How the Tour de France Femmes is Killing the Women’s WorldTour

As another year of professional women’s cycling ends, it’s time to reflect on the season that was—one filled with triumphs, challenges, and significant shifts in the landscape of the sport. While the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has emerged as a beacon of progress, attracting millions of viewers and solidifying its status as the crown jewel of women’s cycling, its success has also cast a long shadow over the rest of the UCI Women’s WorldTour. This season has highlighted a growing imbalance, with sponsorship dollars and attention overwhelmingly flowing to a few marquee events, while many other WorldTour races struggle for survival. As we look back, it’s essential to explore whether the rise of the Tour de France Femmes is truly benefiting the entire sport or if, in the process, it is inadvertently “killing” the broader Women’s WorldTour.

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has been celebrated as a groundbreaking success for women’s cycling. Since its revival in 2022, the race has attracted significant media attention, massive viewership, and high-profile sponsorships. The numbers speak for themselves. According to France Télévisions, 20 million viewers tuned in to the 2024 edition, a remarkable number for a women’s cycling event. Notably, during Stage 7, which saw climactic moments on the Alpe D’Huez, viewership peaked at 4.3 million, achieving an audience share of 34.6%. These numbers are significant; they rival many men’s races and are a testament to the marketing power of the Tour de France brand.

With audience engagement skyrocketing, the Tour de France Femmes is now one of the crown jewels of the UCI Women’s WorldTour (UCIWWT). However, behind the headlines and celebrations, there is a darker side to this success—a reality that suggests that while the Tour de France Femmes is booming, the rest of the Women’s WorldTour may be in jeopardy.

While the Tour de France Femmes has undoubtedly elevated the profile of women’s cycling to unprecedented heights, it has also highlighted a stark disparity in the support, funding, and attention given to the wider Women’s WorldTour. Other important races, such as the Tour of Britain Women and the Tour of Scandinavia, have faced cancellations and budget cuts, underscoring a trend where financial resources and sponsorship budgets are overwhelmingly directed towards the Tour de France Femmes at the expense of other races. This disparity raises serious concerns about the sustainability of the Women’s WorldTour and poses the question—is the growth of women’s cycling truly being realized, or are we witnessing the rise of just one event?

The Growth of the Tour de France Femmes: A Shining Star

Since its revival, the Tour de France Femmes has become the centerpiece of women’s cycling. It is widely regarded as a massive success, drawing enormous viewership and securing significant sponsorship deals. The level of investment in the Tour de France Femmes by high-profile sponsors like Zwift and global brands such as Santini and Continental has also elevated the race’s status. Zwift, which also sponsors the Paris-Roubaix Femmes (another ASO event red.) has pumped considerable funding into ensuring the success of the Tour de France Femmes. Kate Verroneau, the Director of Women’s Strategy at Zwift, stated, “We believe in the power of women’s cycling, and our partnership with the Tour de France Femmes is about creating visibility and opportunities for female athletes.” This statement, though sincere, belies the broader reality of women’s cycling as a whole.

The 2024 edition of the Tour de France Femmes also enjoyed the backing of cities like Rotterdam and The Hague, which were eager to host the Grand Départ. Both cities invested significantly in promoting the race, organizing festivities, and encouraging local support. However, as the race moved out of the Netherlands and into Belgium and France, the excitement waned. Crowds were notably smaller in the later stages, suggesting that the massive investments from local governments and the excitement seen in the Netherlands were not matched once the race moved further along its route. This disparity raises questions about whether the enthusiasm for the Tour de France Femmes is as widespread as the early stages may suggest.

Marion Rousse, the race director of the Tour de France Femmes, spoke about the growth of the event, saying, “It is incredible to see the number of fans lining the roads, especially in cities like Rotterdam. This kind of enthusiasm is what we need to grow women’s cycling.” However, this “growth” may be limited to the Tour itself and does not necessarily reflect the state of the broader Women’s WorldTour.

Is Women’s Cycling Really Growing?

The prevailing narrative in the media is that women’s cycling is growing. However, a closer examination reveals that this growth is largely confined to a few select events, rather than the sport as a whole. The Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix Femmes, Ronde van Vlaanderen and perhaps one or two other events have seen tremendous growth in both viewership and sponsorship, but this has not translated into a universal uplift for the Women’s WorldTour.

The Tour of Chongming Island, which is held in China, and races like the Itzulia Women in Spain and The Simac Ladies Tour in The Netherlands are prime examples of events that are struggling to gain traction. These races lack the media attention and funding necessary to develop into world-class events, despite offering exciting and challenging courses. Sponsors are hesitant to invest in these smaller events, preferring to allocate their budgets to the big names like the Tour de France Femmes that provide guaranteed returns in terms of visibility and engagement.

