The route for the inaugural Tour de France Femmes was announced on Thursday in a press event in Paris with the eight-stage race presented by Tour de France organisers ASO.
The event at the Palais des Congrès was attended by a 3,000-strong crowd, including women’s WorldTour teams and riders. The first-time event will start in Paris on July 24, 2022, and conclude on July 31 with a mountain stage a-top La Plance des Belles Filles.
The route was presented by Marion Rousse, who was recently appointed as the director of Tour de France Femmes, and ASO’s Christian Prudhomme. Zwift have come on board as title sponsors of the race.
The previous incarnation of the women’s Tour de France ended in 1989, and while ASO has gone on to organise women’s one-day races like La Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, La Course, and the inaugural Paris-Roubaix (in 2021), the women’s peloton had not been included as part of the official Tour de France for the past 30 years.
“The challenge hasn’t been to create a race but to create a race that lasts, one that will be sustainable and with us in 100 years,” said Prudhomme.
“Women’s cycling has evolved year after year, and it’s an honour to be part of it,” said Rousse.
More to follow…
