Tour de France 2023: Can Year Two of the Tour de France Femmes Live Up to Expectations?

Oct 17, 2023

Will this year’s Tour de France Femmes top last year’s Tour de France Femmes? Zwift's Kate Veronneau thinks so, and here's why.

With the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift now in its second year, you might assume that race promoters are resting on their laurels, celebrating the successes of last year. Not so for Zwift’s Director of Women’s Strategy Kate Veronneau, who’s been working tirelessly since the first iteration of the race ended last year. While year one was a smashing success, outpacing every expectation for viewing numbers and on-the-edge-of-your-seat racing action, the question hung in the air: Could year two live up to year one? That is, was the Tour de France Femmes special because it was the first, or because it’s, well, the freaking Tour de France Femmes? It’s easy to hype the new and exciting, but what about the less-new and still exciting?

We sat down with Veronneau to really get into the tough questions, and to talk about what it would take to make this year even bigger and better.

“Last year was sort of like, ‘Well, fingers crossed it goes well. It was all so exciting because it was the inaugural edition,” Veronneau says. “I’m loving seeing the impact of that first year. We have already proven that this was a massive success, that audiences want to come out to support it, that the racing is phenomenal, that sponsors are clamoring to get on board. But we’ve had to ask ourselves, ‘How do we ride this wave? How do we build off this momentum? How do we get more people on board?’”

There is no resting on your laurels when you’re heavily involved in event promotion and sponsorship. For a race, a team or a rider to continue a relationship with any sponsor, there are ongoing expectations. There are expected returns on investment, and your work is never done. “There’s no kind of resting on the fact that last year was really successful,” says Veronneau. “I look at it and think, ‘Last year was pretty easy sell: It was the first women’s Tour de France in over 30 years. That was easy to get the media on board, easy to get sponsors on board. It was the first time that that huge of an audience watched women’s racing.”

But with great success comes great responsibility, to misquote Spiderman’s Uncle Ben. “That race was a catalyst for more investment, more development, more visibility in women’s cycling,” says Veronneau. “We’ve built up more fans, and we’ve already seen that in viewership numbers for other races this year.”

Not only did the Tour de France Femmes build the audience, it arguably has been one of the factors that has increased the number of strong women in the peloton. If you build it, they will come—and now, new riders are joining the pro ranks at younger ages because they do see a future in women’s racing. For some young riders coming through the junior ranks now, they won’t know a world where women didn’t have a Tour de France!

Human Powered Health’s Marjolein van't Geloof said in a recent interview with Bicycling that she’s now talking to women racers who are actually in the sport to make money. Not to make enough to survive, but because they actually see it as a viable career option.

“It’s wild: You’re seeing different riders winning constantly and great team tactics. Women’s cycling is feeling like it’s in version 2.0. There are new personalities, new action, it’s more suited for modern audiences,” says Veronneau. “And we’re seeing it bringing new fans to the sport and new sponsors to the sport.” (That’s right: Women’s cycling is the chicken AND the egg. Or, more accurately, it’s a flywheel: Give the women more resources, more opportunities and more visibility, and the fans, sponsors and dollars come in.)

“Last year, I was checking into a hotel and actually saw a Kasia Nieuwiadoma fan club in the lobby, all wearing t-shirts with her on them. I’d never seen that before,” Veronneau says. “That’s part of the growth of the sport.”

“To me, women’s cycling right now is much more of an exciting offer to audiences and sponsors. Viewership is kind of leaning towards right now is the shorter, punchier racing, and the new personalities. Anybody who watched Ali Jackson cross the line at Paris-Roubaix, then get off her bike and start dancing after winning one of the most grueling races in the world… You know how much the women’s side of the sport has to offer the future of cycling.”

Will this year’s Tour de France Femmes top last year’s Tour de France Femmes? Is that possible? Veronneau thinks so—in part because with those sponsorship dollars and greater commitments from teams has come a focus on all the little things that men’s teams have been able to afford for years. We’re seeing almost every women’s team spending time doing course recon for the Tour. We’re seeing teams spending time at altitude to prepare. We’re seeing women’s teams grow large enough that they can split squads up for races to allow some riders more time to rest—look at Canyon//SRAM’s Giro Donne squad. They’re still hitting the podium with Chloe Dygert, but their usual GC contender Kasia Nieuwiadoma sat the race out, likely in order to do recon and altitude training instead.

“Riders know that this year, the intensity of each stage is going to feel like a one-day race. There will be some incredible day to day battles,” says Veronneau. “Women’s racing has just been off the charts this year in terms of being fun to watch and surprising. I’m glued to my TV every weekend.”

With eight stages in the TDFF this year, which ones should you tune into? All of them, of course, but Veronneau is excited for the first three stages in particular, where team tactics will play a major role. “The nature of women’s racing is changing: the attacking, the teamwork has really been elevated so you’re going to see some really crazy team tactics,” she says. “It’s going to be edge-of-your-seat kind of racing.”

For promoters going forward, one new consideration is the idea that rather than women’s racing adding more days to match the men, perhaps the men’s racing should be dropped down to be shorter and faster—and more accessible to more fans. It’s relatively easy to follow the eight stages of the TDFF, but to watch every stage of the TDF usually leads to getting in trouble with your boss at work. “As all these new fans that are coming to cycling, people don’t have the time to watch 21 stages,” Veronneau says. “We could be introducing a more successful future model for the sport.”

One last PSA from Veronneau? When talking about the race, do her (and the future of the race) a favor and say the full name. It’s the Tour de France Femmes, which yes, is a mouthful. But it matters. “The future of the sport is dependent on investment from sponsors,” she says. “Saying the full name of the race—that’s the visibility that sponsors need. It’s what they’re paying for. They want to show their support, and they want to do it in a loud, proud way. At Zwift, we’re so thrilled to get behind this race. I want to be able to do this for eternity. I want this to be the best business decision we ever made. To build a sustainable future for women’s cycling, we need to get more sponsors behind it. And I want to be able to tell every other company out there what a great investment this was, and how thrilled we are as a company. It’s not only just an incredible purpose-driven initiative, but it also makes great sense for our business.”

What can you do to support TDFF this season? Watch the race, of course—but also, invite your non-cycling friends to watch with you! “I highly encourage viewing parties. I think it’s a great opportunity to educate people on the intricacies of racing,” Veronneau says. Veronneau adds that the number of sports bars (including the famed Sports Bra in Portland) and bike shops hosted watch parties last year and are planning to do so again this year. If no shop around you is hosting a watch party, it might be the perfect opportunity for you to organize one!

Molly writes about cycling, nutrition and training, with an emphasis on women in sport. Her new middle-grade series, Shred Girls, debuts with Rodale Kids/Random House in 2019 with "Lindsay's Joyride." Her other books include "Mud, Snow and Cyclocross," "Saddle, Sore" and "Fuel Your Ride." Her work has been published in magazines like Bicycling, Outside and Nylon. She co-hosts The Consummate Athlete Podcast.

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