The team heads to the south of France for the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées from June 13 through 15, their final stage race before the Giro d’Italia Women and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
With two hilly stages on either side of a mountaintop finish, Pyrénées favors climbers and punchy rouleurs.
Mona Mitterwallner returns to racing with the team after a successful period with her MTB team and is joined by Marit Raaijmakers, who scored seventh and eighth-place stage finishes in Catalunya. They’re joined by workhorses Wiktoria Pikulik and Yurani Blanco – who finsished third on GC here in 2024.
The arrival climb of the Col du Solour on stage 2 is a legend of the Pyrénées, a mountain range famed for its steep climbs. It could be decisive for the final GC, but the hilly routes on either side are just as exciting and promote all-action racing.
How to watch
USA
Max with via the B/R Sports Add-On
Stages 1 & 2 from 7:45 am ET / 6:45 am CT / 5:45 am MT / 4:45 am PT
Stage 3 from 8:00 am ET / 7:00 am CT / 6:00 am MT / 5:00 am PT
UK
TNT Sports/Discovery+
Stages 1 & 2 from 12:45 BST
Stage 3 from 13:00 BST
Europe
Eurosport/Discovery+
Stages 1 & 2 from 13:45 CET
Stage 3 from 14:00 CET
Climber Mona Mitterwallner comes to the Pyrénées for another round of racing. In the spring, she raced a slate of one-day Classics and scored her first-ever road podium at the Grand Prix Féminin de Chambéry.
“I’m excited to show what I’m capable of on a mountain finish,” Mitterwallner said of her ambitions. “I want to prove to myself that I can get a result on the skinny tires. I hope I have the legs and I can transfer some MTB power to the road racing.”
The 23-year-old returns to the road after two Whoop UCI MTB World Series races with Mondraker Factory Racing, where she won the Nové Město Olympic XC round and finished fourth in her home short track XC event in Leogang, Austria.
“I can’t even put into words how big of a confidence boost Nové Město was. It gave me more faith in my routines, preparations, and intuition,” she explains. “People said it wasn’t a course for me, and I just wanted to race, so winning was a great thrill.”
Coming off the back of a few MTB races, Mitterwallner is excited to put her skillset to the test.
“Transferrable skills equal confidence in racing no matter the bike,” she says. “Once I have confidence, I know I can descend and climb well, and I feel more at one with my bike.”
These skills will certainly come into play on the stage 2 mountain finish up the Col du Soulor.
“I’ve looked at stage 2 quite a bit, where my main focus will be. It’s a 1,000-meter climb at the end from approximately 400 meters to 1,400 meters,” she explains. “My interval climb at home is from 600 to 1,600, so it’s pretty similar. I’m looking forward to it and hope the team and I are strong for it and it all comes together.”
Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées Stage by Stage
6/13 Stage 1 | Arzacq-Arraziguet – Barbazan-Debat (112.6 km) Hilly
There’s no hiding even in the foothills of the Pyrénées with stage 1 climbing up after two kilometers. A steady plateau holds four intermediate sprints before a categorized kicker and a climb in the finale. Two kilometers at 3.9% with a dragging run-in, the Pietat may see a decisive move go as it tops out 6 km from the line.
6/14 Stage 2 | Trie sur Baïse – Col du Soulor (134.6 km) High Mountains
Stage 2 is where the race may well be won or lost. After a rolling morning, the race comes to the foot of the Col du Solour. It begins with 6.5 km of climbing at 5.6% before a plateau leads the athletes on to its final pitch of 7.3 km at 8.1%. With a length comparable to the Coll de Pal race-decider in last week’s Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, this is one for pure mountain goats.
6/15 Stage 3 | Abidos – Pau (127.8 km) Hilly
We’re back in the foothills for the final stage. With a total of 2,262 meters of elevation gain, seven categorized climbs, plenty of rolling roads and a final 500-meter stretch at 5.5% in Pau. The stage requires a blend of climbing nous, stamina, resistance, and explosivity.
The squad also remains in Belgium for the weekend and heads to Dwars Door het Hageland on June 14.
