Tour de France Femmes – two steps forward, one step back

I don’t want to appear ungrateful that the ASO (the company that runs the Tour de France Femmes and many other events) is running an awesome race right now. Still, I do want to join the chorus of fans and commentators in urging them to go the full hog! By that I mean, broadcasting each stage in full.

I’m assuming the decision was made for budgetary reasons to only broadcast the full stages for the opening stage, stage five from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais, and the closing day in Nice. Surely if you have all those broadcast staff and equipment in place for the back-end of each stage, it wouldn’t cost that much more to cover the whole thing!!

Not only does it mean that the broadcast starts on Australian TV screens for those of us who live on the east coast at 11.45 pm most nights, but it also means that we miss all the foundation work of each stage where the breakaway gets going. I’m incapable of staying up that late, so I watch the full stage the next evening. As an aside, I’m super grateful that our beloved SBS broadcasts the Tour de France Femmes race on free-to-air TV and livestream. I know that this is not the case in many countries.

But back to my main point. On stage three, the ultimate winner, Uno-X Mobility rider Sigrid Haugset, attacked before the cameras started rolling, with 88km to go, so when the coverage started she was already on her own in a solo break. We also missed when the GC favourite Demi Vollering crashed at 143km to go. It was like rolling back time, when cycling fans could only see women’s racing on social media. The ASO would have known that on stage three, by including a climb in the first 24km of the race, they would create action that the cameras would never record.

Okay. I’ve now got that off my chest. I feel so much better now.

If you haven’t followed the race so far, it’s not too late to join the fun. Today/tonight (if you live in a different time zone like me), you can enjoy stage five, which should be a real test for the GC contenders who are all chanting at the bit. Will Vollering live up to favourite status? Will Ferrand-Prévot show her cards? Or will it be a Rouleur-style rider like Longo Borghini or the legendary Vos?

I was lucky enough to attend the final day of last year’s Tour de France Femmes in person. (Thank you, Cervelo for taking me to France for your bike launch and sending me and the other journos out for the day with the Visma team on their hospitality program.) It was one of the best days of my life, and I’m not exaggerating! The roadside crowds were phenomenal, which brought tears to my eyes. I know it was a sunny Sunday. I know the race leader and ultimate winner was a French rider. But it was amazing. The atmosphere was the best I’ve ever witnessed, and I’ve followed the men’s Tour de France three times and attended at least 10 Tours Down Under. I can’t wait to go back to watch the race live again, hopefully in 2028.

When I started writing about women’s cycling 15 years ago, the only women’s cycling racing that I could watch on TV was the Olympic Games every four years and the World Championships annually. And that wasn’t always the whole race! We’ve come a long way, thanks to some amazing lobbyists and advocates. It hasn’t happened by accident. It took lots of work by many, and some courage to stand up against the system. Chapeau to you all.

So stop reading this blog and head to your favourite device right now and watch the awesome women racing their bikes. You won’t be disappointed. I promise.

And head to Instagram and follow my favourite photographer, Beardy McBeardy. He’s following the race and shooting the most amazing images of the Tour de France Femmes. Check out the butterfly shot. It’s sublime.

Thank you to the ASO for the images. I need to acknowledge that they do some things well.