Stage 2 - Meaux to Provins - 136.4km - Monday, July 25
The second stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift stage runs the 85 miles from Meaux to Provins, beginning just outside of Paris. The stage is flat, so despite the longer distance, the racing is sure to be fast and highly tactical as teams battle to establish themselves in the overall standings.
As you can see from the course profile, it's pretty much pancake flat, so sticking together likely won't be a problem for the peloton. There's only one intermediate sprint at kilometer 91, and the race finishes with a small lap around Provins.
We're betting that the race will end in a bunch sprint, so even if you don't tune in for the entire race, make sure you're checking in periodically so that you can watch the finish in Provins.
More From Bicycling
Riders to Watch
It's still a bit too early to truly call out the frontrunners in the race, but the women (and teams) who were strong in the flat and fast stage yesterday will likely be strong on day two as well. Marianne Vos of Jumbo Visma—past winner of La Course—thrilled spectators when she took the first intermediate sprint on day 1 before finishing in second on the sage and will likely be in contention on day 2 as well. SD Worx also showcased their heavy hitters in flat stages like this with Lotte Kopecky, who took 15 points in the second sprint of the day. And Lorena Wiebes of Team DSM will certainly be hoping to protect her hard-fought yellow jersey, so expect to see those three women sprinting hard in stage 2 as well.
When to Watch
The race will begin at 6:50AM EST and take roughly 3.5 hours to complete. The NBC broadcast of the women's race begins mid-morning, and you can also stream it on the Peacock App starting at 8:15AM EST. (Your NBC credentials should allow you to log in, or if you don't have cable, a month-long subscription to Peacock is reasonably cheap!) For those in Canada, FloBikes will be broadcasting the race.
Note: Each day, only two and a half hours of the race will be broadcast, hence the difference in the start time of the race and the start time of the broadcast.
If you're concerned about missing some pedaling time while you spectate the race, you can always hop on Zwift and ride sections of Zwift Island created to mimic parts of each stage—and join other Tour de France Femmes-obsessed fans while you ride!
