Writer Lucy Gornall took to the mountains this summer for a once-in-a-lifetime cycling experience at the Tour de France Femmes.

When I signed up for a cycling trip in the French Alps, I didn’t really know what I was signing up for. Naive, I know, but I figured it would mean a few steep hills, plenty of chances to top up my tan as I casually ride through serene mountain villages, stopping occasionally for a croissant and a selfie! However, I’d actually signed up (along with two others) to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift Challenge, which essentially involves riding the final leg of the week-long women’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in the beautiful Alpe d’Huez.

The course itself is a 13.7K uphill climb with 21 hairpin turns. And just hours after the challenge, the professional Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift competitors would be cycling through. But I’m always up for a fitness challenge, so I certainly couldn’t say ‘no’ to this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Steep roads ahead

Just to give you a bit of a background, I’m not a cyclist. I can cycle, and I often use the bike at the gym for interval training when I want to save my knees from running. I like the occasional pootle around Hyde Park, plus hilly mountain biking is pretty fun. But a continuous 14K cycle up a steep road? It’s a new world to me. Oh, and might I add that, prior to this ride, I had never even sat on a road bike – the thin tyres petrify me. So, the thought of riding the final stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift  was exciting, nerve wracking, and a what-am-I-doing moment.

Kate Veronneau, Director of Women’s Strategy at Zwift, told me that 1200 men and women (45 per cent women and 55 per cent men) signed up for this year’s challenge, so it was likely going to be a busy course – not great for Miss Amateur over here! However, the ride itself isn’t a timed competition; instead, you go at your own pace.

‘In 2020, when the pandemic hit, Zwift partnered with the race organisers to host a virtual Tour de France in Zwift, when the real race was postponed. Because we hosted the event in Zwift, we had 100 per cent parity,’ says Veronneau, speaking of the women’s event and Zwift’s virtual support. ‘The virtual event was successful, and led to a conversation about bringing back a proper women’s Tour de France stage race, which hadn’t happened since the 80s. Zwift agreed to come on as title sponsor. This is part of our mission to do everything in our power to grow and elevate women’s cycling.’ In 2022, The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift launched. And here I was, in 2024, getting ready to ride the final leg for myself.

In preparation for my challenge, I spent a few weeks training on the Zwift Ride with Kickr Core  which took a couple of hours to set up but it turned out to be a valuable training tool. I officially became a ‘Zwifter’ as I could actually train on a virtual Alpe d’Huez before riding it in person. This gave me a feel for how hard my legs would have to work up the hills, and I loved the fact that I could ride whenever I fancied as I decided to place my Zwift outside on my balcony. This meant there was zero excuses – I had to get my Alpe d’Huez practice in.

In the saddle

Getting to the Alpe d’Huez, as with any mountain resort, does take a while. After a short early flight to Geneva from London Gatwick, we then rented a car and drove the three hours to Alpe d’Huez, stopping for a light lunch en route.

Upon arrival, after checking into our hotels, we went to pick up our race number and bibs from the start line, and also our bikes which we were renting from a local bike store. My bike was a Wilier 0 SL and it was a pretty slick piece of two-wheeled machinery.

I hopped on my road bike outside, rode 20m and nearly fell off! This made my nerves sky rocket even further as I realised this whole challenge could go very wrong. But, I had an entire evening and night to panic about it, which I did – very well. It wasn’t until after midnight on the night before the ride, that I finally fell asleep after tossing and turning, wondering how on earth I was meant to complete this climb with four limbs intact. Would my travel insurance cover an air ambulance?

Ready to ride

On the morning of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift Challenge, I actually hit the hotel gym for a quick 20-minute treadmill run to shake my legs out. Outside it was torrential rain and thick grey clouds hung in the air. As we were so high in the mountains, we were pretty much nestled within the clouds with limited visibility. This was not the weather we were expecting and all hopes of loading up on vitamin D, and catching a great tan during my ride, went out of the window.

Eggs, toast and ham was on the breakfast menu for me, before kitting myself out in my Zwift Core Bib Shorts, fizik socks and incredibly comfy (for a helmet!) KASK Valegro helmet. Then it was down to the start line in Le Bourg-d’Oisans, where hundreds of cyclists – all in the same colourful jersey – lined up to take on the challenge.

As the route was pretty much entirely on an uphill, I decided to bike in my trainers and avoid the cleats in case I had to stop suddenly. Plus, as an amateur cyclist, I absolutely wasn’t going to ride in cleats. Luckily, the rain had subsided and the sky was just grey. In hindsight, climbing up hills on a bike in the beating sun might not have been too enjoyable.

Before hitting the 13.7K climb, we rode a 7K flat road, which was perfect for me to get used to the bike. Very quickly, I found myself getting comfortable and the thin tyres were no longer so petrifying. During this part, hundreds of cyclists overtook me, but I didn’t want my ego to get the better of me at this stage and so I took my time.

Uphill from here

The start of the actual climb was marked by a very clear 13.7K sign, and throughout, there were regular signs to mark the distance remaining. As well as this, signs indicated how many hairpin turns were left to manoeuvre around. As it turns out, this number goes down very slowly.

Through the climb, silence hung in the air as people panted their way uphill. This constant incline certainly isn’t for the faint hearted, but I was eternally grateful for all the strength training I do as my legs were strangely OK.

Amid the silence, small cheering groups were scattered on a number of the hair pin corners and shouts of ‘ale! Ale!” (Go! Go! In French) were heard throughout. Plus, in preparation for the big event later that day, many people had used chalk to write down the names of their favourite competitors across the road. The cheers became even more prominent during the final 5K and it was exhilarating riding past people. My cycling confidence by this point had also soared and I hurriedly tried to overtake as many people as possible.

The finish line, in preparation for the main event later, was filled with people cheering, and throughout the final 200m stretch, you couldn’t hear yourself think, what with all the whistling, clapping and shouting. Crossing the line felt great and after a quick selfie (of course) I rejoined my group and we quickly began recounting our experience.

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Reason to celebrate

The whole challenge took me one hour 37 minutes, but Veronneau said that the quickest time was under an hour – significantly different to my time.

Around three hours later, by which point I’d showered, stretched out my hips and legs, and vowed not to sit on a saddle for at least two days, we returned to the finish line (which was now even busier) to cheer on the pro women. They soared past and the winner of the climb itself, Demi Vollering, completed it in an impressive 49 minutes and 40 seconds.

The overall winner of the  Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift  was a seriously powerful Katarzyna Niewiadoma.

Despite feeling tired from my morning ride, I threw myself into the festivities, cheering loudly for the pros who inspired me to want to take up cycling more seriously.

The next morning, waking up on a high, I found myself browsing ‘road bikes’ online, excited to continue my biking journey.

Tips from the top

Keen to hop on the bike and add cycling to your fitness repertoire? I asked Veronneau to suggest some tips for women who want to get into cycling.

“Firstly, head over to your local bike shop and see if there are any women’s or beginner’s rides that you can take part in. Check the internet, too, to get tips and tricks, such as those from Katie Kookaburra and ClippedInandFree.”

Veronneau also recommends checking out British Cycling as it’s a great resource for information and events! “Find a friend. Ask friends and family and get on social media and connect with a more experienced cyclist to ask questions.”

As for the popularity of women’s cycling, Veronneau explained: “The visibility of this race has unlocked new audiences, new investment, higher salaries and more opportunity for the women’s pro peloton. Most importantly, it’s inspiring the next generation of women cyclists, because if you can see it, you can dream it.”

I couldn’t agree more. All I need to do now is sort out my incredibly painful sit bones.