2022 Tour De France Femmes

The 2022 Tour de France Femmes (officially 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift) was the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes, a professional women's cycling race which took place from 24 to 31 July. It was the 16th event in the 2022 UCI Women's World Tour. The Tour consisted of 8 stages, covering a distance of .

Starting in 1955, various cycling races for women have been held similar to the Tour de France for men, using different names (for example, Tour de France Féminin and Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale) and to a shorter length, unlike the three-weeks races for the men. The first edition of Tour de France Femmes followed years of campaigning by the women's professional peloton for an equivalent race to the men's Tour de France. The race drew large crowds, had substantial international media coverage, and was highly praised by the public, media, teams, and riders.

The race was won by Annemiek van Vleuten (), taking the general classification (GC) leader's yellow jersey by winning both mountain stages in the latter part of the race. Demi Vollering () finished in second place after placing behind van Vleuten on both mountain stages. Vollering also took the polka-dot jersey as winner of the Queen of the Mountains (QoM) classification. Third place went to Katarzyna Niewiadoma (), who secured a podium position after top five finishes on both mountain stages.

Marianne Vos () won the green jersey for the points classification following top five finishes in the first six stages, including two wins, as well as the super-combativity award for the most combative rider. Another two stages were won by sprinter Lorena Wiebes (). Shirin van Anrooij () took the white jersey as the winner of the young rider classification, which was awarded to the best-placed rider under the age of 23. won the team classification as the team with the lowest aggregate time among their three best-placed riders.

Background

The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race held primarily in France, with the first race in 1903. It takes place over 21 stages across three weeks in July. Various professional women's cycle stage races across France have been held as an equivalent race for women, with the first taking place as a one off event in 1955. Between 1984 and 2009, a women's Tour de France was staged consistently, using the Tour de France Féminin name from 1984 to 1989. Several race organisers subsequently ran events such as the Tour Cycliste Féminin and Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale. These races struggled with financial difficulties, limited media coverage, sexism, and trademark issues with the organisers of the Tour de France, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).

La Course by Le Tour de France

In 2013, activist group Le Tour Entier (“the whole tour”) began pushing for a revival of the women's Tour de France and other improvements to women's cycling. Following substantial media coverage, and a petition signed by over 100,000 people, ASO launched La Course by Le Tour de France in 2014. The one-day stage race took place prior to the final stage of the men's race in Paris. Between 2014 and 2021, La Course was held in a variety of locations across France in conjunction with the men's race, with ASO arguing that this was the "best way to shine a light on female cycling".

La Course was initially praised for the exposure gained by sharing the stage with the Tour de France, with sponsors welcoming the live TV coverage and visibility of taking place alongside the men's race. However, La Course was criticised by campaigners and riders for being overshadowed by the men's Tour de France, not having enough stages, and not being challenging enough for the professional peloton. Organisers were also criticised for not doing enough to promote the race. Riders and campaigners pushed for La Course to evolve into a longer race with more stages, with mountain stages and time trials. Pushing back at criticism, ASO noted that they were unable to stage a men's and women's Tour de France simultaneously due to logistical issues, and that races must be financially sustainable.

Tour de France Femmes

In May 2021, ASO announced that they would launch a new women's stage race, Tour de France Femmes. The first edition was to be held over 8 days in July 2022, following the 2022 Tour de France. The men's tour director, Christian Prudhomme commented that lessons must be learned from the failure of previous events, with the aim of a financially sustainable event, one "that will still exist in 100 years". The reaction from the professional women's peloton was overwhelmingly positive, with Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen stating "it's long been a dream for many of us to compete in a women's Tour de France", and Danish rider Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig commenting "this is a day that we’ve waited for, for a long time". ASO also announced that multiplayer online cycling platform Zwift had signed a four-year agreement to sponsor the race, as Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

Teams

The 24 teams which participated in the race were announced on 30 March 2022. All 14 UCI Women's WorldTeams were automatically invited. They were joined by 10 UCI Women's Continental Teams: the three best 2021 UCI Women's Continental Teams (Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling, Parkhotel Valkenburg and Valcar–Travel & Service) received an automatic invitation, and the other seven teams were selected by the organisers of the Tour. A total of 144 riders from 25 nationalities started the race, with the Netherlands having the largest contingent (29 riders).

