Van Vleuten supports possible Tour de France Femmes shift from Paris depart
'Maybe now the Tour de France Femmes is already ready, that we don't need that anymore, to get the attention from the people' says yellow jersey champion
There is no denying that the rebirth of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift's opening stage in Paris held in conjunction with the stage 21 conclusion of the men's event was a symbolic gesture of the passing of the yellow jersey and a widely viewed spectacle of racing along the circuits of the famed Champs-Élysées this July.
However, according to a report in La Montagne, the Grand Départ of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes will move away from Paris and start instead in Clermont-Ferrand, the capital of Auvergne region, located in the Massif Central on July 23.
Tour de France Femmes champion, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), hasn't seen the confirmation of the official route, but has said that with the immense success of the first edition, perhaps the opening stage next year did not need to be held in conjunction with the men's race in Paris.
"For this year, I was super happy to start on the Champs-Élysées on the same day as the guys. It was strong and we took the audience with us, to follow us," Van Vleuten said in an interview ahead of the Tour de Romandie Féminin in Switzerland.
"Maybe now the Tour de France Femmes is already ready. [Maybe] we don't need that anymore, to get the attention from the people, that they will move with us on the same day."
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.
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This year's eight-day race started with stage 1 at the Eiffel Tower and then the peloton completed circuits on the Champs-Élysées for a total of 82km. Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) won the opening stage and took the first yellow jersey.
Some viewed the opener, which was the site of the first three editions of the former La Course by Le Tour de France, as somewhat of an exhibition while others saw it as an opportunity to connect the women's race and the men's race and to attract viewers, and a great day for the sprinters.
Van Vleuten said that while the circuit race did not suit her skills as a racer, she enjoyed the Paris opener, but that perhaps moving away from big city would allow the eight-day race a chance to visit more of France.
"I liked the concept to start on the Champs-Élysées, not that it was my day and not my favourite race day, but I think it's a good point to move away a little bit around France," Van Vleuten said.
"I'm super excited to see the whole route and then maybe I can say something more meaningful," she said, noting the official route announcement scheduled on October 27.
"I would not say that it's necessary to try and go to all the parts of France in eight or ten days, I don't know how long it will be but hopefully a little bit longer. It's a good move to try and move around France every year."
The Tour de France Femmes is set to take place from July 23-30 next summer, and according to La Montagne may include multiple stages in the Auvergne region with speculation that a mountain stage could include Puy de Dôme.
Race director Marion Rousse has reportedly visited Clermont-Ferrand as the place of the Grand Départ but also to discuss stage 2 and the potential for it to be held between Saint-Genès-Champanelle (Puy-de-Dôme) and Mauriac (Cantal).
The Grand Départ's move away from Paris to a new location in Clermont-Ferrand will mark a significant change, however, it would also allow the event to cover new and varied territory during the eight days of racing, new mountainous terrain and possibly an individual time trial.
ASO will announce the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes full route details on October 27 at the Palais des Congrès convention centre in Paris.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.