The 2023 Tour de France Femmes (officially Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift) was the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes. The race took place from 23 to 30 July 2023, and was the 21st race in the 2023 UCI Women's World Tour calendar. The race was organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which also organises the men's Tour de France.
Overall, the race was highly praised by the public, media, teams and riders – with large crowds and high TV viewership. Race director Marion Rousse stated that the 2023 edition "was the year of confirmation: we had to prove that the first edition was not just curiosity".
The 22 teams which participated in the race[1] were announced on 14 April 2023.[1] Each team had seven riders, one more than the 2022 edition.[2] All 15 UCI Women's WorldTeams were automatically invited.[3] They were joined by seven UCI Women's Continental Teams – the two best 2022 UCI Women's Continental Teams (Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling and Lifeplus–Wahoo) received an automatic invitation, and the other five teams were selected by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organisers of the Tour.[3] A total of 154 riders from 27 nationalities started the race, with the Netherlands having the largest contingent (29 riders).[4]
View from the Col du Tourmalet, the finish of stage 7 at elevation of 2,115m (6,939ft)
In October 2022, the route was announced by race director Marion Rousse.[5] It comprised eight consecutive days of racing, covering a total of 960.5 kilometres (596.8mi). The race started in Clermont-Ferrand on the same day that the men's tour finished in Paris, before heading south across the Massif Central (including the longest, stage 4) towards the Pyrenees mountains. The penultimate stage was the queen stage of the Tour, with a summit finish at the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees at an elevation of 2,115m (6,939ft). The final stage was an individual time trial in Pau, using a similar course to the 2019 edition of La Course by Le Tour de France.[5][6] 2022 winner Annemiek van Vleuten called the route "an upgrade", with other riders welcoming the inclusion of bigger climbs and a time trial.[7][8]
As with the 2022 edition, the route required a waiver from the Union Cycliste Internationale, as Women's WorldTour races have a maximum stage length of 160 kilometres (99mi) and a maximum race length of six days.[9]
Overall, the field of 154 riders was described as "stacked",[16] with the top 13 finishers from the 2022 edition all taking part.[17] Media coverage prior to the event was very positive, with anticipation of the summit finish at the Col du Tourmalet and the time trial in Pau.[14][18] The start in Clermont-Ferrand was also welcomed,[19] with Rouleur stating it "breaks the shackles that tie it to the men's race".[20] The prize fund remained at €250,000 (compared to €2.3 million for the men's tour), with €50,000 for the winner of the general classification – making it one of the richest races in women's cycling.[21][22]
The second stage took the riders south from Clermont-Ferrand to Mauriac, over a hilly course with six categorised climbs.[23] The second half of the stage was affected by heavy rain, with several riders crashing in the last 20 kilometres (12mi), including Eva van Agt[nl] (Jumbo–Visma) who was taken to hospital with a concussion.[25][26] In the uphill sprint towards the finish line, Demi Vollering (SD Worx) led out her teammate Kopecky, however Liane Lippert (Movistar Team) overtook Kopecky in the final 100 metres to win the stage. After the stage, Kopecky realised she had a slow puncture that had dampened her sprint. Kopecky retained the yellow jersey of the general classification (GC), with Yara Kastelijn (Fenix–Deceuninck) taking the lead of the QoM classification.[27]
Stage 3 to Montignac-Lascaux took the riders westwards over a flat course, with a bunch sprint expected.[23]Julie Van de Velde (Fenix–Deceuninck) escaped with around 60km (37mi) of the stage remaining. Taking QoM points over the final two climbs, she took the lead of the mountains classification while building up a lead of around a minute. In the final sprint, Van de Velde was caught by the peloton with 300 metres to go, with Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) winning the bunch sprint for the stage.[28]
