Women’s Tour de France returns to boost cycling’s latest breakaway

In the long march of women’s bike racers towards parity within their sport, there have been obvious turning points, moments when the process has noticeably accelerated and gained fresh, and crucially lasting, momentum.

It was 1958 when the UCI incorporated women’s world championships, against their will and in miserly fashion, remaining at the mercy of organisers who might not want to be part of the process. The accession of women racers to the Olympics in 1984 was immense, although again there was no initial recognition that women could or should be allowed to race for the same medals as men. Others might point to the first women’s Tour of Flanders in 2004, or to the founding of the Women’s Tour in the UK in 2014.

Sunday afternoon, when the first stage of the Tour de France Femmes rolls away from the Eiffel Tower for an 80km circuit race on the Champs Elysées, should turn out to be one of those points, no matter who wears the yellow jersey when the race finishes up La Planche des Belles Filles in eastern France on 31 July. The relaunch of the women’s Tour de France, run by the men’s Tour organisers after a 33-year break, has already had tangible effects.

New teams have appeared, and established squads have acquired new sponsors. Established organisers have had to raise their game. New stage races have emerged on the calendar, most notably the Tour of Switzerland, Tour of Scandinavia and the Ceratizit Challenge. The men’s Tour has always had a centrifugal effect, forcing change simply by its presence and economic importance; even before it had begun, the Tour de France Femmes looked to be having the same effect.

“Historically, this is a male sport,” said the multiple world champion Marianne Vos in an interview on Friday