Over 2 million viewers
With the exception of Monday, the audience exceeded two million viewers on average on France Télévisions, according to figures provided by the group.
To discover
The route of the Tour de France 2022
The general classification of the Tour de France
That is half of that of the Great men's loop, which brought together four million viewers on average.
A score satisfying the director of the Tour de France Women:
“Knowing how it was going to work in terms of audience... It was a bit of a question mark and people responded more than present.
I myself am impressed”
, delivered Marion Rousse at the start of the final stage.
With even more than 30% audience share and 2.7 million people in front of their screens on Saturday for the decisive penultimate stage which allowed the Dutch Annemiek van Vleuten, winner of the event, to put on the yellow jersey .
Garnished roads
The public present is more difficult to count.
It's the runners who talk about it the best: “Saturday I heard my name a lot of times.
At the top of the Grand Ballon, I sometimes had chills, testified the 2021 French champion, Evita Muzic.
All the girls will say it, it is the race where there was the most public at the edge of the roads”, she assures.
“There are so many people who came to see us, we feel in each village that this Tour is alive and well,
confirms Annemiek van Vleuten.
It's not a secondary race next to the men's Tour.
It's a great start.”
“We didn't know what to expect. It's beyond what I imagined”
, confirmed the other great woman of this Tour de France, Marianne Vos.
TV innovation
This Women's Tour de France inaugurated the distribution of team instructions, as they exist in Formula 1. These interventions by the sports directors were given slightly delayed and after moderation so as not to betray tactical secrets.
From encouragement to investment advice before a risky section, these moments add to the feeling of immersion.
"The men said no, so we said yes
," explains the boss of the FDJ-Suez training, Stephen Delcourt, who pushed for the adoption of this novelty.
"Anything that can make our sport grow, we do."
Neither time trial nor high mountain
“I still regret that there is no time trial
,” slipped the Swiss Marlen Reusser, a specialist in solo effort after her victory in the fourth stage at Bar-sur-Aube.
"A stopwatch also means less audience
," recalled Marion Rousse.
“This year, it was very important to be attractive.
But we do not forbid ourselves to put some in the next few years.
Like adding high mountains, this first edition being limited to the Vosges mountains.
"Obviously we can go to the Pyrenees or the Alps
," she assured Sunday less than three months from the unveiling of the course.
"I would love to climb Alpe d'Huez next year, but not if it makes the race less attractive to the public
," relativized Annemiek van Vleuten after crushing the first mountain meeting on Saturday.
"The important thing is that there is spectacle and good fights."
Uneven tray
"The differences in level cause a lot of incidents",
regrets Stephen Delcourt, who campaigned for fewer teams at the start (24 in number).
His co-leader Marta Cavalli, second in the Giro and more serious rival of van Vleuten was eliminated on the second day after a fall.
The Italian was hit by Australian Nicole Frain, of the continental team Parkhotel Valkenburg, who arrived at full speed in a fall, because she thought she had "seen a hole" to pass through.
“Our sport is not mature, there are big differences in level and that's normal. I understand that ASO wanted to support certain teams by having them participate in this great race, but there are cyclists who do not have the experience.
“It's the first year so there will obviously be a few small changes
,” said Marion Rousse without further details.
“But the base is solid.”
