If Jeannie Longo gave women’s cycling its letters of nobility in France for many years, it is clear that since her retirement the world of cycling had not been able to perpetuate her heritage. The new formula of the Tour de France which starts on Sunday July 24 from Paris could well change the situation.
Organized by ASO, like the Men’s Tour, this new eight-stage competition bound for Alsace finally promises to put women riders in the spotlight. For the first time, women’s cycling has the right to a major competition, broadcast live under the same conditions as men’s cycling, without another race overshadowing it.
A shorter competition than the men but more spectacular
The competition, whose direction has been entrusted to Marion Rousse, former French champion and commentator of the Men’s Tour on France Télévisions since 2017, is intended to be shorter than that of the men: 8 stages against 21, but above all more compact with the possibility of reverse the general classification at each event. In particular this final which will be played in the now legendary Super Planche des Belles Filles in Alsace on July 31st.
– ASO
The steps not to miss
Unlike the men’s Tour de France which can alternate dantesque stages in the mountains with plain courses more conducive to siesta, the women’s Tour de France will have a test that promises suspense every day. After a start from the Champs-Elysées, the 3rd Champagne stage or the 4th stage to Bar-sur-Aube could already allow one of the favorites to get their hands on the yellow jersey.
But everything could be turned upside down in the last two stages. Especially during the 7th and penultimate stage with its three difficulties which will allow the strongest runners to create the gap. And again the next day during the last stage with an explosive final in the Super Planche des Belles Filles. Everything could also be decided in the last kilometers in the competition to know who will win the first edition of this new version of the Women’s Tour.
A competition that comes from afar
Other attempts have already taken place in the past, such as La Course by le Tour, from 2014 to 2021 where only one stage of the men’s Tour was contested by the riders each year. This time, no men’s competition and all the events broadcast on television. Ditto on the bonus side with more than 250,000 euros which will be paid to cyclists throughout the race.
A real consecration for this women’s sport, too long left in the shadows and which has experienced a tremendous rise in recent years, particularly in the professionalization of female runners in conditions, admittedly still far from men, but allow a greater number of live from their profession.
This is the clearly assumed objective of Marion Rousse, director of the competition. “Make women’s cycling on TV not a curiosity but normality“, she said in an interview with AFP last May. For this former champion of France who left the practice of her sport, unable to live decently, the important thing will be “media impact” brought by the organization of ASO which will allow the runners to have more “financial stability” and Pallow wages to rise“.
Marion Rousse also believes that women’s cycling has undergone a real revolution in recent years. “In six years, it has nothing to do. In WorldTeams teams, a minimum salary has been introduced (27,500 euros per year in 2022, 32,100 next year, editor’s note). Before, apart from three or four paid girls who fought among themselves, the others, like me, we had to work on the side. There was a big level difference. she explains.
This new women’s Tour de France is therefore eagerly awaited by women’s cycling and could mark the beginning of better parity with men, as can be the case in tennis or athletics. It is above all thanks to this type of major event that professional teams will be able to continue to structure themselves. A sign that things are changing quickly, many of the teams (Arkea, BikeExchange, Cofidis, DSM, FDJ, Jumbo, Lotto, Movistar, Trek) are now backed by the elite formations of the men’s peloton and interactions are increasing.