Tour de France Femmes: A Strava Primer

After two editions of the Tour de France Femmes, it seems obvious: spectators lap it up at the grandstand stage starts and finishes; the little girls (and boys) waving signs at the side of the road are inspired by it; the huge crowd on the Tourmalet went crazy for it as Demi Vollering flew up the road to seal victory in the second edition last July. The Tour de France Femmes is here to stay.

But it didn’t always look that assured. Here’s a Strava primer on the long and winding road that has led to this historic third edition.

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The Pioneers

While the men’s Tour de France was inaugurated in 1903, the first women’s stage race around France took place in 1955. Called the Grande Boucle Feminine Internationale, it took place over five stages in Normandy, in the north-west of France, and was won by a woman from the Isle of Man called Millie Robinson. It was only the second women’s stage race ever, and only took place once.

It would be almost another 30 years until the idea of a women’s Tour de France was revived, this time promoted by Félix Lévitan, race director of the men’s Tour. In 1984, the women’s peloton again set off – this time over 14 stages that actually resembled a ride around France. It took place at the same time as the men’s Tour, with the women riding a shortened version of the men’s stage a few hours ahead of them. For some, this seemed a benefit as it gave the women a ready-made audience on the roadside; others, however, believed it left the women’s race too dependent on the men’s for the oxygen of publicity, and even its very existence. 

That first Tour de France Féminin, as it was known, was won by the American Marianne Martin, who took to the podium in Paris in her yellow jersey next to men’s winner Laurent Fignon. In 2020, for an article on CyclingNews.com, Martin looked back at her experience. “The biggest thing that I remember about racing the women's race was that they didn’t think we would finish it. We all knew that we could finish it, but it was disheartening, maybe more amusing, that the attitude was that the women weren't going to finish the race. But even with dealing with that, the whole thing was amazing."

The Tour de France Féminin saw some notable battles over the years, on classic cols like the fiendish Joux Plane and the iconic Alpe d’Huez, and created stars like two-time winner Spaniard Maria Canins and three-time winner Jeannie Longo, a Frenchwoman. But whether due to a lack of TV exposure, sponsorship or other factors, the race began to be cut back and was held for the last time in 1989.

Through the 1990s an unofficial women’s “Tour” was run under various monikers (it couldn’t use the Tour de France name), taking on many of the sport’s biggest climbs. The last edition, in 2009, was won by Britain’s Emma Pooley, who followed on from her compatriot Nicole Cooke (in 2006 and 2007). Then it collapsed and disappeared, leaving the fledgling Giro Donne – the women’s Giro d’Italia – as the premier women’s stage race.

RELATED: Race Guide: Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

However, expectations and pressure were mounting. In the late 2000s Pooley, among others, lent her voice to a campaign spearheaded by pro cyclist and film-maker Kathryn Bertine and triathlete Chrissie Wellington to mount a proper women’s Tour. It worked… almost. In 2014, ASO (the organisers of the men’s Tour) organised La Course. Not a stage race, but a one-day event. Originally held on a circuit around Paris, it then struck out into the provinces in later years. Of the eight eventual editions, six were won by Dutch riders; only Australia’s Chloe Hosking (2016) and the UK’s Lizzie Deignan (2020) stopped it from being a clean sweep. 

With increasing exposure and momentum behind the race and women’s cycling in general, in 2021 ASO announced the Tour de France Femmes…

2022 to Now

The first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift began in Paris on the day the men’s Tour finished, and culminated in a Champs–Elysées sprint. There were seven more stages – five of which were won by Marianne Vos, one of the greatest cyclists of all time. Wearing the yellow jersey was recompense, perhaps, for how Vos had pushed for the event to happen; but in the end, she ceded the overall win to the almost-as-legendary Annemiek Van Vleuten. Marianne Vos won the green jersey and Demi Vollering – yet another Dutchwoman! – was Queen of the Mountains.

In 2023, Vollering stepped up won the yellow jersey, sealing that victory over van Vleuten with the aforementioned ride over the Tourmalet.

How the Race Is Run

If you’re not familiar with women’s racing, it can (dare we say it) sometimes be more exciting than the men’s. With smaller teams and shorter distances to race (the UCI decrees that women’s courses mustn’t be more than 160km / 100 mi), there is opportunity for more aggressive, less attritional racing. 

However, if you know the men’s Tour, there’ll be a lot that’s familiar. The riders are still racing for the overall (yellow), the points (green) and the mountains classification (polka-dot) jerseys, as well as individual stage wins. There are eight stages again this year (it increases to nine in 2025), starting in the Netherlands and heading for a summit finish at Alpe d’Huez. 

The crème de la crème of the women’s pro peloton are converging in the Netherlands (that’s right!) for the Grand Départ of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2024. What happens after that will write a new page in the history of women’s cycling.