Some teams and media have referred to the race as a 'Grand Tour', as it is one of the biggest events on the women's calendar.[1][2] However, the race does not meet the UCI definition of such an event.[3][4]
After a one off event in 1955, an equivalent race to the Tour de France for women was held under different names between 1984 and 2009. Over the years, these races struggled with financial difficulties, limited media coverage, sexism, and trademark issues with the organisers of the Tour de France. Following criticism by campaigners and the professional women's peloton, a one/two day race (La Course by Le Tour de France) was held between 2014 and 2021, and Tour de France Femmes staged its first edition in 2022.[5]
The race takes place in July after the men's tour, with the 2022-2024 editions of the race featuring eight stages.
All stages are timed to the finish; the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times.[6] The rider with the lowest cumulative finishing times is the leader of the race and wears the yellow jersey (maillot jaune).[6][7] While the general classification garners the most attention, there are other contests held within the Tour: the points classification for the sprinters, the mountains classification for the climbers, young rider classification for riders under the age of 23, and the team classification, based on the first three finishers from each team on each stage.[6] Achieving a stage win also provides prestige, often accomplished by a team's sprint specialist or a rider taking part in a breakaway.
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.[8][9] From 1984,[10] a women's Tour de France was staged consistently, although the name of the event changed several times – such as Tour de France Féminin, Tour of the EEC Women, Tour Cycliste Féminin and Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale.[8][11] French rider Jeannie Longo won the 1987, 1988 and 1989 editions of the race, gaining fame in the process.[9]
Over the years, these races struggled with financial difficulties, limited media coverage, sexism and trademark issues with the organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (the organisers of the Tour de France).[8][12][13][14] The last of these races took place in 2009, with Emma Pooley joking that the race was "more of a Petite Boucle than Grande."[15]
Following substantial media coverage, and a petition signed by over 100,000 people,[17] ASO launched La Course by Tour de France in 2014.[18][19] 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".[18][20]
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.[20][21][22][23] ASO were also criticised for not doing enough to promote the race,[23][24] as well as not providing facilities for the women's peloton at the 2017 edition.[25]
Pushing back on criticism, ASO stated that logistical issues mean that a men's and women's Tour de France would not be able to be staged simultaneously,[26] and that any race must be financially sustainable.[23][27]
In June 2021, ASO announced that they would launch a new women's stage race, Tour de France Femmes. The first edition[5] would take place over 8 days, following the 2022 Tour de France in July 2022. ASO also announced that Zwift would sponsor the race, with live television coverage provided by France Télévisions in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union.[28][29] 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,[13] and the goal of ASO is to have a financially sustainable event, one "that will still exist in 100 years".[12]
The reaction to the launch of the event from the professional women's peloton was overwhelmingly positive,[30] 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"[31] and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig stating that "this is a day that we’ve waited for, for a long time".[32]
The race has identical classifications to the Tour de France, with the yellow jersey for the general classification, the green jersey for the points classification, the polka dot jersey for the mountains classification, and the white jersey for the young rider (under 23) classification.[33][34] The jerseys are made by Santini.[33] Main sponsor Zwift have stated that the success of the women's 'virtual Tour de France' during the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged them to commit to sponsoring the race,[35] with other major Tour de France sponsors like LCL, E.Leclerc and Škoda also supporting the event.[36] The race has a prize fund of €250,000, making it the richest race in women's cycling.[37][38]
2022 edition
The route of the 2022 edition was announced in October 2021 by race director Marion Rousse. The race started in Paris, with a stage finishing the Champs-Élysées on the morning of the final day of the men's race. The 8 day race culminated in a summit finish at La Planche des Belles Filles.[30]