The fourth stage to Rodez was a hilly course, with five categorised climbs, another climb with bonus seconds at the top and a steep finish into Rodez.[23] It was also the longest stage of the race at 177.1km (110.0mi) in length.[23] A breakaway gained 10 minutes over the peloton, before Yara Kastelijn attacked from the break on the final climb. Behind her, GC rivals Demi Vollering (SD Worx) and Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar Team) attacked each other, overtaking remains of the breakaway approaching the finish. Kastelijn's solo attack won her the stage by 1' 11", her first major stage win in the UCI Women's World Tour. Behind Kastelijn, Vollering attacked in the steep final kilometre to take second place on GC, eight seconds ahead of her main rival Van Vleuten thanks to six bonus seconds at the finish line. Kopecky retained her yellow jersey of the GC, with Anouska Koster (Jumbo–Visma) talking the polka dot jersey of the QoM classification thanks to the points collected while in the breakaway.[29]
Stage 5 to Albi took the riders south over a flat course, heading towards the Pyrenees.[23] Prior to the start, stage 3 winner Wiebes withdrew due to illness.[26] Kastelijn took the QoM points over the first two climbs, taking the lead in the mountains classification. Ricarda Bauernfeind (Canyon–SRAM), an experienced time trialist, attacked from the peloton, eventually building up a lead of around 1' 30". The peloton gave chase, however the gap did not fall fast enough to catch her. In the closing kilometres, Lippert and Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) attempted to catch her. Bauernfeind was too strong, and crossed the finish line 22 seconds ahead of the pair.[30] During the stage, Vollering suffered a puncture, before drafting her team car to get back to the main bunch, drawing the ire of commissaires. She was subsequently penalised 20 seconds in the general classification, dropping her to seventh place in the GC, 12 seconds behind her rival Van Vleuten.[31] The following day, SD Worx directeur sportifDanny Stam was removed from the race due to "inappropriate comments" made to the commissaires, as well as his "dangerous overtaking ... of cars and riders" while Vollering was drafting his car.[32]
Stage 6 to Blagnac was the final chance for sprinters to win, given the parcours of the remaining stages. A breakaway including Emma Norsgaard (Movistar Team) was formed with around 70km (43mi) to go, establishing a two minute lead.[33][34] During the stage, GC contender Veronica Ewers (EF Education–Tibco–SVB) crashed heavily. She finished the stage, albeit in pain – it later transpired that Ewers had a broken collarbone and would not start stage 7.[35] In the closing kilometres of the stage, the gap to the breakaway steadily fell as the sprinters teams gave chase. In the final 2 kilometres (1.2mi), a tight chicane over the Toulouse tramway caused a small crash, distracting the peloton and delaying some riders as they gave chase.[33][34] With 600 metres to the finish, Norsgaard launched an attack, as the gap collapsed behind her. Norsgaard held on to win the stage by a second. Charlotte Kool (Team DSM–Firmenich) finished second, with third placed Kopecky in the yellow jersey visibly annoyed not to have caught Norsgaard before the finish line.[33][34] Riders subsequently criticised the chicane that was located close to the finish, with Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (AG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step) calling it "super, super dangerous".[36]
The seventh stage of the race took the riders over two major climbs in the Pyrenees mountains, and was considered as the queen stage of the race. Starting with the first category Col d'Aspin (12km with an average gradient of 6.5 percent), riders then ascended the hors catégorieCol du Tourmalet (17.1km with an average gradient of 7.5 percent), finishing at the summit at an elevation of 2,115m (6,939ft).[37][38] The climbs were last tackled by the peloton at the 2007 Grande Boucle, with a summit finish last occurring in the 2000 edition of the race.[39][40]
Prior to the start of the stage, Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl–Trek) who was fourth on GC, withdrew from the race due to a skin infection.[41] After initial skirmishes, the peloton hit the Col d'Aspin with GC contenders immediately powering away from the rest of the field. Van Vleuten launched an attack 5 kilometres (3.1mi) from the top, followed by her rival Vollering as well as Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon–SRAM). Niewiadoma took the QoM at the top of the climb. On the descent, Niewiadoma was substantially faster than both Vollering and Van Vleuten. The two rivals did not wish to work together to chase her, deciding to wait for teammates behind. This allowed Niewiadoma's lead to balloon to nearly 45 seconds.[42][43]