UCI Women's WorldTeams

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UCI Women's Continental Teams

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Route and stages

In October 2021, the route was announced by race director Marion Rousse. It comprised eight consecutive days of racing, covering a total of . The race started with a stage on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, on the same day as the final stage of the men's tour. The route generally headed eastwards from Paris, with gravel sections in Champagne vineyards on stage 4, stages in the Vosges mountains (including the longest, stage 5), and a summit finish on stage 8 at La Super Planche des Belles Filles. Climbs were categorised from category 4 (the easiest) to category 1 (the most difficult), with no ''hors catégorie'' (English: beyond category) climbs on the route.

The route was welcomed by the professional peloton and campaigners such as Kathryn Bertine, with praise for the variety of stages. ''Rouleur'' considered that the mountainous terrain of the last two stages could mean that the winner could be unknown "until the riders cross the finish line on the final stage". The overall length of the event was met with agreement, with some teams noting that they do not "yet have the staff or numbers" for a race three weeks in length (such as the men's Tour de France).

The route itself required a waiver from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), as Women's WorldTour races in 2022 have a maximum stage length of and a maximum race length of six days. The restrictions were criticised by the professional peloton and campaigners as "sexist", as the UCI does not allow women to compete over identical distances as men.

Race overview

Annemiek van Vleuten, Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini, Ashleigh Moolman, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Marta Cavalli and Katarzyna Niewiadoma were all named as pre-race favourites for the general classification (GC), which determines the overall winner of the race. The sprinters tipped for winning the points classification were Lorena Wiebes and Elisa Balsamo. The Queen of the Mountains (QoM) classification (similar to King of the Mountains classification in the men's race) would be won by the best climber in the race, with the media noting Uttrup Ludwig, Niewiadoma and Vollering as contenders. Overall, the field of 144 was described as "packed with talent", with the top 28 riders in the UCI rankings all taking part.

Media coverage prior to the event was positive, calling the race a "historic moment for women's cycling" and "game changing". There was some criticism of the €250,000 prize fund, compared to the €2.2 million prize fund for the men's race. ASO noted that the prize fund was larger than men's races of similar length – such as the Critérium du Dauphiné. Riders from The Cyclists' Alliance – a union representing the female peloton – stated that live TV coverage for races was their biggest priority, rather than prize money.

Stages 1 to 6

Stage 1 of the Tour took place on 24 July in Paris, with a start beneath the Eiffel Tower and eight laps around the Champs-Élysées (on the traditional circuit which concluded the men's tour later that day). In a bunch sprint finish, Wiebes (Team DSM) outsprinted Marianne Vos (Jumbo–Visma) to take the first yellow jersey of the race, as well as the green jersey of the points classification. Stage 2 to Provins was marred by multiple crashes in the final , with Cavalli () having to abandon the race as a result. Van Vleuten (Movistar Team) also came close to abandoning the race after suffering from a stomach infection and being unable to eat or drink. At the finish, Vos outsprinted a small group to take the yellow and green jerseys, assisted by bonus seconds available to the first 3 finishers.

Stage 3 took place on rolling terrain, with a final loop into Épernay. On the Côte de Mutigny, several riders contending for the general classification broke away from the peloton. On the final steep climb to the finish, Uttrup Ludwig () outsprinted the group to take the stage while Femke Gerritse (Parkhotel Valkenburg) took the lead in the classification.

Stage 4 to Bar-sur-Aube was another hilly stage, its final half having four gravel sections in Champagne vineyards. Multiple riders including Niewiadoma (), Longo Borghini (), Uttrup Ludwig and van Vleuten suffered punctures and other issues but most of them were able to rejoin the peloton and not lose time. Mavi García () was hit by her team car while trying to catch up to the main field after two punctures, causing her to lose time. With around remaining, Marlen Reusser () attacked, riding solo to win the stage by nearly a minute and a half.

