Sunday the 24th of July 2022, Amaury Sport Organisation will launch a new women’s race that will carry the signature of the World’s biggest race, the Tour de France. It will adopt the same codes, values and symbols as the men’s race. After having enriched its calendar with prestigious women’s events over the last few years, A.S.O. will accentuate its development in women’s cycling. With the UCI Women’s World Tour label, the race will feature 8 days of racing. The first stage will finish in Paris on the Champs-Elysées, on the day of the final stage of the Tour de France 2022. Straight after the Tour de France, during the summer holidays, the timing will provide the public the best opportunity to easily be able to come and support the riders from the side of the road.
The global online fitness platform Zwift will be the presenting partner of the event whose official name will be “Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift”. Equally determined to support the growth of women’s cycling, A.S.O. and Zwift have signed a partnership agreement for the next 4 years. The long term partnership aims to promote and develop the discipline through this new race by making it the biggest event in the women’s calendar from its creation.
With more than a year to go before the race starts, A.S.O. are able to announce that the partnership ecosystem of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is already very well developed.
Many of the Tour de France’s partners couldn’t wait to show their enthusiasm and commit from the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. LCL will be supporting the famous leader’s Yellow Jersey, E.Leclerc will support the polka dot jersey of the mountain classification. Liv Cycling, the company dedicated to getting more women on bikes, and already well known in cycling, will make its debut as a major partner by supporting the best young rider classification. A partner of La Course by Le Tour de France avec FDJ from the beginning, and future supporter of Paris Roubaix Femmes, FDJ will join the event’s major partners. As for the Tour de France, Tissot will be the timekeeper of the race.. Other partners will be joining them in the next few weeks
In terms of media exposure, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will benefit from daily live television coverage with a broad exposure all over the world. France Télévisions will extend its “afternoon of cycling” coverage of the Tour de France by one week to allow viewers the chance to support their champions. In addition, an agreement with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) will mean that the event will be broadcast on large public channels in the biggest European markets.
An ambitious and complete communication plan will accompany the new race’s official launch presentation in October right up until it starts on the 24th July 2022.
Amaury Sport Organisation would like to thank the partners, broadcasters, communities and federations that have committed to being part of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and those who are about to join us.
All of the details regarding the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift including its route and its rules will be revealed on Thursday 14th October 2021 during the presentation of the Tour de France 2022 at the Palais des Congrès de Paris.
“This is an incredibly important announcement for us as we look to build on our investment in women’s cycling and really help grow and develop the sport,” says Eric Min, CEO & Co-Founder of Zwift. “Building on the success of the Virtual Tour de France on Zwift last year, this has been many months in the making and both Zwift and the A.S.O are delighted to make the dream a reality. I’ve long been a fan of the attacking style of women’s racing. I really believe the women’s peloton puts on some of the most exciting bike racing to watch and it deserves a much bigger platform to exhibit these talents and skills. I’m proud that we can play a big part in making the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift a reality in 2022. Together we can bring women’s cycling to a larger audience and inspire new generations of female cyclists for years to come."
Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France said, "building an event like the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift means offering women's cycling an event that is ready to highlight the sporting qualities of some exceptional riders. The birth of this race represents the prospect of seeing a women's race rise to the top of world sport. The riders and champions will no doubt be eager to take on some tough routes and go after the most prestigious of prizes, the Yellow Jersey."
