The power dynamics in the peloton have truly shifted this year, with the former powerhouses of the peloton no longer exercising the control they once did, and new teams emerging to take over the mantle and upsetting the hierarchies of old. 

That was especially evident at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift last week. A team that had never before won the yellow jersey were crowned overall victors, while another outside of the peloton’s familiar superpowers held onto the jersey for much of the race.

Now the dust has settled, we look back and assess how all 22 teams competing at the race fared. 

AG Insurance-Soudal 8 / 10

Never in their six-year history have AG Insurance-Soudal had such exposure in world cycling. Kim Le Court’s stage win and four days in the yellow jersey made them the centre of attention in the peloton during the middle-phase of the race, while Sarah Gigante was unleashed on the Col de la Madeline to finish second and move up to second overall. The only downside was Gigante’s troublesome descending, which saw her slide off the podium and into sixth overall on the final day. 

Arkéa - B&B Hotels 5 / 10

It was a very quiet race for Arkéa - B&B Hotels, with Titia Ryo’s second place in the youth classification their only result of note. As a team based in Brittany, they will have savoured the atmosphere riding in front of home crowds during the Grand Départ. 

Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto 7 / 10

Repeating last year’s thrilling overall victory was always going to be a tall order for Canyon-SRAM, and so they can still be happy that Kasia Niewiadoma managed to seal a podium finish with third on GC. The defending champion was typically consistent throughout the race, placing between third and ninth in all but two of the stages, but a stage win eluded her and the rest of the team. 

Ceratiit 3 / 10

Ceratiit didn’t really have the roster to compete at this Tour, Sarah Van Dam’s tenth-place at the stage four bunch sprint their only top ten result in the race. 

Cofidis 5 / 10

There wasn’t much to write home about for the local wildcard entry, their most notable involvement being fighting for the white jersey, which Julie Bego eventually ceded to Nienke Vinke after six days wearing it. 

EF Education-Oatly 6 / 10

Given the heroics of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Maeva Squiban, the French home star from last year’s Tour, Cédrine Kerbaol, went much more under the radar this time. EF Education-Oatly’s leader did still manage to take second-place behind Squiban on the stage to Chambéry, then climbed up fifth overall after a strong ride up the Madeleine, only to fall back down to eighth after a badly-timed crash on the final day.

Fenix-Dececuninck 6 / 10

Having made a real show of strength during stage seven, setting the pace that dropped Kim Le Court in the yellow jersey, Fenix-Dececuninck must be disappointed by how Pauliena Rooijakkers’s GC bid fizzled out. After initially following the moves and looking set for a podium challenge, she faded on the all-important Madeline climb, then lost more time the final day to slide down to ninth overall.  

FDJ Suez 8 / 10

With Juliette Labous and  Évita Muzic joining Demi Vollering in the top ten in seventh and tenth respectively, and Elise Chabbey winning the Queen of the Mountains classification, there can be little doubt that FDJ Suez were the strongest team at the Tour. But they couldn’t find a way to utilise that strength to defeat Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and Vollering had to make do with another runner-up finish. 

Human Powered Health 4 / 10

Barbara Malcotti wasn’t quite able to repeat her top ten performance from the Giro d’Italia, instead settling for thirteenth overall in this stronger field, while Ruth Ewards’ third-place on stage seven was the closest the team came to delivering a stage win. 

Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi 3 / 10

The Basque outfit got riders into the break, but struggled to pull off high stage finishes,  Ane Santesteban’s fifteenth on the final day the best they could manage. 

Lidl-Trek 6 / 10

Attempts at landing a stage win were thwarted, Shirin van Anrooij’s fourth-place at Chambéry the best they could manage after star sprinter Elisa Balsamo dropped out of the race. But there was success in the GC race, as Niamh Fisher-Black stepped up to the leadership role with aplomb, improving as the race went on to finish fifth overall. 

Liv AlUla Jayco 7 / 10

Transforming adversity into opportunity, Mavi García picked herself up after crashing out of GC contention on the opening day to break clear from the group of favourites the very next day and claim a memorable stage win. Even if he had managed to avoid that crash and ride for a higher GC finish than the twelfth-place ultimately delivered by teammate Ella Wyllie, it would not have been as fruitful for the team as that one triumphant win.

Movistar 1 / 10

A race that promised so much began disastrously, and the team never recovered. GC leader Marlen Reusser dropped out during the opening stage unable to ride through her illness, and after that only a couple of top five finishes for Liane Lippert was the best they could manage.  

Picnic-PostNL 5 / 10

There was no repeat of Charlotte Kool’s two-stage haul from last year, after the injured sprinter pulled out after the opening stage, and the best result they could manage in her absence was fourth for Megan Jastrab on stage three. Still, they did make it onto the podium thanks to 21-year-old Nienke Vike’s victory in the young rider’s classification. 

Roland Le Dévoluy 3 / 10

This was a mostly anonymous outing for Roland Le Dévoluy, whose red jerseys weren’t spotted in the breakaways, and narrowly missed out on a top ten stage finish with two eleventh-places for Kaja Rysz in the sprints. 

SD Worx - Protime 6 / 10

For a team that has over the years grown so accustomed to dominating cycling, this year’s Tour de France was a humbling experience for SD Worx - Protime. Injury prevented their leader Lotte Kopecky from having an impact on the race, while despite spirited performances throughout the race, Anna van der Breggen found herself unable to keep up with this new generation on the high mountains. Lorena Wiebes was their salvation, claiming two wins and the green jersey. 

St. Michel–Preference Home–Auber9 4 / 10

Expectations were low for the wildcard French entry, for whom the Tour is a big step up, and they were down two riders by day three after they failed to make the time cut. But this was a plucky performance, and Alicia González landed them a ninth place finish on stage four. 

UAE Team ADQ 8 / 10

This could have been a disastrous Tour de France for UAE Team ADQ, after a virus that took out leader Elisa Longo Borghini threatened to take out the rest of their line-up. Instead, their roster of younger, less established riders relayed magnificently, Maeva Squiban becoming an overnight star with successive stage victories, and Dominika Włodarczyk catching everyone by surprise by climbing to fourth overall. 

Uno-X Mobility 2 / 10

This was a brutal race for Uno-X Mobility, who finished it with just two of the original line-up of seven who started it. GC leader  Katrine Aalerud was one of those to abandon, leaving the race while promisingly poised in eleventh overall, while the best stage finish they managed was eighth for Linda Zanetti on the stage four sprint. 

Visma-Lease a Bike 10 / 10

From Marianne Vos taking yellow with an opening day victory, to Pauline Ferrand-Prévot triumphing in that same jersey on the finale in the Alps, this was a perfect race for Visma-Lease a Bike. Ferrand-Prévot riding away from everyone on the Col de la Madeleine to thousands of cheering fans will be the most enduring memory of their race, and proved their signing of her ahead of her return to road cycling this season to be a masterstroke.

VolkerWessels 6 / 10

Young Dutchwoman Eline Jansen ensured the wildcard team were involved in the bench finishes, sprinting for an eight, seventh and fourth, while  Margot Vanpachtenbeke ensured it wasn’t just a one-woman effort by contributing a sixth place finish on stage six. 

Winspace Orange Seal 4 / 10

Competing at their first Tour de France, Winspace Orange Seal learned the hard way how combative and tense this race can be when three of their riders crashed on the opening day. They soldiered on, however, with all but one of their roster making it to the finish, while Nadia Gontova managed to finish 23rd overall.