Tour de France Femmes 2023 team guide: Start list and star riders as Annemiek van Vleuten hunts yellow again

The Tour de France Femmes gets underway on Sunday just as the men finish, with 22 teams set to compete in what is undoubtedly one of the biggest races of the 2023 calendar.

With Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) in the field to defend the maillet jaune in what is her last year on the circuit, will it be a fairytale finish for the legendary Dutchwoman? Van Vleuten has already had a year to remember – and that’s accounting for her exceptionally high standards – but there are plenty of others in good form too, including Demi Vollering (SD Worx).

This year, the teams are made up of seven riders as opposed to last year’s six and as such, the field is cut from 24 to 22 outfits. Without further ado, here is a blow-by-blow account of who has made the cut for the 2023 Tour de France Femmes.

• Alice Towers
• Sarah Roy
• Ricarda Bauernfeind
• Elise Chabbey
• Soraya Paladin
• Kasia Niewiadoma
• Agnieszka Skalniak-Sojka

Canyon won the team category last year, but will be hoping for even more success in 2023. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Poland) is back and will be aiming to move up from the third spot on the podium, but she hasn’t been in stellar form this year so far. She says she is targeting the GC though, and Switzerland’s Elise Chabbey also thinks a stage win is possible and would be a dark horse for the GC if Niewiadoma can’t find form.

“It’s the first year in my career that I really have had the time to prepare for an event. I spent a lot of time away from home at altitude, and I feel my shape is good,” Chabbey said in the lead up, and with over half the team making their debut here, there’s plenty to get excited about.

Also featuring for Canyon are Alice Towers (Great Britain), Ricarda Bauernfeind (Germany), Soraya Paladin (Italy) and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sojka (Poland). Maike van der Duin has withdrawn due to illness, with Sarah Roy (Australia) filling in.

• Letizia Borghesi
• Veronica Ewers
• Kathrin Hammes
• Alison Jackson
• Sara Poidevin
• Magdeleine Vallieres
• Georgia Williams

American Veronica Ewers managed a top 10 finish in this event last year, and recently showed her climbing prowess in the Giro d’Italia Donne where she came home fourth overall. At 28, Ewers isn’t one of the youngest in the peloton but she is still learning her craft after only really making a name for herself on the professional circuit in 2021.

The team will be riding in support of her, with five of the seven having ridden together in the Giro. Stage wins might be more likely than the yellow jersey, but that would still be a good return for a team steeped with talent. Joining Ewers are Letizia Borghesi (Italy), Kathrin Hammes (Germany), Alison Jackson (Canada), Sara Poidevin (Canada), Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada) and Georgia Williams (New Zealand).

• Jade Wiel
• Vittoria Guazzini
• Loes Adegeest
• Grace Brown
• Marta Cavalli
• Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig
• Evita Muzic

Any team that boasts the Italian Marta Cavalli, Grace Brown (Australia) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Denmark) in its ranks is one to be taken seriously. The Danish rider won a stage here last year in a sprint, came close in the mountains to prove her status as an all-rounder, and gave one of the most memorable post-race interviews of the year – trust us, it’s worth watching (below).

She’s been in good form this year too, so has to be added to any conversation about pre-race favourites. Third in Strade Bianche in the spring and sixth in the recent Giro point to some good form for Uttrup Ludwig. If her team-mates can avoid some of the bad luck they suffered last year, they could be a force to be reckoned with.

Also in the FDJ-Suez line up are Jade Wiel (France), Vittoria Guazzini (Italy), Loes Adegeest (Netherlands) and Evita Muzic (France).

• Julie de Wilde
• Marthe Truyen
• Yara Kastelijn
• Christina Schweinberger
• Sanne Cant
• Julie van de Velde
• Evy Kuijpers

Four Belgian riders unsurprisingly make up the bulk of the Belgian Fenix team, with youngster Marthe Truyen managing one of the best results of her career with third at Paris-Roubaix earlier this season and keen to build on that success. Julie van de Velde brings plenty of experience, having moved to Fenix this season after spells at Jumbo-Visma and Lotto Soudal.

