Pre-event emotion has been aired and shared. Start line nerves have dissipated. Early jerseys have been decided. And the general vibe around women's cycling is at an all-time high. So what, specifically, can we expect in the second of the eight stages?
1. More of a focus on the actual racing
Given the long lead-up to, and anticipation of, the Tour de France Femmes, the eight-stage event has finally begun. The number one thing to look forward to tonight is more of a focus on the racing itself; the tactics, sprints, strength, celebrations, heartbreak, aggression, canny teamwork and all-out attacks. Boom!
2. A pancake-flat stage, except where it isn't
Tonight's stage takes riders on a 135km L-shaped route from Meaux, just outside of Paris, to Provins, south-east of the famous French capital. The undulating terrain suits the Puncheuses - riders who are strong on rolling-but-never-too-steep-for-too-long stages, who can unleash a powerful sprint when it counts.
Expect a fight for the Queen of the Mountains points on offer at the top of this small summit. The honour of wearing the polka-dot jersey means an awful lot to a generation of cyclists who have been campaigning their entire professional careers for a multi-stage women's Tour de France.
3. An all-out uphill sprint finish
The stage finishes with a 900-metre climb with an average gradient of 4.1 per cent: a lung-busting, hurt-fest of a finish that will reward a sprinter who gets excited about climbs unless a breakaway has gotten there first. While tonight's stage doesn't suit the 'pure' sprinters as well as Stage 1, last night's winner Lorena Wiebes (DSM) will do whatever she can to hold on to the yellow jersey.
4. Aggressive, tactical racing
The only thing more sure than the fact that Wiebes and her team will be doing everything they can to keep the yellow jersey is that every other team will be doing everything within their power to take it from her.
With smaller teams than in the men's Tour, shorter stages, and fewer of them, riders will seize every chance to win points, a stage or a jersey. These same factors mean more aggressive, tactical racing, often at a higher intensity (and average heart rate) than the men.
Learning more about how these different tactics play out during the mid and post-stage analyses is something to look forward to as well.
5. Feeling good from more feel-good interviews
"It's amazing!" "It's incredible!" "I'm so happy!"
While the racing will be fierce in its own right, the bigger picture perspective of what this Tour represents will not be lost on the 2022 peloton. This will mean bad days are still good days, good days are even better days and a sense of perspective will never be far away.
With the women's Tour picking up right as the men's Tour finished off, and offering more surprises and delight from all things cycling to dine out on, there really is no better way to keep Post-Tour Withdrawal Syndrome at bay... at least for another week!
Watch Stage 2 from 10:15pm (AEST) on the SBS SKODA Tour Tracker. The SBS and SBS On Demand broadcast starts at 10:30pm (AEST).
