La Course by Le Tour de France was an elite women's professional road bicycle 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 ...

. First held in 2014 as a

one-day race The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

on 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 ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, it has been part of the UCI Women's WorldTour since 2016 as a one or two day race. The race was organised by the

Amaury Sport Organisation The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is part of the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury. It organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events. The president of ASO is Je ...

(ASO), the organisers of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. It was replaced in 2022 by

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 refe ...

, a multi day stage race organised by ASO.

History

In 2013, professional cyclists

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 ...

Marianne Vos Marianne Vos (; born 13 May 1987) is a Dutch multi-discipline cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . After winning a junior European and World Championship in road racing, she continued her success in senior cycling by becomin ...

and

Emma Pooley Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Emma'' (1996 TV film), a British television film starring Kate Be ...

and professional triathlete Chrissie Wellington formed an activist group called

Le Tour Entier Le Tour Entier is an activist group to improve women's cycle racing, and call for a women's Tour de France. The group was founded by multiple world champion Marianne Vos, Olympic silver medallist Emma Pooley, professional cyclist Kathryn Bertine a ...

(“the whole tour”), to petition ASO to launch a women's Tour de France. Following substantial media coverage, and a petition signed by over 100,000 people, ASO launched La Course by Tour de France in 2014. The race would be held in conjunction with the Tour de France, with the first edition taking place as a one-day race on the Champs-Élysées in advance of the final stage of the men's race. In subsequent years, the race took place in a variety of locations such as Pau,

Col de la Colombière Col de la Colombière (elevation 1613 m) is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Haute-Savoie in France. It connects Cluses in the Arve valley with Le Grand-Bornand in the Bourne valley. The road then leads further to Annecy ...

and

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 ...

in conjunction with the men's race, as the ASO argued that this was the "best way to shine a light on female cycling". The race was initially praised for the exposure gained by 'sharing the stage' with the Tour de France, with sponsors welcoming the visibility of the Champs-Élysées, and live TV coverage in conjunction with the Tour de France. However, the races were criticised by riders, teams and the media. Some felt that the race was an 'after thought' and were overshadowed by the men's race. ASO were criticised for not doing enough to promote the race. The 2017 edition was specifically criticised for a lack of facilities for riders and teams, no support to get from the Col d'Izoard to Marseille, as well as issues regarding the pursuit time trial format in Marseille. Riders noted that the stages weren't hard enough for the professional peloton, 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 race was also criticised for not being a "full Tour de France", with campaigner

stating her disappointment that the race had not evolved into a multi day stage race. ASO stated that logistical issues mean that a men's and women's Tour de France would not be able to be staged simultaneously, and that any race must be financially sustainable. In June 2021, ASO announced that the

- a multi day stage race - will take place for the first time in 2022. This new 8 day race took place following the Tour de France, replacing La Course.

Locations

Winners

La Course by Le Tour de France 2015 (19502996593)

A total of six of the eight editions were won by cyclists from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{UCI Women's World Tour Cycle races in France Women's road bicycle races Tour de France Cycling in Paris UCI Women's World Tour races