On the ascent of the Col du Tourmalet, the yellow jersey group including Juliette Labous (DSM–Firmenich), Moolman Pasio, Reusser, Kopecky, Vollering and Van Vleuten worked to reduce the gap to Niewiadoma to just six seconds. But Niewiadoma kept working, eventually extending her lead to 30 seconds with 10 kilometres (6.2mi) to go. In thick fog, Vollering attacked with 5 kilometres (3.1mi) to the summit, with Van Vleuten unable to follow. Passing Niewiadoma a few kilometres later, Vollering soloed to the top of the climb, winning the stage by 1' 58" ahead of Niewiadoma. Van Vleuten finished the stage 2' 34" behind Vollering in third, with the yellow jersey of Kopecky finishing sixth on the stage, 3' 32" behind Vollering.[42][43]
Vollering therefore took the yellow jersey of the general classification, with a lead of 1' 50" ahead of Niewiadoma. Van Vleuten took third on GC, 2' 28" behind Vollering. Kopecky fell to fourth overall, just seven seconds behind Van Vleuten and four seconds ahead of Moolman Pasio in fifth place. Niewiadoma took the polka dot jersey of the mountains classification, with a four point lead over Kastelijn. Kopecky retained her green jersey of the points classification. Kerbaol retained the young rider classification, despite losing 44 seconds to her rival Ella Wyllie (Lifeplus–Wahoo).[44][43]
Time trial in Pau
Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) riding the stage 8 time trial in Pau
The final stage of the race was an individual time trial over a twisting 22.6 kilometres (14.0mi) course in Pau. The course was similar to one previously used for a time trial at the 2019 Tour de France, as well as for the 2019 La Course by Le Tour de France stage race.[37][45] It was considered unlikely that Vollering would lose the yellow jersey on the stage, in light of her lead over Niewiadoma. However third placed Kopecky was just seven seconds behind Van Vleuten and four seconds ahead of Moolman-Pasio.[46]
The fastest time on the stage was set by Reusser, two-time silver medalist at the time trial world championships and silver medalist in the time trial at Tokyo 2020.[46][47] Kopecky then set a fast time, 38 seconds slower than Reusser. Next on the stage was Van Vleuten, who finished 1' 41" slower than Reusser. Finishing fourteenth on the stage, she fell off the overall podium into fourth place. Niewiadoma had a 38 second lead over Van Vleuten, and a 45 second lead over Kopecky. Her time trial was 1' 23" slower than Reusser, finishing ninth on the stage. Kopecky therefore took second place overall by 21 hundredths of a second.[46][47] Niewiadoma was third overall.[48][49]
The last rider to start was Vollering, who finished second on the stage, 10 seconds behind Reusser – sealing her victory in the Tour de France Femmes.[46][47]
Vollering expressed her delight following her victory, stating that she "still can't believe it".[46] She also expressed her hope that the Tour has "inspired many young girls and women".[50] Her rival Van Vleuten was disappointed with her performance, and praised Vollering for her victory.[51] She also explained that illness had dampened her performance in both the mountainous stage 7 and the final time trial.[51] Niewiadoma was pleased with her polka dot jersey, while expressing disappointment about losing second place overall.[52] Kopecky's strong performance was praised, with L'Équipe calling her "the Wout van Aert of women's cycling".[53] Overall, SD Worx dominated the event, with 1st and 2nd place in the overall classification, 1st in the points and team classifications, as well as 4 stage wins.[47]
Media coverage following the event praised the television viewership, large crowds and the course design (including mountain stages),[54][55][56][57] while others expressed concern regarding awareness of key contenders by the general public, and the disparity in prize money.[22][58]L'Équipe called the Tourmalet stage "a key moment in the evolution of women's cycling".[59]Cycling News noted that the French public made "no distinction ... between the men's and women's race", referring to both races as the Tour de France.[57]Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace stated that the race was "met with real popular success",[60] and race director Marion Rousse stated that the 2023 edition "was the year of confirmation: we had to prove that the first edition was not just curiosity".[61]
Cycling News noted that the "logical next step" for the race would be to visit the Alps, noting that the race organisers ASO seemed "keen to include at least one very famous climb" in each edition of the race following La Planche des Belles Filles in 2022 and the Col du Tourmalet in 2023.[57] Subsequently, the 2024 edition of the race will visit the Alps.[62]
↑ On stages 2, 3, 6 and 7, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed Lotte Kopecky wore the yellow jersey as the leader of the general classification.
