Christian Prudhomme, the current boss of the men's event, had already announced the main outlines last month: a little over thirty years after his death, the women's Tour de France will make its comeback next year.
Labeled UCI Women's World Tour, the race will consist of eight stages.
🚴‍♀️ The Tour de France Women with Zwift.
🗓 Coming 2022… # TDFF #GoZwift pic.twitter.com/DuuQl89BSL
- The Tour de France Women with Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) June 17, 2021
The first will start on Sunday July 24 with a finish judged on the Champs-Élysées, the very day of the closing of the 2022 men's Tour de France. The complete route will be unveiled on October 14, 2021 at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, the day of the presentation of the men's Tour de France. Zwift, the global online fitness platform, will be the associated partner of this project with ASO (Amaury Sport Organization).
“To work on the construction of an event such as the Tour de France women with Zwift, it is to offer to the female cycling an event suitable to highlight the sporting qualities of exceptional champions, explains Christian Prudhomme.
This birth certificate represents the prospect of seeing a female race rise to the top of the major events in the world of sport.
The champions will demonstrate their desire to decide between themselves on demanding courses, to go for the most prestigious of trophies, the Yellow Jersey.
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Each stage will be broadcast on France Télévisions
In addition to the latter, the competitors who stand out will also be able to wear the polka-dot jersey for the mountain classification, as well as the white jersey for the best youngster.
As for the boys.
Each stage will be broadcast on France Télévisions, in the continuity of the boys.
An agreement with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) also provides for broadcasting on major European generalist channels.
The women's Tour de France already existed between 1984 and 1989 (with three victories for Jeannie Longo), before being stopped for economic reasons.
Another event, the “Women's EEC Tour” took over, then the “Women's Cycling Tour”, and finally the “International Women's Great Loop”, until 2009.