The history of the Women's Tour de France

The 2024 Tour de France Femmes takes place from August 12 to 18, 2024. There are eight stages over seven days. The start is in Rotterdam, with a first stage of 124 kilometers to The Hague. The finish point of the Tour is the Alpe d'Huez. The race takes place between the Paris Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. This is the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes to start outside France. Marion Rousse, former cyclist and race director of this women's edition, considers the choice of the Netherlands logical, because Dutch women dominate the peloton. Are you familiar with the history of the Women's Tour de France?

Women's Tour de France

The Tour de France Femmes, or Women's Tour de France, is a multi-day cycling race for women in France. Between 1984 and 2009, there were various races that were considered the Women's Tour de France. From 2014 through 2021, a one-day race for women (La Course) was organized by the ASO during the men's Tour de France. As of 2022, there is once again a multi-day stage race.   1984 - 2009 From 1984 to 1989, the race was held under the name Tour de France féminin (Women's Tour de France), on the same days and over the same course as the men. Director Jean-Marie Leblanc decided to discontinue the race after 1989 because, in his opinion, it was not economically viable. From 1990 onwards, the race was no longer held simultaneously with the men and was called Tour de la CEE féminin until 1993. After that, the race ceased due to problems attracting sponsors and host cities, which often resulted in long transfers between stages. (The 29th personal prestige booklet was published in June 2011 and focused on women's cycling. The booklet was published by TNT Post in collaboration with the National Cycling Museum Foundation and consists of three sheets, each containing three stamps. Furthermore, there are 5 interleaves which provide an overview of the rise of women's cycling and some illustrious winners.)

At the same time, starting in 1992, the Tour cycliste féminin was organized in August by Pierre Boué, a competitor of the Société du Tour de France. In 1998, the race had to change its name because the old name resembled the Tour de France too closely; from then on, it was called La Grande Boucle féminine (after La Grande Boucle, the nickname of the Tour de France). Partly due to the Festina affair in the men's 1998 Tour, attracting sponsors became even more difficult. The race was not held in 2004. Previously, the race consisted of between 10 and 15 stages, but since 2005 only five (in one region), and as a result, the race was no longer classified by the UCI and featured a predominantly national field of participants.

In 2008, the race consisted of seven stages over six days, and in 2009, the final edition comprised only four stages due to the cancellation of the first three stages in Brittany. The winner of the final edition, Emma Pooley, joked that it was merely a “Petite Boucle” instead of a Grande Boucle. After the Tour de l'Aude ceased to exist in 2010 and the Route de France in 2016, the Giro Donne was the only remaining Grand Tour for women.

The Tour de France Féminin was won three times in a row by the Frenchwoman, starting in 1987. Jeannie LongoIn 1992, Leontien van Moorsel won both the Tour de la CEE féminin and the first edition of the Tour cycliste féminin. Jeannie Longo finished second after a thrilling surplace on the Alpe d'Huez in the final stage. From 1995 onwards, the race was won three times in a row by the Italian Fabiana Luperini. The Spaniard Joane Somarriba also won a total of three times.

  2014 - 2021 Following a petition by Marianne Vos, Emma Pooley, Kathryn Bertine, and Chrissie Wellington, a one-day race named La Course by Le Tour de France was introduced on July 27, 2014, the final day of the men's Tour de France. Vos won the first edition, making her the only rider to have stood on the podium in both La Grande Boucle féminine and La Course. For the first three years, the race was held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. In 2017 and 2018, the race took place in the Alps, with finishes at the Col d'Izoard and Le Grand-Bornand, respectively. Both editions were won by Annemiek van Vleuten. In 2019, Pau was the host city, with Vos once again taking the win. The last two editions were held during the Grand Départ of the Tour in Nice and Brittany. The final edition in 2021 was won by Demi Vollering.

  2022 – present On May 12, 2021, the Amaury Sport Organisation announced that there would be a women's Tour de France again in 2022, named Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The final route was announced in October 2021: the race lasted eight days, starting on the final day for the men on July 24 in Paris, with the final stage finishing at La Super Planche des Belles Filles. This edition was won by Annemiek van Vleuten. The 2023 edition was won by Demi Vollering. She is participating again this year and is the strongest contender to win this Tour.  

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Women's Tour de France 2024: https://www.letourfemmes.fr/en 2024 Women's Tour de France Route: https://www.bicycling.com/nl/events/a45637859/parcours-tour-de-france-femmes-2024/ Tour de France Rotterdam-The Hague-Dordrecht August 11 – 13, 2024: https://letourfemmes-rotterdam.nl/ Valkenburg turns yellow, August 12 – 14, 2024: https://limburgcycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TDFF-PROGRAMMA-VALKENBURG.pdf