Key points:
 The 7th edition of La Course by Le Tour de France avec FDJ will take place next month on a 96-kilometre course with the start and finish in Nice, for the first time before the Tour de France riders head into action.
 While the sprinters cannot be ruled out, the route chosen for the ladies also offers opportunities for punchers capable of breaking away and resisting the return of the peloton just until the Promenade des Anglais.
 The most prominent champions in the peloton have already circled 29 August on their calendar, starting with the four winners of La Course by Le Tour de France avec FDJ, Marianne Vos, Anna van der Breggen, Chloé Hosking and Annemiek van Vleuten, who will have to contend with the likes of Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio et Marta Bastianelli.

The women’s peloton was welcomed for the first time on the Tour de France at the conclusion of the 2014 edition and started to make the Champs-Elysées their stomping ground. They then discovered the high mountains with a finish at the Col d’Izoard in 2017, followed in Marseille by an atypical pursuit race on the time trial course. At the Grand-Bornand in 2018, then on a „championship“ type circuit format around Pau last year, the women’ race then experimented with different scenarios. In 2020, it is in Nice where the world’s elite female racers will come together this time with the honour of starting the competition even before the men set off on their Tour de France.

On the 96-kilometre course, which will use part of the route prepared for the men’s race, the women will probably not be expected to compete in a large group sprint, according to Jean-Marc Marino, the event’s sporting director. “The race will consist of a loop to be completed twice. The côte de Rimiez will allow for a solid group to break away. All the more so as after reaching the line drawn for the mountain points, there will actually be several kilometres of climb left to the village of Aspremont. This springboard is perfect for really strong girls who get along well, especially since the descent is technical and not very conducive to organizing a chase“. The four champions who have already put their names on the list of winners, namely Marianne Vos, Anna van der Breggen, Chloé Hosking and Annemiek van Vleuten, can now start to fine-tune their strategy.
Amel Bouzoura, FDJ Director of Sponsoring and Partnerships: „with a considerable presence in French sport and as a sponsor of a men’s cycling team for over 20 years, FDJ is proud to continue its support of elite women’s cycling. Since 2017, the Group has been supporting the women’s cycling team FDJ – Nouvelle-Aquitaine – Futuroscope, and has strengthened its commitment to ensure the team’s UCI World Tour license in 2020. The team will participate in „La Course by Le Tour“, of which FDJ has been a „Major Sponsor“ since 2016. The company is committed to the promotion and encouragement of women’s sport with its „Sport pour Elles“ programme. In addition to professional cycling, FDJ supports the French Cycling Federation in the development of amateur cycling for all. »

23 teams, the leading participants (as of 29/07/2020) in alphabetical order:
ALE‘ BTC Ljubljana (ita)
Aromitalia – basso Bikes – Vaiano (Ita)
Astana Women’s Team (Kaz)
Bizkaia – Durango (Esp)
Boels Dolmans CyclingTeam (Nld)
Canyon / /Sram Racing (Ger)
CCC – Liv (Pol)
Ceratizit – WNT Pro Cycling Team (Ger)
Charente – Maritime Women Cycling (Fra)
Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team (Rus)
FDJ Nouvelle – Aquitaine Futuroscope (Fra)
Hitec Products – Birk Sport (Nor)
Lotto Soudal Ladies (Bel)
Mitchelton Scott (Aus)
Movistar Team Women (Esp)
Parkhotel Valkenburg (Nld)
Paule Ka (Che)
Rally Cycling (Usa)
Team Arkéa (Fra)
Team Sunweb (Ger)
Team Tibco – Silicon Valley Bank (Usa)
Trek – Segafredo (Usa)
Valcar – Travel & Service (Ita)

All information about La Course by Le Tour de France with FDJ on
www.lacoursebyletourdefrance.com/en/
@ASO