Date: Friday, August 1
Distance: 160km
Start location: Bourg-en-Bresse
Finish location: Chambéry
Start time: 13:30 CEST
Finish time: 17:30 CEST (approx.)
The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift stage seven begins in the heart of the Bresse region, renowned for its prized Bresse poultry — locals take pride in hosting markets brimming with gourmet Bresse chicken, creamy butter, and fresh pastries. As the peloton follows the Rhône Valley southward, viewers will catch glimpses of pastoral tranquillity and charming market towns. It’s a day of two halves: the relaxed rural cadence of the Bresse countryside followed by sharp, strategic racing on the climb and descent into Chambéry, once a seat of the Savoy monarchy, and its old-world charm — cobbled streets, grand squares, and a backdrop dominated by the ancient Château des Ducs de Savoie.
The racing terrain turns serious halfway through the stage, with three categorised climbs concentrated in the second half: a punchy Côte de Saint-Franc; the sharp Côte de Berland; and the decisive Col du Granier, an 8.9km ascent averaging 5.4%, which forms the springboard to a fast and technical descent into Chambéry. The day takes in rolling terrain and mountain tests. The climbs in the final 50km ensure that this isn’t a ride for pure sprinters — teams must stay alert on the Granier, where GC contenders can gain valuable time or position themselves for the final descent.
Contenders
Stage seven marks the first day in the Alps of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, and with three categorised climbs and a fast descent to the finish, it could spark action for both the general classification and the stage win. The combination of the long climb up the Col du Granier and a downhill finale plays into the hands of aggressive climbers who descend well, and with the right group up the road, a breakaway could still steal the day, like on stage six when Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) took the spoils.
Defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto) will relish the mountainous terrain and the attacking opportunities a downhill finish offers. The Polish rider thrives in stages like these and could look to gain some time. Likewise, Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) are two riders who could use their descending prowess to spring a surprise late in the stage, but they will have to hold onto the best climbers to have a fighting chance.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) may also use the terrain to her advantage, especially with the descent playing into her mountain biking background.
Other GC riders will be in the mix, like stage five winner and current yellow jersey holder Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), who is in the form of her life. She out-sprinted a select group in Guéret that included Niewiadoma, Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), and Ferrand-Prévot. Her teammate Sarah Gigante is also a favourite on mountainous terrain; however, she may struggle with the descending in the finale compared to the others.
Vollering will look to her FDJ-Suez teammates Évita Muzic and Juliette Labous to support her deep into the climbs, and Elise Chabbey will be motivated to defend her polka dot jersey with a number of QOM points coming on the day.
Expect opportunists like Chloe Dygert (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto), Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic-PostNL), and stage two winner Mavi García (Liv Alula Jayco) to eye the breakaway — but they’ll need to match the pace of the top GC riders if they want a shot at glory on this first Alpine day.
Prediction
We think Kim Le Court will win this stage in the yellow jersey.