Having become a WorldTeam this season, Fenix-Deceuninck will be keen to make an impression in the Tour – and having signed a number of riders on multi-year deals, they are clearing planning for the future.

• Alice Barnes
• Henrietta Christie
• Antri Christoforou
• Audrey Cordon-Ragot
• Barbara Malcotti
• Marjolein van ’t Geloof
• Eri Yonamine

Home favourite Audrey Cordon-Ragot will take to the start line in Paris less than a year after suffering a stroke, an incredible recovery that deserves plenty of respect. She’s not the only rider in the team to make a remarkable comeback, with Eri Yonamine (Japan) also prolonging a career that looked over until a diagnosis of iliac artery endofibrosis resulted in surgery, recovery and a second chance at the Human Powered Health team.

With three returning riders from last year’s team in Henrietta Christie (New Zealand), Antri Christoforou (Cyprus) and Barbara Malcotti (Italy), there is plenty of experience in the American outfit. Britain’s Alice Barnes and Marjolein van ’t Geloof (Netherlands) complete the line up.

• Lizzie Standard
• Lara Vieceli
• Claire Steels
• Elena Hartmann
• Nathalie Eklund
• Tamara Dronova
• Fien Delbaere

Describing herself as “incredibly excited” to be racing this year’s edition is Claire Steels, their British team leader who is targeting success in the GC. She wasn’t in the race last year but will be hoping her experience of riding in the Vuelta will stand her in good stead. She attacked aggressively in the British National Road Championships and although she lost out to Pfeiffer Georgi, that kind of aggression could well cause some chaos in the hilly stages.

The team are also targeting stage wins with Tamara Dronova, so keep an eye on the Russian if she gets into any breaks – she may well be given permission to ride for herself and for individual glory.

• Elisa Balsamo
• Elisa Longo Borghini
• Lucinda Brand
• Lizzie Deignan
• Ilaria Sanguineti
• Lauretta Hanson
• Amanda Spratt

Lidl-Trek have assembled a team capable of taking on the might of Movistar and SD Worx. In the two Italian Elisas, Balsamo and Longo Borghini, they have plenty of experience, race craft and cunning. Add in Lizzie Deignan (Great Britain), whose form is slowly returning after maternity leave, Lucinda Brand (Netherlands) who has buckets of experience and Aussie Amanda Spratt who is a fantastic domestique in the mountains, and it is clear to see that this is a team targeting yellow.

But for who? That is the question – with Longo Borghini in the better form of the two Elisas so far this season.

• Caroline Andersson
• Rachele Barbieri
• Thalita De Jong
• Mavi Garcia
• Jeanne Korevaar
• Silke Smulders
• Quinty Ton

It’s a three-pronged attack for Liv Racing Teqfind in this year’s Tour. Spain’s Mavi Garcia is their GC hope, having recently managed a top 10 finish in the Giro. Rachele Barbieri (Italy) is fast on the flat stages and could sprint to a stage victory, and the team have also given Dutchwoman Thalita de Jong free rein to try and get into some breakaways for a dash of individual glory. Those two were both in the line up last year, as was Garcia albeit in UAE colours.

Joining those three on the start line are Caroline Andersson (Sweden), Jeanne Korevaar (Netherlands), Silke Smulders (Netherlands) and Quinty Ton (Netherlands).

• Annemiek van Vleuten
• Emma Norsgaard
• Liane Lippert
• Aude Biannic
• Floortje Mackau
• Paula Patino
• Sheyla Gutierrez

Movistar are still the team to beat and that is because for a few more months, they have Annemiek van Vleuten in their ranks. The Dutch legend had a lacklustre start to this race last year after being unwell but stormed to victory in the last two stages to take the maillot jaune in style.

She has a stellar support line up this year too, with Emma Norsgaard (Denmark), Aude Biannic (France) and Paula Andrea Patino (Colombia) all returning to the race for the second time.

Can Van Vleuten retain her title? The form she’s been in, you’d be mad not to consider her the favourite. She’s already won La Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d’Italia Donne this year, and a clean sweep of all three major races in her last year on the tour would be a fitting finale.