This trend raises a fundamental question—is the dominance of the Tour de France Femmes ultimately harming the development of women’s cycling? The fact that smaller races are disappearing and struggling financially suggests that, despite the success of the Tour, the broader Women’s WorldTour may be losing its balance. For a sport to grow holistically, it is essential that all events, big and small, receive adequate support and attention.

The Role of the UCI: Time for a Change?

Another important factor contributing to the current situation is the role of the UCI. The UCI oversees, but also owns the Women’s WorldTour,(together with all the teams as stakeholders) yet there is criticism that the organization is not investing sufficiently in promoting and supporting the full range of races. Unlike the men’s calendar, where the ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation) and other private companies own and actively promote their events, the Women’s WorldTour lacks such cohesive promotional efforts across the entire calendar.

The UCI has been criticized for not putting in place measures to ensure the sustainability of the smaller events, or to encourage a more even distribution of resources among all the races on the calendar. Ronny Lauke, team manager of the Canyon-SRAM team, suggested that the UCI needs to take a more proactive approach to promoting the Women’s WorldTour as a whole, rather than focusing on a few high-profile events.

Given the current challenges, it might be time to consider whether a separate entity should be responsible for the management and promotion of the Women’s WorldTour. Such an organization could focus on ensuring that all events receive the attention and support they need to thrive, rather than relying solely on the success of a handful of high-profile races. This approach would also help in creating a more balanced calendar, where teams do not feel the financial and logistical strain of participating in a congested and unevenly supported schedule.

A Decline for Other Women’s WorldTour Races

The Tour de France Femmes’ meteoric rise has had a notable effect on the other races on the UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar. The influx of sponsorship and attention on this one event has drained resources away from other valuable races. For example, Sweetspot, the former owner of the The Women’s Tour (of Britain red.), had to fold due to the lack of funds. The event itself, an established race that offered fantastic racing opportunities for different types of riders, cancelled the race in 2023 and faced cancellation in 2024 due to a lack of funding before British Cycling took the rights to organize the race back. Similarly, the Tour of Scandinavia (Formerly Ladies Tour of Norway), another staple on the Women’s WorldTour, struggled with funding issues and ultimately was not held in 2024. These cancellations are not isolated incidents but rather a symptom of a larger issue—sponsors are putting all their resources into high-profile events like the Tour de France Femmes, leaving smaller races struggling to survive.

The UCI Women’s WorldTour, which was designed to provide a comprehensive calendar of high-quality racing, is now struggling to maintain the balance between different events. The focus on the Tour de France Femmes has created a situation where only the richest teams can afford to participate fully in the overloaded calendar. Smaller teams, already grappling with tight budgets, find themselves at a disadvantage, unable to compete across multiple continents with sufficient rider support and resources to gain points to be able to start in high profile races, like the Tour de France Femmes and Paris Roubaix.

Natascha den Ouden, former general manager of Team AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep, expressed her concerns last season as well: “When we see the WorldTour calendar growing, we also have to look at whether it is doable for the whole peloton because the season starts in January and ends in October. A lot of teams are still struggling to do a double program, or for some, it is simply not possible as they don’t have enough riders or staff to cover. Salaries are rising, but budgets sometimes aren’t.” This statement reflects the reality faced by many teams—rising salaries and costs, but stagnant or insufficient funding.

The Women’s WorldTour calendar includes many races that offer unique challenges and opportunities for riders of different skill sets. However, without sufficient sponsorship, these races struggle to provide the necessary infrastructure, safety measures, and prize money needed to remain sustainable. With big sponsors focusing on the Tour de France Femmes, the financial disparity between different races on the calendar is becoming increasingly evident.

The Future of Women’s Cycling is at a Crossroads

The success of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is a cause for celebration. It has brought unprecedented attention to women’s cycling, created incredible racing moments, and showcased the incredible talent of female athletes. However, this success also poses a challenge for the future of the sport.

So, The narrative that “women’s cycling is growing” is only partly true. The reality is that the Tour de France Femmes is growing, but this growth is not extending to the rest of the Women’s WorldTour. For the sport to continue developing in a sustainable and balanced way, it is crucial that all races receive adequate support, funding, and promotion. The UCI must step up to play a more active role in ensuring that the Women’s WorldTour is truly a world-class calendar, not just a collection of a few standout events surrounded by struggling races.

Perhaps it is time to rethink how the Women’s WorldTour is managed. A separate entity that focuses solely on women’s cycling could help create a more balanced and sustainable calendar, ensuring that the success of the Tour de France Femmes benefits the entire sport. If the current trends continue, we risk ending up with a Women’s WorldTour that is dominated by a few large races, while the rest fade away. For the sake of the sport, it is crucial that we find a way to ensure that every race, and every rider, has a chance to shine.