Continuing east across France, stage 5 to Saint-Dié-des-Vosges was the longest of the 2022 Women's WorldTour calendar at . With around left, a crash in the peloton took down several riders, with Emma Norsgaard () having to abandon. In the final sprint, Wiebes overtook Balsamo and Vos to secure her second stage win. In the , Vos kept the yellow jersey, extending her advantage to 20 seconds due to bonuses. Stage 6 to Rosheim was a hilly stage, with four categorised climbs and another climb with bonus seconds at the top. On the descent of the penultimate climb, a small group including Wiebes and Lotte Kopecky () crashed, but everyone involved ultimately finished the stage. A group of 14 riders who had been ahead of the peloton in a breakaway were caught in the closing kilometres, with the stage win contested by a large group of riders in a bunch sprint. Vos outsprinted Marta Bastianelli () and Kopecky to win her second stage of the race. In the , Vos extended her advantage due to the ten bonus seconds she gained for the stage win.

Mountain stages

Stages 7 and 8 took place in the Vosges mountains in Grand Est, with five category 1 climbs over the two days, and two summit finishes. The difficulty of the two stages meant they were considered to be '' queen stages'', likely to decide the eventual winner of the .

Stage 7 was in length, with of climbing, including the Grand Ballon. On Petit Ballon, the first climb of the day, Vos could not keep with the pace of the contenders, and fell behind with a group of slower riders. Meanwhile, having started the stage with stitches in her elbow following her crash on stage 6, Wiebes abandoned the race. On the Petit Ballon, with remaining, van Vleuten broke away from the peloton with only Demi Vollering () able to match her pace. A chase group with most of the other contenders formed behind them. A kilometre (0.6 mi) from the top of the Col du Platzerwasel, the second climb of the day, van Vleuten accelerated ahead of Vollering. Van Vleuten extended her lead to almost four minutes by the final climb of the Grand Ballon. Van Vleuten lost some time to Vollering on the final plateau section, but nevertheless won the stage, 3 min 26 s ahead of Vollering, who took the polka-dot jersey as leader of the . In the , van Vleuten took the yellow jersey, more than three minutes ahead of Vollering while Niewiadoma took third place, four and a half minutes behind van Vleuten. Vos finished the stage over 24 minutes behind the stage winner, losing the yellow jersey. Despite this, she continued to hold the green jersey, owing to the large number of points she had collected in previous stages.Stage 8 was the second mountain stage of the Tour, with three categorised climbs during the long stage. The final climb to La Super Planche des Belles Filles was long with an average gradient of 8.7 percent, with the last kilometre featuring an extended gravel section with gradients as high as 24 percent. On the first climb, no break had been established and Vollering was able to take maximum points to extend her lead in the classification. A group of ten riders broke away from the main field, however the peloton did not give them a large headway, given the two large climbs later on the stage. With to go, van Vleuten suffered an issue with her bike and and increased the pace of the peloton. Van Vleuten rejoined the peloton with around left in the stage at the foot of the second climb, the Ballon d'Alsace. On the climb, van Vleuten made four more bike changes but she quickly made it back to the peloton each time. On the final climb to La Super Planche des Belles Filles, van Vleuten launched a solo attack from the peloton with remaining. She passed the remnants of the breakaway group with Vollering in pursuit. Much like the previous day, a chase group of contenders formed behind them. Van Vleuten gradually extended her lead and won the stage and the Tour title. Vollering finished 30 seconds behind, confirming her win in the classification.

Results

Van Vleuten (Movistar Team) won the Tour de France Femmes with an advantage over Vollering () of almost four minutes. Niewiadoma took third place overall, six and a half minutes behind van Vleuten, maintaining her position by finishing in the top five on both mountain stages. Vollering won the Queen of the Mountains (QoM) classification while Vos () won the points classification and the super-combativity award for the most combative rider, after finishing in the top five on the first six stages, with wins on stages 2 and 6. Shirin van Anrooij () won the young rider classification for the best-placed rider under the age of 23. The team classification was won by as the team with the lowest aggregate time among their three best-placed riders. Out of 144 starters, 109 finished the event.

