The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will be delivering a Swiss Grand Départ in 2026, taking the race outside French borders for its opening stages for the second time since the race was reintroduced in 2022.
"We are thrilled to be spending three days in this Swiss Riviera, which, beyond its stunning scenery, offers a high-quality sporting terrain," said race director Marion Rousse in a media statement.
The 2026 event from August 1 to 9 will begin with a loop from Lausanne, which was home to the opening stage of the Tour de Romandie Féminin and stage 8 of the men's Tour de France in 2022. The latter race was when the idea of hosting a stage of the women's race became an objective, said Rousse.
"The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will get off to a cracking start, with the favourites clashing in the puncheur-friendly opener, followed by a likely sprint finish in the glamorous harbour of Geneva," she said.
The 2026 Tour de France Femmes peloton will set off from the banks of Lake Geneva, taking in a loop that will see them pass by Lake Neuchâtel and through two climbs of 3.5km at an average gradient of 6.1% and 3.7km at 4.5%.
It then heads back toward the banks of Lake Geneva, though there will be the challenge of a 2.3km ascent at 5.4% after the Olympic Museum, which then leads to the 400m finishing straight in Place Saint-François after 137km of racing.
The second stage will then take riders 150km from Aigle to Geneva, heading towards Lake Geneva via Montreux and Vevey, with the road rising to Lac de Bret and sweeping around Lausanne before heading to Geneva through undulating terrain. The last of three climbs, however, comes 35km from the finish line with the Jet d’Eau as its backdrop.
Stage 3 will then also set off from Geneva with the race heading back toward the French border via a yet-to-be-announced route.
The first Grand Départ for the reborn Tour de France Femmes was held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, last summer. Back in March, race organisers ASO also confirmed that both the men's and women's Tour de France were set for a UK start in 2027.
The announcement of the Swiss start in 2026 means the event will begin not far from where the 2025 race concludes. The final victor in this year's edition, which runs right across France, will be crowned in Châtel just over the French border and less than an hour away from the 2026 start.
