27/08/2026
At 1:30am this Friday, Victoria Stansfield will pedal away from her home in Chamonix, and into the unknown. “I’ve never ridden in the dark before,” she smiles, talking to Cycling Weekly over video call. “I don’t even own lights. I’ve had to buy them.”
It’s a surprising admission from the best female gran fondo racer in the world right now. This summer, Stansfield won the 177km Marmotte in the French Alps in record time, as well as the Étape du Tour de France and Étape du Tour de France Femmes – three of the most iconic sportives in the circuit. Now, she’s less than 24 hours away from her biggest challenge yet: La Dame Blanche.
It’s an idea she conjured up herself. The name comes from French folklore and means ‘The White Lady’, the female spirit of the mountains. Stansfield’s plan is to cycle 330km around Mont Blanc, and then immediately line up to compete at the 171km UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc), the most famous event in trail running.
Nobody has ever done both back to back. In total, the challenge counts 501km, and more than 18,000m of climbing, split 8,300m on the bike, and 10,000m on the run. “My goal is to do it all in 50 hours,” Stansfield says.
Read the full interview through the link in the comments.
(Photo: A.S.O/Bastien Seon)