• Lea Curinier
• Pfeiffer Georgi
• Megan Jastrab
• Charlotte Kool
• Juliette Labous
• Esse Peperkamp
• Elise Uijen

Team DSM is another that could well try and spoil Van Vleuten’s party. Frenchwoman Juliette Labous is the big GC hope, while Charlotte Kool (Netherlands) is the sprinter in the ranks who might try an early tilt at the yellow jersey on the opening stage.

Labous finished second in the Giro recently, so is in fine form – but knows what a task it is to take on van Vleuten over a multi-stage race. But she’ll have the fans cheering for her on home soil, and with France not having too much luck in the men’s Tour de France, there’s all the more reason to get behind Labous from Sunday.

• Jessica Allen
• Tensile Campbell
• Nina Kessler
• Georgie Howe
• Alex Manly
• Amber Pate
• Ane Santesteban

Ane Santesteban is the team leader this time around, the Basque rider on fine form after finishing 10th in the recent Giro. She’s spent much of her season riding in the Pyrenees mountains in preparation for this, and has Alex Manly as her lieutenant on the road – the Australian also able to take over GC duties if any bad luck befalls her team mate.

“After the Giro Donne I’ve had some ‘easy’ days to recover from all the hard work done in Italy. The legs feel good and my motivation is really high,” is what Santesteban had to say last week, with the recovery from the Giro going to be so key for so many members of the peloton.

Another Aussie Jess Allen and Dutch rider Nina Kessler bring plenty of experience with them, albeit not from this race as they look set for domestique duties.

• Anna Henderson
• Marianne Vos
• Karlijn Swinkels
• Eva van Agt
• Amber Kraak
• Riejanne Markus
• Coryn Labecki

All eyes on Marianne Vos down at Jumbo-Visma. She won two stages at the Tour last year, both classed as hilly but certainly closer to a sprint stage. She wore the yellow jersey for much of the race too, before having to settle for the green.

Can she go one better here and take yellow? She would need a lot of help on the Tourmalet to say the least, and in all honesty, green looks a more likely bet. With five riders returning from 2022, Jumbo-Visma are certainly not lacking for experience this year.

• Elena Cecchini
• Christine Majerus
• Lotte Kopecky
• Demi Vollering
• Lorena Wiebes
• Mischa Bredewold
• Marlen Reusser

Lotte Kopecky has had a brilliant season to date – winning the Tour of Flanders and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and finishing second in Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold Race. Add in the Belgian road race and time trial titles, and she’s going to be an interesting one to watch tactically.

That’s because much like Wout van Aert to Jonas Vingegaard, Kopecky will be riding for Demi Vollering (Netherlands), one of the few riders on the tour to have had an even better season. Vollering stormed through the spring classics, beating her team-mate in the aforementioned Strade Bianche and the Amstel Gold race. She also won Liege-Bastogne-Liege and La Fleche Wallonne Feminine.

Those two did seemingly have a bit of bad blood between them at Strade Bianche but hopefully that is long forgotten – as they both have a chance of a stage win at the very least, if not a tilt at yellow through Vollering.

• Alena Amialiusik
• Chiara Consonni
• Erica Magnaldi
• Eleonora Gasparrini
• Olivia Baril
• Silvia Persico
• Elizabeth Holden

Silvia Persico (Italy) is leading the team, with a stage win the realistic aim. The Italian was another to ride the Giro, and says her legs are feeling good after plenty of time in the mountains.

Her team-mate Alena Amialiusik (Belarus) will be hoping to shrug off the effects of a crash last week, with all the women proud to be sporting a special jersey for the Tour de France Femmes which the team describes as symbolising their values of ‘diversity, equity and opportunities’.

• Susanne Andersen
• Hannah Ludwig
• Maria Giulia Confalonieri
• Wilma Olausson
• Mie Bjorndal Ottestad
• Marte Berg Edseth
• Anouska Koster

A team with a multi-cultural feel that state on their website that they are ready to “kick ass”, Uno -X have plenty of experience in their ranks. Dutchwoman Anouska Koster and Italian Maria Giulia Confalonieri bring plenty of race craft, albeit not gleaned at the Tour de France Femmes. That’s left up to Hannah Ludwig (Germany), who is returning to this race for the second year along with Mie Bjorndal Ottestad.