The first edition of the race took place in July 2022, with Annemiek van Vleuten winning the week long race by nearly 4 minutes, despite suffering from a stomach bug in the early stages of the race.[39]Marianne Vos took the green jersey of the points classification and Demi Vollering took the polka dot jersey of the mountain classification, as well as finishing second overall.[39] The race was highly praised by the public, media, teams and riders – with large crowds and high TV viewership.[40][41][42] As the first official women's Tour de France since 1989, the race enjoyed substantial media coverage around the world.[43][44] Race director Marion Rousse did note that there was room for improvement in future editions, and in women's cycling more generally.[40][45]
The race was won by Demi Vollering, beating her rival Annemiek van Vleuten with a dominant stage win on the Col du Tourmalet. Lotte Kopecky won the points classification, as well as finishing second overall. Kasia Niewiadoma took the polka-dot jersey as winner of the mountains classification, as well as finishing third overall.[50] For the second year in succession, the race was praised by the public, media, teams and riders.[51][52] Race director Marion Rousse stated that the 2023 edition "was the year of confirmation: we had to prove that the first edition was not just curiosity".[53]
The race was won by Kasia Niewiadoma, beating Demi Vollering by just four seconds after Vollering lost time in a crash on stage 5. Marianne Vos took the green jersey of the points classification for the second time, and Justine Ghekiere won the mountains classification.[57][58] Again, the race was praised by the public, media, teams and riders, with Cycling Weekly noting that the "razor-thin" margin of victory demonstrated the "extraordinary level of competition in women's cycling and the depth of talent in the field".[59]
2025 edition
The route of the 2025 edition was announced in October 2024.[60] The race will have a Grand Départ in Brittany in north-west France, and be extended to nine days in length.[61][62]
Since 1955, various professional women's cycle stage races across France have historically been held as an equivalent to the Tour de France for women. Winners for those events can be found in the respective articles.
The "Jerseys" column lists the number of days that the cyclist wore the yellow jersey; the "Tour wins" column gives the number of times the cyclist won the general classification. The next four columns indicate the number of times the rider won the points classification, the Queen of the Mountains classification, and the young rider competition, and the years in which the yellow jersey was worn, with bold years indicating an overall Tour win.
^Since 1955, various professional women's cycle stage races across France have historically been held as an equivalent to the Tour de France for women. The Tour de France Femmes does not succeed these historic races, with ASO stating that the 2022 race is the "1st edition" of Tour de France Femmes
References
^Goldman, Tom (22 July 2022). "After more than 30 years, a multiday women's Tour de France is back". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-08-04. After the Tour de France femmes avec Zwift announced its record $250,000 purse, another women's grand tour event, the Giro d'Italia Donne, matched the Tour's prize money amount.
^Marshall, Ruth (22 July 1984). "Women Cyclists Change Tour de France Forever". Jacques Anquetil, a cycling commentator for the sports daily L'Equipe, and a five-time Tour de France winner, wrote, "I have absolutely nothing against women's sports, but cycling is much too difficult for a woman ... I prefer to see a woman in a short white skirt, not racing shorts.
^"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.
^"Tour De France Rest Day 2 Highlights". Tour de France. Episode 17. 18 July 2022. 29:32 minutes in. ITV4. Retrieved 19 July 2022. In terms of getting off the mountain the day of the race, there was no police escort there was nothing. Every team was left to discover how get to Marseille. It took us 9 hours and we were expected to race the next day. Then at the race, I was looking for a female toilet and there wasn't any, there was no facilities. I was offered a 'she wee' and I almost thought about not starting
^"La Course to showcase women's cycling". BBC Sport. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 2023-10-23. Tour organisers say it would not be practical to host a full women's stage race, like the men's three-week race, at the same time
^Thewlis, Tom (2022-07-27). "Tour de France Femmes proving an impressive hit with French television audience". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 2022-07-28. France TV Sport Press confirmed on social media that France 3 was the leader on the scheduled time slot yesterday afternoon, with a peak of 2.8 million people watching Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Suez Futuroscope) outsprint Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) to take victory on stage three. The viewing figures were at three million for the opening stage in Paris on Sunday,
.jpg)
.jpg)
