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 women's professional road bicycle race held in France. First held in 2014 as a one-day race on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, it has been part of the UCI Women's WorldTour since 2016 as a one or two ...

, a women's cycle race held in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. 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 Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. The 21-race stage, stage race took place across , commencing with an individual time trial in Düsseldorf, Germany on 1 July ...

, 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 sou ...

, 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 World Tour. For the 2017 season, the calendar consisted of 20 races, up from 17 in 2016. Two one-day races – the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, to comple ...

. Both races had the same podium;

Annemiek van Vleuten Annemiek van Vleuten (born 8 October 1982) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . Van Vleuten is a two-time winner of both the road race (2019 and 2022) and the time trial (2017 and 2018) at the UCI ...

() 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 currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . She was the 2015 World road race champion. Deignan is ...

, with the podium being completed each time by 's

Elisa Longo Borghini Elisa Longo Borghini (born 10 December 1991) is an Italian professional road cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . During her career, Longo Borghini has won two bronze medals in the road race at the Summer Olympic Games, taking third-p ...

. 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 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 de Triomphe is lo ...

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 ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

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. History In order to increase the coverage of Women's cycling the UCI held a summit in December 2014 between the UCI Women’s Working Group and the UCI Women's ...

, 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 (; oc, Estadi Velodròm, ), known as the Orange Vélodrome for sponsorship reasons, 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, ...

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 Olym ...

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 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 World Tour. Some teams and media have referr ...

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 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2017 in French sport