↑ On stages 4 and 5, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, who was third in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed Lotte Kopecky wore the yellow jersey as the leader of the general classification, and second placed Lorena Wiebes wore the European Champion's jersey.
↑ On stage 2, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, who was second in the mountains classification, wore the polka dot jersey, because first placed Lotte Kopecky wore the yellow jersey as the leader of the general classification.
As with the 2022 edition, live television coverage was provided by France Télévisions in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union.[64] French television coverage moved to the higher profile France 2 channel owing to the high viewership of the 2022 edition.[65] At least two and a half hours of each stage were broadcast, with the first and last stages shown from start to finish.[17]
Following the event, broadcasters reported high viewing figures.[66] In France, France 2 reported an average of 2 million viewers over the eight stages (a 25% audience share),[67][66] and a peak of 4.3 million viewers watching stage 7 on the Col du Tourmalet (a 34.6% audience share).[66] In Belgium, Sporza reported an average of around 393,000 viewers (a 55% audience share), with a peak of over 695,000 viewers on stage 7.[56] In the Netherlands, NOS reported an average of 627,000 viewers over the eight stages, with a peak of 2.5 million on stage 7 (a 42% audience share).[56][66]
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↑ "Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift Stages". Ride Media Presents: The Official Tour de France Guide 2023·Australian Edition. ridemedia.com.au. 2023. pp.196–203. ISSN1448-4854.
↑ "Tour de France Femmes 2023: Everything you need to know". Rouleur. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2023. While the women's Tour de France will continue to overlap with the men's by one day, the race will break the shackles that tie it to the men's race by beginning in Clermont-Ferrand rather than Paris
↑ "Opluchting bij Jumbo-Visma: 'slechts' hersenschudding en longkneuzing Van Agt". NOS (in Dutch). 25 July 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023. Eva van Agt heeft 'slechts' een hersenschudding en een longkneuzing overgehouden aan haar nare valpartij gisteren in de Tour de France. De 26-jarige renster van Jumbo-Visma ging in de tweede rit hard tegen de grond in een afdaling.
↑ "Cooke retains Grande Boucle title". BBC News. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023. In a classic final stage over the Col de Tourmalet (2115m) and the Col d'Aspin (1489m) in the Pyrenees
↑ Le Gars, Philippe (31 July 2023). "Tour de France femmes 2023: On a aimé, on n'a pas aimé". L'Équipe (in French). Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023. a deuxième place au final confirme sa polyvalence, qui lui vaut d'être surnommée «la Wout Van Aert du cyclisme féminin».
↑ Le Gars, Philippe (31 July 2023). "Tour de France femmes 2023: On a aimé, on n'a pas aimé". L'Équipe (in French). Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023. c'est aussi le décor magique du Tourmalet englué dans un brouillard compact qui a rendu cette avant-dernière étape mémorable. Elle restera comme un moment clé dans l'évolution du cyclisme féminin.
↑ "THE TOUR DE FRANCE LAUNCHES THE TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES AVEC ZWIFT – Tour de France 2022". www.letour.fr. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022. In terms of media exposure, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will benefit from daily live television coverage with a broad exposure all over the world. France Télévisions will extend its "afternoon of cycling" coverage of the Tour de France by one week to allow viewers the chance to support their champions. In addition, an agreement with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) will mean that the event will be broadcast on large public channels in the biggest European markets.
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