The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will change dates next year due to a clash on the international calendar with the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.
The first two editions of the Tour de France Femmes have been positioned during the week that directly follows the conclusion of the men's Tour de France; last year, the women's race was held from July 24-31.
This year, the race is scheduled to take place from July 23-30. The route will begin in Clermont-Ferrand and travel south into the Pyrenees with a mountaintop finish on the iconic Tourmalet and a concluding with a time trial in Pau.
However, in 2024, that spot on the calendar is occupied by the Olympic Games, which are scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11, with the men's and women's individual time trails on July 27, the men's road race on August 3 and the women's road race on August 4.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme confirmed that the Tour de France Femmes would change dates in an interview with BiciPro.
"In 2024, there will be the Olympics. The champions go to the Olympics in the wake of the Tour de France and so we have to change the date. Last time one of the successes was that the Games became a 'fourth week.'"
Cyclingnews reached out to ASO to confirm the new date of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, and they said that the timing of the race on the international calendar is “currently being considered”.
It has been speculated that the Tour de France Femmes could take place either before or during the men's event or perhaps even after the Olympic Games.
The position of the Paris Olympics has also meant that ASO adjusted the dates of the men's Tour de France in the same way that it did ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Therefore, the men's Grand Tour will be held a week earlier, from June 29 to July 19 next year, and with a Grand Depart in Florence and a finish in Nice rather than Paris.
The women's peloton raced their first official women's Tour de France stage race in 1984, won by American Marianne Martin. Champions of those early editions of the stage race also included Italy's Marian Canins winning in 1985 and 1986, and Jeannie Longo, winning three titles from 1987 to 1989.https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2024-tour-de-france-expected-to-start-in-tuscany-and-finish-in-nice/
"When we relaunched the Tour de France Femme avec Zwift, we said to ourselves that we wanted to create a long-lasting event, which would still be alive in 50 years, like the Giro, like the Tour… There were many duels between Jeannie Longo and Maria Canins in the 80s: they existed, and they were real," Prudhomme said.
"Only unfortunately, for economic reasons, the demonstration stopped, and all subsequent events in France eventually all stopped for economic reasons. So we wanted a balanced event the first year [2022 Tour de France Femmes]. An event that had an impact for the future. But for it to be, the economic aspect is obviously fundamental."
The first edition of the new Tour de France Femmes was a resounding success in terms of racing and fanfare, but also branding and marketability. The media, fan presence, and interest spoke volumes to the race's popularity internationally.
In total, there were nearly 20 million viewers in France across the eight days of racing, with an average per stage of 2.25 million on France 2 and France 3 delivering an audience share of 26.4%, according to official Tour de France Femmes figures. The finale alone, where Van Vleuten took victory atop La Super Blanche des Belles Filles, was watched by more than 5 million French viewers.
Prudhomme has hailed the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes as a success and expects no less in the 2023 and 2024 editions, even if it means moving the race for one edition to accommodate the Olympics. He also recalled the success of Parix-Roubaix Femmes in October 2021, which had been postponed twice and then held off the back of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The candidacy of the cities was incredible. We saw it after the first edition: it was a resounding success. We didn't expect so many people on the roadside. We didn't expect so many people in front of the television. We must continue. We have to go further. And that also means facing difficulties," Prudhomme said.
"In 2024, there will be the Olympics. The champions go to the Olympics in the wake of the Tour de France and so we have to change the date. Last time one of the successes was that the Games became a “fourth week”. After the pandemic, there was the first women's edition of Paris-Roubaix, and that too was a success beyond difficulty."
