Tour de France Femmes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the men's race, see Tour de France.
Tour de France Femmes
Tour de France Femmes logo.jpg
Race details
RegionFrance
DisciplineRoad
TypeStage race
OrganiserAmaury Sport Organization
Race directorMarion Rousse
Web sitewww.letourfemmes.fr Edit this at Wikidata
History
First edition2022
Editions1

The Tour de France Femmes is a women's cycle stage race around France. It is organised by Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), which also runs the Tour de France.

Historic French races[]

Main article: Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale

Various professional women's cycle stage races across France have been held as an equivalent to the Tour de France for women, with the first of these races staged as a one off in 1955.[1] From 1989, a women's Tour de France was staged consistently, although the name of the event changed several times - such as Tour of the EEC Women, Tour Cycliste Féminin and Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale.[1][2]

Over the years, the races struggled with various issues including financial difficulties, limited media coverage and trademark difficulties with Amaury Sport Organisation (the organisers of the Tour de France).[1][3][4] The last of these races took place in 2009, with Emma Pooley joking that the race was "more of a Petite Boucle than Grande."[5]

La Course by Le Tour de France[]

Main article: La Course by Le Tour de France

Following criticism by the professional women's peloton and campaigners such as Kathryn Bertine regarding the lack of a women's Tour de France,[6][7] the organisers of the Tour de France (ASO) launched La Course by Le Tour de France in 2014.[8][9] This race would be held in conjunction with the Tour de France, with the first edition taking place as a one-day race on the Champs-Élysées in advance of the final stage of the men's race. In subsequent years, the race took place in a variety of locations such as Pau, Col de la Colombière and Col d'Izoard in conjunction with the men's race, as the ASO argued that this was the "best way to shine a light on female cycling".[8][10]

The race was initially praised for the exposure gained by 'sharing the stage' with the Tour de France, however La Course was criticised for not being a "full Tour de France", being overshadowed by the men's race and not having a challenging enough parcours.[10][11][12][13] ASO were also criticised for not doing enough to promote the race.[13][14] ASO stated that logistical issues mean that a men's and women's Tour de France would not be able to be staged simultaneously,[9] and that any race must be financially sustainable.[13][15]

Tour de France Femmes[]

In June 2021, ASO announced that they would launch a new women's stage race, Tour de France Femmes. The 8 day race would take place after the 2022 Tour de France in July 2022, with the first stage taking place on the Champs-Élysées. ASO also announced that Zwift would sponsor the race, with live television coverage provided by France Télévisions in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union.[16][17] The men's tour director, Christian Prudhomme stated that lessons must be learned from the failure of previous events like the Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale,[4] and the goal of ASO is to have a financially sustainable event, one "that will still exist in 100 years".[3]

The reaction from the professional women's peloton was overwhelmingly positive,[18] with Anna van der Breggen stating that it has "long been a dream for many of us to compete in a women's Tour de France"[19] and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig stating that "this is a day that we’ve waited for, for a long time".[20]

In October 2021, the route of the 2022 edition was announced by race director Marion Rousse, with the 8 day race culminating in a summit finish at La Planche des Belles Filles.[18]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c Frattini, Kirsten (2020-12-16). "La Grande Boucle, La Course and the return of the women's Tour de France". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  2. ^ Lafon, Cathy (2021-10-14). "Le saviez-vous? Le premier Tour de France féminin fut organisé par un journaliste originaire de Périgueux, en 1955". Sud Ouest (in French). ISSN 1760-6454. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  3. ^ a b Pretot, Julien (2021-10-14). "Cycling-Women's Tour de France organisers hoping the race will live long". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  4. ^ a b "Tour de France organisers reveal women's race will be revived in 2022". the Guardian. 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  5. ^ Simon Richardson (2009-06-19). "Pooley wins first stage of Grande Boucle". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
  6. ^ "Women's Tour manifesto published". BBC Sport. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 2022-02-15. More than 93,000 have signed a petition by the group, led by cyclist and writer Kathryn Bertine, World Ironman champion Chrissie Wellington, and cyclists Marianne Vos and Emma Pooley.
  7. ^ Macur, Juliet (2014-07-26). "Women as Athletes, Not Accessories, at Least for a Day". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  8. ^ a b "La Course by Le Tour de France: everything you need to know". BikeRadar. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  9. ^ a b "La Course to showcase women's cycling". BBC Sport. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  10. ^ a b "Polarized opinions remain on La Course". VeloNews.com. 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  11. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten unhappy with 'step back' for women's La Course race". Cyclist. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  12. ^ Richardson, Hollie (2019-06-24). "The lack of women's Tour de France proves sexism in sports". Stylist. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  13. ^ a b c "Why is there no women's Tour de France?". BBC Sport. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  14. ^ "LET THEM RACE | THE CASE FOR A WOMEN'S TOUR DE FRANCE". . Retrieved 15 February 2022. But, if you ask many of the elite racers at La Course, the women’s race feels like a parade compared to the grandeur of the Tour de France the men take for granted.
  15. ^ Ballinger, Alex (2019-02-05). "Women's Tour de France alongside men's race 'impossible', says director Christian Prudhomme". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  16. ^ "THE TOUR DE FRANCE LAUNCHES THE TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES AVEC ZWIFT - Tour de France 2022". www.letour.fr. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  17. ^ David, Maria (2021-10-15). "Tour de France Femmes: A jewel that we must cherish, says Marion Rousse". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  18. ^ a b "The women's peloton reacts to the Tour de France Femmes route". CyclingTips. 2021-10-14. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  19. ^ "La Course by Le Tour de France: springboard towards women's Tour de France". UCI. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  20. ^ Benson, Daniel (2021-10-14). "Uttrup Ludwig: Racing Tour de France Femmes will make us part of history". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2022-02-15.

Further reading[]

Retrieved from ""