Stage 4 Favorites for the Tour de France Femmes 2024 | GC battle or hill chaos in Limburg and Liège?

Wednesday's stage promises a spectacular ride, featuring iconic climbs from both the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. It’s not often we see a stage like this, so it’s bound to be an exciting afternoon! Early on, the riders will tackle the triple ascent of Bemelerberg-Cauberg-Geulhemmerberg, which will likely set the stage for the breakaway. After the second climb of the Bemelerberg, a long middle section leads up to Mont Theux. The real test begins with three major climbs from the Belgian spring classic—La Redoute, Les Forges, and Roche-aux-Faucons. Expect some big names to struggle here! The stage concludes with a descent into Liège.

Climbs
6.6 km - Bemelerberg (1.3 km at 4.9%)
12.8 km - Cauberg (0.7 km at 8%)
17.8 km - Geulhemmerberg (1.1 km at 5.1%)
23.4 km - Bemelerberg (1.3 km at 4.9%)
74.8 km - Mont Theux (2.8 km at 5.6%)
88.8 km - Cote de la Redoute (1.6 km at 9.4%)
99.6 km - Cote des Forges (1.3 km at 7.8%)
109.4 km - Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3 km at 11%)

Times
Start: 12:40 PM
Finish: around 5:15 PM

The weather for the coming days is expected to be a bit more unpredictable compared to the warm conditions of the earlier stages. In Liège, where the stage finishes, temperatures will range between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, with cloudy skies. There might be a brief shower, but it’s unlikely to be much.

Given the stage profile, it's easy to draw comparisons to Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The finale includes the same climbs as La Redoute and Roche-aux-Faucons. With Lotte Kopecky and Elisa Longo Borghini not starting in Valkenburg, more attention will be on the GC contenders and hill specialists who are competing.

Demi Vollering stands out. The Dutch rider had a challenging spring but has been steadily finding her form in the early summer. She will face tough competition from fellow Dutchwoman Marianne Vos in Wednesday's stage. And let’s not forget Grace Brown, who won the Belgian one-day race earlier this year.

In the second tier, there are several riders who could do well on a good day. What about Puck Pieterse? However, she has already mentioned that she won’t have a central role from her team in this Tour. Elisa Balsamo could be a dangerous contender if she survives the hills around Liège, and Kasia Niewiadoma had a strong spring, winning La Flèche Wallonne.

Other dark horse favorites include Pfeiffer Georgi, who will want to continue the upward trend for dsm-firmenich PostNL, Kristen Faulkner, who has momentum as the Olympic champion, and Riejanne Markus, who will be aiming to stay at the front to defend her GC ambitions.

Top Favorite: Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime)
Outsiders: Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing), Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Long Shots: Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), Kristen Faulkner (EF-Oatly-Cannondale)