La Course by Le Tour de France start list features van Vleuten, Vos, and Deignan

The seventh running of the La Course by Le Tour de France start list is a whos-who of elite women’s cycling. Two-time La Course winners Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) and Marianne Vos (CCC Team), former world champion Lizzy Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) who is fresh off a win at the GP de Plouay, and Chloe Hosking (Rally Cycling) — who won this race in 2016 — will captain their respective teams when they line up for this Saturday race.

Related:

• Preview: La Course by Le Tour de France
• La Course: What the riders are saying
• Report: Tour de France owner ASO planning a women’s stage race for 2022

Marianne Vos, with La Course wins last year and in 2014, has expressed confidence and that she feels this year’s parcours suits her well.

“Last year’s was a fantastic win for me personally. After the first time on the Champs-Elysées, it was a different course but the same sensations and feelings crossing the line,” the Dutchwoman said. “The course [this year] does not seem to be made for a specific type of rider. It’s not for the sprinters, it’s not for the climbers, it gives possibilities for a breakaway, it gives possibilities even for a sprinter if she survives but also the stronger climbers or classics riders can make a difference.”

La Course’s 96-kilometer course, which uses part of the route from the men’s race, will be raced along two large loops. It starts along the Mediterranean coast and heads north toward the category 3 Côte de Rimiez, located just 8 km into the race.

Lizzie Deignan, fresh from her third victory in the Grand Prix de Plouay, commented, “I think it’s actually a good course, a good racing course, I know Annemiek [van Vleuten] was very vocal by saying it was not a WorldTour level [route] but this year was an easy year for ASO to back out from having a woman’s race, and I’m pleased that there’s still a race”.

Race director Jean-Marc Marino is confident that the 7th edition of La Course will be exciting to watch and he warns that tactics, more than strength, will be the key on the 96-km course designed in the hills around Nice.

“It’s a pretty hard course at first, with a 5.5-km climb (Côte de Rimiez) at 5 percent and then it goes on climbing. It’s the Nice hinterland and we know how bumpy it is. Then there is a really steep descent — very technical — and then 20 km on the flat,” said Marino. “We can expect a big battle in the climbs. The big question is whether a sprinter can survive or whether a breakaway can go all the way. We noticed in the past that if we made too hard a course, it was always the same [women] who won. This time, it might not be the strongest who wins, but certainly the most clever,” he added.

La Course by Le Tour de France start list:

CCC – LIV
Marianne Vos
Sofia Bertizzolo
Riejanne Markus
Soraya Paladin
Pauliena Rooijakkers

Team Sunweb
Leah Kirchmann
Anna Henderson
Alison Jackson
Juliette Labous
Liane Lippert
Floortje Mackaij

FDJ Nouvelle – Aquitaine Futuroscope
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig
Stine Borgli
Clara Copponi
Emilia Fahlin
Evita Muzic
Jade Wiel

Mitchelton-Scott
Annemiek Van Vleuten
Jessica Allen
Grace Brown
Gracie Elvin
Jessica Roberts
Sarah Roy

Rally Cycling
Chloe Hosking
Krista Doebel-Hickok
Heidi Franz
Leigh Ann Ganzar
Sara Poidevin
Emma White

Canyon // SRAM Racing
Katarzyna Niewiadoma
Alena Amialiusik
Hannah Barnes
Tiffany Cromwell
Jessica Pratt
Omer Shapira

Trek – Segafredo
Elizabeth Deignan
Lauretta Hanson
Elisa Longo Borghini
Anna Plichta
Tayler Wiles
Ruth Winder

Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team
Christine Majerus
Jolien Dhoore
Amalie Dideriksen
Lonneke Uneken
Jip van den Bos
Chantal van den Broek-blaak

Movistar Team Women
Sheyla Gutierrez
Katrine Aalerud
Aude Biannic
Barbara Guarischi
Paula Patiño
Gloria Rodriguez

Ceratizit – WNT Pro Cycling Team
Erica Magnaldi
Laura Asencio
Maria Confalonieri
Kathrin Hammes
Ane Santesteban Gonzalez
Lara Vieceli

Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
Marta Bastianelli
Maaike Boogaard
Eugenia Bujak
Tatiana Guderzo
Anna Trevisi
Urška Žigart

Valcar – Travel & Service
Elisa Balsamo
Teniel Campbell
Marta Cavalli
Silvia Persico
Ilaria Sanguineti

Équipe Paule Ka
Emma Jørgensen
Elizabeth Banks
Niamh Fisher-black
Mikayla Harvey
Maria Vittoria Sperotto
Leah Thomas

Team Tibco – Silicon Valley Bank
Lauren Stephens
Leah Dixon
Nina Kessler
Shannon Malseed
Diana Peñuela

HiTec Products – Birk Sport
Lucy Van Der Haar
Vita Heine
Mieke Kröger
Ingrid Lorvik
Amalie Lutro
Greta Richioud

Lotto-Soudal Ladies
Lotte Kopecky
Teuntje Beekhuis
Danielle Christmas
Arianna Fidanza
Lone Meertens
Abby-Mae Parkinson

Team Arkéa
Sandra Levenez
Pauline Allin
Charlotte Becker
Léa Curinier
Fatima El Hayani
Gladys Verhulst

Parkhotel Valkenburg
Demi Vollering
Nina Buijsman
Romy Kasper
Hanna Nilsson
Karlijn Swinkels
Nancy Van Der Burg

Astana Women’s Team
Arlenis Sierra Canadilla
Olivija Baleišyte
Blanca Moreno
Francesca Pattaro
Katia Ragusa
Olga Shekel

Charente – Maritime Women Cycling
Noemie Abgrall
Alice Coutinho
India Grangier
Lucie Lahaye
Manon Souyris
Balladyne Tritsch

Aromitalia – Basso Bikes – Vaiano
Rasa Leleivyte
Letizia Borghesi
Anastasia Carbonari
Carmela Cipriani
Sofia Collinelli
Emilia Matteoli

Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team
Edwige Pitel
Marie Soleil Blais
Annabel Fisher
Diana Klimova
Mia Radotic
Noemi Rüegg

Bizkaia – Durango
Elizabeth Holden
Alice Arzuffi
Ariana Gilabert
Lucia Gonzalez
Amaia Lartitegi
Carla Oberholzer