“It will be hard. It’s not a long race, but when you have the exposure that it gets, teams want to showcase the sport in the best way possible. I believe the climb will be raced hard, but I don’t think it will have the ability to completely destroy the field as it’s a long way to the finish where it can come back together. It can be an aggressive race that can favour a small breakaway or also come down to a sprint with around half of the peloton,” Tiffany Cromwell describes the 2020 La Course by Le Tour de France.

The Australian 32 year old will be riding in her European home backyard on Saturday 29 August when she lines up with CANYON//SRAM Racing for the UCI Women’s WorldTour race in Nice, France. Joining Cromwell will be Alena Amialiusik, Hannah Barnes, Kasia Niewiadoma, Omer Shapira and 2019 CANYON//SRAM Zwift Academy winner, Jess Pratt.

“It’s a course with a little bit of everything: it starts with a 7km stair step climb, that’s not super difficult but for sure can cause some chaos. After that you have about a 7km false flat into Aspremont before a technical descent down into the valley. Then, it’s a straight and long big road back to the coast, typically a headwind here. Finally, you head along the picturesque Promenade des Anglais through the finish and then repeat one more time,” explained Cromwell.

The parcours has received both criticism and approval by different riders in the peloton, though Cromwell expects a good battle for the 96km race.

“I think it’s good that we have some form of a platform that receives the massive exposure that you get with the Tour De France. Sure it’s only one day, but I also like that they continually change the parcours over the years. Different types of riders have the opportunity to win this race and not just making it a sprinters or climbers race, year in year out”

Having only her second race of the season re-start, Cromwell is optimistic to play a key role in the race.

“My personal goal is to race hard and aggressively within the team’s plans. I know the roads and I believe I can get around the course. I would like to have a crack and be part of the race at the pointy end.”

Cromwell’s compatriot, Jess Pratt will have her second race at the Women’s WorldTour level for CANYON//SRAM Racing after previously racing the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race with the team in February,

“I am super excited to be racing La Course, such a significant race on the women’s calendar due to the exposure the race receives. After 2.5 weeks in Spain, I’m settling in and training has been going well. I know I can have a strong contribution to the team and I’m aiming to build on my performance at La Perigord. Of course I’ll have nerves, but I’ll try to use them positively,” said Pratt.

La Course by Le Tour de France starts at 10:05CEST on Saturday 29 August, and can be followed on Twitter with #UCIWWT and with a host of live broadcasters around the globe to be found in the image below, or here on the official website.

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