The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is over but the emotions and memories remain. The return of the women’s Tour de France is a historic moment for the sport as a whole.
Annemiek van Vleuten will be remembered as the first winner of the Tour de France Femmes, but everyone in the race made history. Marianne Vos can look back proudly at her success in the race and especially her actions in the last decade to make it happen.
The eight days of racing were intense and entertaining. They included gravel sectors, steep climbs, a mountain-top final stage but no time trial. The 2023 route should be different and perhaps even climb L’Alpe d’Huez in the Alps.
Whatever the route, the women’s Tour de France is back and has changed the sport for ever.
Cyclingnews Women’s Editor Kirsten Frattini and Matilda Price were on the ground at the Tour de France Femmes and captured the full significance of the race.
If you build it, they will come
There is one thing that the Tour de France Femmes peloton could not stop talking about: the fans. No one knew how much attention this new race would attract, but last week showed us that the answer is a great deal.
ASO rolled out all the infrastructure and commercial fanfare that is often seen in the men’s race, and they were rewarded with large and enthusiastic crowds. On the roadside, there was no sense that the fans cared whether they were watching the hommes or the femmes, they just wanted to watch the Tour de France. And that they did, lining the roads at the starts and finishes, coming out in the tiniest of towns, undertaking long rides or hikes to get to the summit finishes at the weekend.
It wasn’t just on the ground, either, the race was a big success on social media, on television and in the press. Complete viewing figures have yet to be released, but the early reports from France Télévisions show peaks of around 3 million viewers per stage during the week, with the 2.5 hour programme often enjoying the most viewers during its time slot.
It wasn’t certain how popular this race would be and that was perhaps a reason it took so long to come to fruition, but after one year it’s very clear that if you put on a race of this scale, the audience will naturally follow.
No gifts in France
Every day presented a new opportunity to win a stage at the Tour de France. The anticipation at the start line each morning on the event’s journey through northeast France…
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