The 2017 La Course by Le Tour de France with FDJ was the fourth edition of

La Course by Le Tour de France La Course by Le Tour de France was an elite List of women's road bicycle races, women's professional road bicycle race held in France. First held in 2014 as a one-day race on the Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France, Champs-Élysées in ...

, a women's cycle race held in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The race was held before stage 18 of the

2017 Tour de France The 2017 Tour de France was the 104th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 21-stage race took place across , commencing with an individual time trial in Düsseldorf, Germany on 1 July, and concluding with the Champs ...

, between

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

and the

Col d'Izoard Col d'Izoard () is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon on the north and the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the so ...

, on 20 July, and was followed by a pursuit race before stage 20 of the Tour de France. It was organised by the ASO. The first day counted also as the thirteenth race of the

2017 UCI Women's World Tour The 2017 UCI Women's World Tour was the second edition of the UCI Women's WorldTour, UCI Women's World Tour. For the 2017 season, the calendar consisted of 20 races, up from 17 in 2016 UCI Women's World Tour, 2016. Two one-day races – the Amstel ...

. Both races had the same podium;

Annemiek van Vleuten Annemiek van Vleuten (; born 8 October 1982) is a retired Dutch professional Bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who most recently rode for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam . Van Vleuten is twice a winner of both the UCI Road World Cha ...

() won both races ahead of rider

Lizzie Deignan Elizabeth Mary Deignan (née Armitstead; born 18 December 1988) is an English professional world champion track and road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . She was the 2015 World road race champion. Deignan is also the ...

, with the podium being completed each time by 's

Elisa Longo Borghini Elisa Longo Borghini (born 10 December 1991) is an Italian professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam . During her career, Longo Borghini has won the 2024 Giro d'Italia Women, Giro d'Ita ...

. The event was subsequently criticised, with issues regarding the ' pursuit' format, facilities for riders & teams and the desire for a 'Women's Tour de France'.

Route and format

Following criticism by riders regarding the lack of progress towards a multi stage race, ASO announced in October 2016 that the race would remain a one-day event but move from the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...

in Paris to a mountain stage on the

. It was then announced that the race would take place over two days. The top twenty finishers on the first day, or those within five minutes of the stage winner on the Col d'Izoard, were eligible to contest a second stage, over the same course as the men's time trial in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

on 22 July. However, for the purposes of the

UCI Women's World Tour The UCI Women's World Tour is the premier annual female elite road cycling tour. , the tour includes 27 events in Europe, Asia and Oceania – with one-day races such as Strade Bianche Donne and Paris–Roubaix Femmes, stage races such as Wo ...

, only the results from the first day counted. The pursuit stage was held as a 1.15 categorised event, on the

French Cycling Federation The Fédération Française de Cyclisme (''FFC'') or French Cycling Federation is the national governing body of cycle racing in France. The FFC is a member of the UCI and the UEC. In February 2009, David Lappartient was elected for a four-ye ...

(FFC) calendar – and therefore did not count towards the UCI Women's World Tour – with riders starting at their respective time gaps from the Col d'Izoard.

Teams

21 teams participated in the 2017 La Course by Le Tour de France. The top 15 UCI Women's World Tour teams were automatically invited, and obliged to attend the race.

Results

La Course by Le Tour de France - stage 1

;20 July 2017 —

, Of the 119 riders to start the race, 47 completed the race within the time limit. 19 riders qualified for La Course Poursuite, as they finished within five minutes of race winner

La Course Poursuite - stage 2

;22 July 2017 —

to Marseille,

Criticism

Following the event, the race was criticised by the professional peloton and teams. As only 20 riders qualified for the individual pursuit stage, teams were unable to plan logistics to get riders, equipment and team staff to Marseille.

subsequently noted that it took 9 hours to get off the mountain and to Marseille, with no police escort offered by organisers. The format of a 'pursuit' stage was thought not to be a success, as the mountain stage resulting in large time gaps that riders could not make up. Riders also criticised the facilities available in Marseille, with a lack of female toilets. The absence of TV coverage on the screens in the

Stade Vélodrome The Stade Vélodrome (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Orange Vélodrome since June 2016, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, and has ...

where thee stage started and finished was also criticised. Teams and riders also criticised the move away from Paris, noting the attraction of the stage for sponsors. Campaigner

Kathryn Bertine Kathryn Bertine (born 11 May 1975) is a Saint Kitts and Nevis racing cyclist, author, activist, film-maker and former professional figure skater and professional triathlete. She turned professional in road cycling in 2012 and raced on World Tour ...

stated her disappointment that the race had not evolved into a multi day stage race, with former cyclist & commentator

Joanna Rowsell Joanna Katie Rowsell MBE (born 5 December 1988) is a retired English cyclist on the Great Britain Cycling Team who competed on track and road. Her greatest successes were the gold medals won in the women's team pursuit at the 2012 London Oly ...

stating that "We need mountain climbs, flat stages, time trials and a Champs-Elysees finish". The 2018 event reverted to a single day event, albeit remaining a mountain stage. In 2022,

Tour de France Femmes The Tour de France Femmes () is an annual women's road bicycle racing, cycle stage race around France. It is organised by Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), which also runs the Tour de France. It is part of the UCI Women's WorldTour, UCI Women's Wo ...

held its first edition, to praise from the professional peloton, teams and media.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:La Course by Le Tour de France, 2017 2017 UCI Women's World Tour

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2017 in French sport