The Tour de France Femmes begins in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday - but it's the race's first ascent of the iconic Mont Ventoux that is really exciting fans. Riders will cover 1,175km across nine stages - the most since the event returned to the World Tour calendar as a stage race in 2022. That includes the stage-seven slog up one of the most iconic climbs in the sport's history - to the telecommunications and meteorological tower on the top of Provence's Mont Ventoux. "I've climbed Mont Ventoux quite a lot in the past," said the Frenchwoman. "But also since I've known it will be in the Tour de France, I went there quite a few times."