If you look closely, its a Classic every day, said race director Marion Rousse of the route for next summers Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. All nine stages, from Leeds in Yorkshire to Frances Puy de Dme, were unveiled in a ceremony inside Pariss Palais des Congrs on Thursday. Those in attendance wooed at the highlights stage twos mini Lige-Bastogne-Lige through the Peak District, the following days London team time trial, the closing Queen stages volcanic finale and the excitement was justified: this is a route that promises surprise and suspense. And yet, the finale may be a damp squib. In each of the previous five editions of the Tour de France Femmes, the organisers have built the route around fabled climbs of old. They ticked off the Col du Tourmalet in 2023, Alpe dHuez in 2024, the Col de la Madeleine in 2025, and this summer, the most mythic of them all, Mont Ventoux. Next years route dodges both the Pyrenees and the Alps, and is designed instead towards a crescendo on the Puy de Dme, the volcano that towers over Clermont-Ferrand. At 170km with 3,840m elevation, the final stage is perhaps the only true mountain stage of the race. Its here that the yellow jersey will be decided. Its also a stage that risks being a flop for the fans. I was on the Puy de Dme in 2023 when the mens race returned to the mound after 35 years. Why had it taken them so long? The area is protected as a Unesco World Heritage site. As such, its final four-or-so kilometres, a twisting road barely four metres wide that towers over Clermont-Ferrand, is closed year-round to cyclists. When the Tour went back three years ago, it did so on one condition: there would be no fans on the volcano. Journalists and photographers had to apply in advance for a pass to report from the top. I watched the race from the car park 5km from the summit, where security bodies stood firm to turn people back, and guard the nature behind them. Fans weren't allowed at the top of the Puy de Dme during the men's race in 2023. (Image credit: Getty Images)As everyone in the sport will tell you, its the fans that make cycling. That stage, won by Michael Woods, was proof of that. With nobody at the road side, it made for an eerie and soulless ascent. I fear it could be similarly underwhelming for the womens race next August. Its up to the Puy de Dme department to decide with us, Rousse said of the fan logistics, but were looking into having people at the finish. Were talking about between 3,000 and 4,000 spectators at the summit, because its our final stage with the podium ceremony at the summit. We also need to preserve this climb. Four thousand fans are better than none, but that number pales in comparison to the crowds this race deserves. There may have been 10 times that on Mont Ventoux this summer. Time trial conundrumReusser won the time trial at the Tour de France Femmes this August. (Image credit: Getty Images)As well as the final six stages, the details of stage threes team time trial were also announced on Thursday. Rousse's list of landmarks included on the the 18km central London course made her sound as if she was reading out the place names on a Monopoly board: Downing Street, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St Pauls Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park, and the Mall. It's so central it made a Frenchman sat behind me in Thursdays ceremony gasp. Trs styl, very cool he said under his breath. This team time trial, naturally, comes at the expense of an individual one, which has been dropped from the course for 2027. The decision was made made to show off the team element of the sport (and undoubtedly to keep Londons roads closed for less time), but it may take some of the sting out of the general classification. Lets not forget that this summers ITT in Dijon shook up the contenders; it catapulted Marlen Reusser into yellow, ruled Pauline Ferrand-Prvot out of the running, and gave Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney something to chase. It ended up being one of the most important stages. Reusser, present at the route presentation, was understandably disappointed about the omission. I think its missing an individual time trial, the world champion said. A team one is cool its my favourite discipline but its very different for making gaps in the general classification. As for the other days, theres a lot for the stage hunters to get excited about. Stage two from Leeds to Sheffield, with seven categorised climbs including Winnats Pass and Snake Pass, is Grand Dpart GB managing director Paul Bushs favourite its wonderful, isnt it? and could see early GC blows. Stages five and seven, too, should draw out a fight. The former boasts the Classics-style recipe Rousse likes to cook up, while the latter brings the routes first uphill finish to La Loge des Gardes. The big question, though, is: will we have a similarly close GC fight as last year? Ahead of the final day in Nice, Niewiadoma trailed the eventual winner Vollering by just eight seconds. Rousse and her organising team expect tension until the end. But it may be an anticlimax if there are few fans on the Puy to see it.