A group of women standing together on the metro on their way toward the exit to the Eiffel Tower might have been mistaken for tourists if not for the bright yellow self-made T-shirts that read – T de F Originals on Tour 1984-1989 – that, for anyone who has followed professional cycling would recognise them as the pioneers of the women’s Tour de France.
On the same train and headed in the same direction to the start of stage 1 of the rebirth of women’s Tour de France, now called the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Cyclingnews spoke with Mandy Bishop (née) Jones and Trish Liggett (née) Tipper about their journey to watch the new generation of women racing in one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
“I raced in the 1985 edition. It’s really exciting that we are all meeting up because some of us haven’t seen each other in 30-odd years, and it’s been entertaining,” Bishop, the 1982 World Champion, told Cyclingnews.
“The Tour de France didn’t invite us, and ASO doesn’t know we’re here. We’ve just done this on our own. We decided to have a get-together and support the start of the new women’s Tour – and remind them that we’ve done it as well.
“We started digging through archives, looking at pictures. My daughter made the T-shirts, and one of the other women’s daughter’s got them all printed up. We’ve got to have T-shirts.”
The original women’s Tour de France was organised by the former Société du Tour de France, with the last edition held 33 years ago. On Sunday, ASO welcomed the women’s peloton back into the Tour de France, and the women began a 1,029-kilometre eight-day race held from July 24-31.
There are some differences between the two events. The former women’s Tour was held across roughly 1,000km and raced in 18 stages that followed the last section of the men’s route. The women also climbed iconic mountains such as l’Alpe d’Huez.
The new event is eight days and held across northeast France with stages suited to every type of rider, from sprints to puncheurs and climbers, finishing at the top of La Planche des Belles Filles in the Vosges.
Stage 21 of the men’s Tour de France will be held in conjunction with stage 1 of the women’s Tour de France on the Champs-Èlysèes. Many believe that the women’s race will benefit from being held the week after the men’s Tour de France to give it its own space and visibility.
“The fact that it’s happening is great. When we raced, they ran it in conjunction with the same event with the same finishes as the men….
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