzzing to be one of the first Irish girls to be at the Tour, so that is really exciting to be part of,' Gillespie said on Friday. 'I'm happy to see Fiona and Mia in there and we can experience this whirlwind together.'
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National champion Griffin (Roland Le Dévoluy) won a stage of the Tour of El Salvador this year and was third in the Tour of Guangxi in 2023.
Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) took a stage of the Volta a Portugal Feminina on July 4th, marking her first international pro win.
They will line out against the world's best riders in the 1,165 kilometre event. It begins this weekend with two punchy stages to Plumelec and Quimper, with sprint stages to Angers and Poitiers following.
Things start to get more mountainous from Wednesday, with tough stages to Guéret, Ambert and Chambéry being followed by the intimidating 2,000-metre high Col de la Madeleine on Saturday, plus the big conclusion at the Portes du Soleil ski station the following day.
Last year's winner Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto) and 2023 champion Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) lead the list of overall contenders.
Tour de France Femmes
Stage 1, Saturday, July 26th:
Vannes to Plumelec, 78.8km (49 miles)
Stage 2, Sunday, July 27th:
Brest to Quimper, 110.4km (68.6 miles)
Stage 3, Monday, July 28th:
La Gacilly to Angers, 163.5km (101.6 miles)
Stage 4, Tuesday, July 29th:
Saumur to Poitiers, 130.7km (81.2 miles)
Stage 5, Wednesday, July 30th:
Chasseneuil-du-Poitou to Guéret, 165.8km (103 miles)
Stage 6, Thursday, July 31st:
Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert, 123.7km (76.9 miles)
Stage 7, Friday, August 1st:
Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambéry, 159.7km (99.2 miles)
Stage 8, Saturday August 2nd:
Chambéry to St François Longchamp – Col de la Madeleine, 111.9km (69.5 miles)
Stage 9, Sunday August 3rd:
Praz-Sur-Arly to Châtel Les Portes du Soleil Pré Lajoux, 124.1km (77.1 miles)
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