Van Vleuten expressed that she was "super proud" to have won, saying that winning in yellow was "a dream come true". Vollering considered that she had performed well throughout the race and therefore had "nothing to regret". Other riders praised the event, with Niewiadoma noting it was one of the most difficult races that the women's peloton has taken part in, and fourth-placed Juliette Labous (Team DSM) explained that she was surprised by the large crowds, stating "I didn't expect this much, I knew there would be a lot of people but I didn't expect as much as this."

Classification leadership

There were four main individual classifications contested in the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, as well as a team competition. The most important was the general classification, which was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. Bonus seconds were awarded at all stage finishes – with ten, six and four bonus seconds awarded to the first three finishers. Bonus seconds were also available on certain mountain climbs during the race – with three, two and one bonus seconds awarded to the first three riders to reach the top of the climb. The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Tour de France Femmes. The rider leading the classification wore a yellow jersey.

The second classification was the points classification. Riders received points for finishing in the top fifteen positions in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints during the stage. The points available for each stage finish were determined by the stage's type, with flat stages awarding more points than mountain stages. The leader was identified by a green jersey.

The third classification was the mountains classification. Most stages of the race included one or more categorised climbs, in which points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit first. Climbs were categorised with category 4 being the easiest and category 1 the hardest. There were no ''hors catégorie'' climbs on the route. Category 4 awarded two riders, the first with 2 points, and the second with 1 point; category 3 awarded three riders, the first with 3 points; category 2 awarded four riders, the first with 5 points; and category 1 awarded six riders, the first with 10 points. The leader wore a white jersey with red polka dots.

The final individual classification was the young rider classification. This was calculated the same way as the general classification, but the classification was restricted to riders under the age of 23. The leader wore a white jersey.

The final classification was a team classification. This was calculated using the finishing times of the best three riders per team on each stage; the leading team was the team with the lowest cumulative time. The number of stage victories and placings per team determined the outcome of a tie. The riders in the team that lead this classification were identified with yellow number bibs on the back of their jerseys.

In addition, there was a combativity award given after each stage to the rider considered, by a jury, to have demonstrated effort and sportsmanship''.'' The winner wore a red number bib the following stage. At the conclusion of the Tour, the jury awarded the super-combativity award to the rider who demonstrated this throughout the race.

Final classification standings

General classification

Points classification

Mountains classification

Young rider classification

Team classification

Reception

Worldwide media coverage praised the event. CNN called the race a "rebirth", ''Cycling Weekly'' commented that the race was a "huge step for the women's sport", and ''L'Équipe'' said that people came to see "the Tour de France without making the slightest distinction between men and women". Race director Marion Rousse stated that "it's a proper Tour de France, with the caravan, the crowds, placards, flags" and Le Tour Entier co-founder Kathryn Bertine called it a "wonderful edition".

Future improvements to the race were also discussed, including increasing the riders in each team, more days of racing (including an individual time trial and stages in the Alps or Pyrenees mountains), and increased sponsorship. It was also noted that work was still required to improve the competitive depth and "economic model" of the women's peloton, with ''L'Équipe'' referencing the "enormous difference in level between the ... runners-up and the rest of the peloton". The 2023 edition of the race subsequently featured both an individual time trial and mountain stages in the Pyrenees, and the 2024 edition visited the Alps.

Broadcasting

Live television coverage was provided by France Télévisions in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union. There were over 22 hours of live coverage over the eight stages, with some viewers requesting that live TV coverage be expanded to encompass the entire length of the stage. The race was broadcast around the world, including on NBC's Peacock in the United States, on Eurosport across Europe and by a variety of national broadcasters such as France 3, RTVE, and SBS.

Following the event, broadcasters reported high viewing figures, with a cumulative live audience of 23.2 million. In France, France 3 reported an average of 2.25 million viewers over the eight stages (a 26% audience share), and a peak of 5.1 million watching the final part of stage 8 (a 45% audience share). This was just under half the audience of the 2022 men's tour. In the Netherlands, a 45% audience share was reported at peak times. Eurosport reported a reach of over 14 million across Europe. France Télévisions commented that the audience figures were a good surprise, and that they were "a very solid basis on which the world of cycling will be able to build".

References

External links

Tour de France Femmes – Official site

{{2022 UCI Women's World Tour

Tour de France Femmes
2022 Tour de France
Tour de France Femmes
Tour de France Femmes