It’s the team’s second year on the WorldTour, and they will be likely targeting air time in the breakaway.

• Julia Borgstrom
• Mireia Benito
• Romy Kasper
• Maaike Boogaard
• Lotta Henttala
• Justine Ghekiere
• Ashleigh Moolman Pasio

Julia Borgstrom is the only returning face for this now-Belgian team, the young Swede still just 22 but growing in confidence. The team has changed its make up quite a bit since this time last year when it very obviously championed youth. Now, there is plenty of experience in the ranks with Romy Kasper (Germany), Lotta Henttala (Finland) and Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (South Africa) all in their thirties.

• Danielle de Francesco
• Anais Morichon
• Anastasia Kolesava
• Amandine Fouquenet
• Maaike Colje
• Marie-Morgane Le Deunff
• Clara Emond

Amandine Fouquenet (France) is the team captain on the road this year, and if she gets her calls right, there is plenty of opportunity for the Arkea riders to make names for themselves. Megan Armitage was hoping to star in the mountains, but has withdrawn at the eleventh hour due to concussion, with Canada’s Clara Emond stepping in. Maria-Morgane Le Deunff (France) will be given free rein in the sprints.

The team are still very much evolving and want to mostly measure how their riders compare with those on the WorldTour teams.

• Kathrin Schweinberger
• Arianna Fidanza
• Sandra Alonso
• Nina Berton
• Cedrine Kerbaol
• Alice Maria Arzuffi
• Marta Lach

Three riders return for this Continental team, with Sandra Alonso (Spain), Marta Lach (Poland) and Kathrin Schweinberger (Austria) all keen to line up once again at this prestigious race. Frenchwomen Cedrine Kerbaol will be worth a watch on the final time trial stage, having recently won the French time trial title at the national championships. Even if the course isn’t to her liking, she’ll be guaranteed plenty of support.

• Clara Koppenburg
• Josie Talbot
• Morgane Coston
• Rachel Neylan Oly
• Martina Alzini
• Flavie Boulais
• Gabrielle Pilote Fortin

Clara Koppenburg is leading the Cofidis team, the German making her debut in the race. She’s had a solid season so far, her best result 12th in the Tour de Suisse. Cofidis will be aiming at the very least to match their performance in the men’s Tour de France, where Victor Lafay gave the team their first stage victory since 2008 before Ion Izagirre doubled their delight a week later.

• Margaux Vigie
• Ella Wyllie
• Natalie Grinczer
• Babette van der Wolf
• Typhaine Laurence
• April Tacey
• Kaja Rysz

This team have an interesting roster of talent, with an emphasis on youth mingled with a twinge of experience. Ella Wyllie (New Zealand) will be going for the young rider’s jersey at only 20. Natalie Grinczer (Great Britain) is fresh from Stade Rochelais, having only jumped ship and joined the team earlier this month so it will be interesting to see where she slots into the team’s plans.

Margaux Vigie (France) is the one to really keep an eye on though, the French rider hailing from the South and very familiar with the terrain that this year’s Tour will ride through.

• Sandrine Bideau
• Simone Boilard
• Coralie Demay
• Camille Fahy
• Celia le Mouel
• Dilyxine Mermont
• Margot Pompanon

This French team is dripping with home talent. Sandrine Bideau returns to the race, as does Coralie Demay and Margot Pompanon, and they are joined by their fellow countrywomen with only Simone Boilard (Canada) the odd one out as she was last year.

Getting in the breakaway and getting their kit some TV coverage will be the big aim this year.

• Jenny Rissveds
• Lucie Jounier
• India Grangier
• Tiril Jorgensen
• Stine Dale
• Sigrid Haugset
• Josie Nelson

This multi-cultural team with some Scandinavian flair has been making some decent signings for 2024, so clearly the future is bright. But for the here and now, they have a Brit in their line up courtesy of Josie Nelson, with two French riders as well. Riding in a distinctive if understated dark blue strip, it will be interesting to see what sort of stages they target this year.