The 2022 Tour de France Femmes (officially 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift) was the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes, a professional women's cycling race which took place from 24 to 31 July. It was the 16th event in the 2022 UCI Women's World Tour. The Tour consisted of 8 stages, covering a distance of .
Starting in 1955, various cycling races for women have been held similar to the Tour de France for men, using different names (for example, Tour de France Féminin and Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale) and to a shorter length, unlike the three-weeks races for the men. The first edition of Tour de France Femmes followed years of campaigning by the women's professional peloton for an equivalent race to the men's Tour de France.
The race was won by Annemiek van Vleuten (), taking the general classification (GC) leader's yellow jersey by winning both mountain stages in the latter part of the race. Demi Vollering () finished in second place after placing behind van Vleuten on both mountain stages. Vollering also took the polka-dot jersey as winner of the Queen of the Mountains (QoM) classification. Third place went to Katarzyna Niewiadoma (), who secured a podium position after top five finishes on both mountain stages.
Marianne Vos () won the green jersey for the points classification following top five finishes in the first six stages, including two wins, as well as the super-combativity award for the most combative rider. Another two stages were won by sprinter Lorena Wiebes (). Shirin van Anrooij () took the white jersey as the winner of the young rider classification, which was awarded to the best-placed rider under the age of 23. won the team classification as the team with the lowest aggregate time among their three best-placed riders. Overall, the race drew large crowds, had substantial international media coverage, and was highly praised by the public, media, teams, and riders.
Background The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race held primarily in France, with the first race in 1903. It takes place over 21 stages across three weeks in July. Various professional women's cycle stage races across France have been held as an equivalent race for women, with the first taking place as a one off event in 1955. Between 1984 and 2009, a women's Tour de France was staged consistently, using the Tour de France Féminin name from 1984 to 1989. Several race organisers subsequently ran events such as the Tour Cycliste Féminin and Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale. These races struggled with financial difficulties, limited media coverage, sexism, and trademark issues with the organisers of the Tour de France, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).
La Course by Le Tour de France In 2013, activist group Le Tour Entier (“the whole tour”) began pushing for a revival of the women's Tour de France and other improvements to women's cycling. Following substantial media coverage, and a petition signed by over 100,000 people, ASO launched La Course by Le Tour de France in 2014. The one-day stage race took place prior to the final stage of the men's race in Paris. Between 2014 and 2021, La Course was held in a variety of locations across France in conjunction with the men's race, with ASO arguing that this was the "best way to shine a light on female cycling".
La Course was initially praised, with sponsors welcoming the live TV coverage and visibility of taking place alongside the men's race. However, La Course was criticised by campaigners and riders for being overshadowed by the men's Tour de France, not having enough stages, and not being challenging enough for the professional peloton. Organisers were also criticised for not doing enough to promote the race. Riders and campaigners pushed for La Course to evolve into a longer race with more stages, with mountain stages and time trials. Pushing back at criticism, ASO noted that they were unable to stage a men's and women's Tour de France simultaneously due to logistical issues, and that races must be financially sustainable.
Tour de France Femmes In May 2021, ASO announced that they would launch a new women's stage race, Tour de France Femmes. The first edition was to be held over 8 days in July 2022, following the 2022 Tour de France. The men's tour director, Christian Prudhomme commented that lessons must be learned from the failure of previous events, with the aim of a financially sustainable event, one "that will still exist in 100 years". The reaction from the professional women's peloton was overwhelmingly positive, with Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen stating "it's long been a dream for many of us to compete in a women's Tour de France", and Danish rider Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig commenting "this is a day that we’ve waited for, for a long time". ASO also announced that multiplayer online cycling platform Zwift had signed a four-year agreement to sponsor the race, as Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Teams
The 24 teams which participated in the race were announced on 30 March 2022. All 14 UCI Women's WorldTeams were automatically invited. They were joined by 10 UCI Women's Continental Teams: the three best 2021 UCI Women's Continental Teams (Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling, Parkhotel Valkenburg and Valcar–Travel & Service) received an automatic invitation, and the other seven teams were selected by the organisers of the Tour. A total of 144 riders from 25 nationalities started the race, with the Netherlands having the largest contingent (29 riders).
UCI Women's WorldTeams
UCI Women's Continental Teams
Arkéa Pro Cycling Team
Route and stages
In October 2021, the route was announced by race director Marion Rousse. It comprised eight consecutive days of racing, covering a total of . The race started with a stage on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, on the same day as the final stage of the men's tour. The route generally headed eastwards from Paris, with gravel sections in Champagne vineyards on stage 4, stages in the Vosges mountains (including the longest, stage 5), and a summit finish on stage 8 at La Super Planche des Belles Filles. Climbs were categorised from category 4 (the easiest) to category 1 (the most difficult), with no hors catégorie (English: beyond category) climbs on the route.
The route was welcomed by the professional peloton and campaigners such as Kathryn Bertine, with praise for the variety of stages. Rouleur considered that the mountainous terrain of the last two stages could mean that the winner could be unknown "until the riders cross the finish line on the final stage". The overall length of the event was met with agreement, with some teams noting that they do not "yet have the staff or numbers" for a race three weeks in length (such as the men's Tour de France).
The route itself required a waiver from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), as Women's WorldTour races in 2022 have a maximum stage length of and a maximum race length of six days. The restrictions were criticised by the professional peloton and campaigners as "sexist", as the UCI does not allow women to compete over identical distances as men.
+Stage characteristics Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner 1 24 July Paris: Tour Eiffel to Champs-Élysées Flat stage 2 25 July Meaux to Provins Hilly stage 3 26 July Reims to Épernay Hilly stage 4 27 July Troyes to Bar-sur-Aube Medium-mountain stage 5 28 July Bar-le-Duc to Saint-Dié-des-Vosges Flat stage 6 29 July Saint-Dié-des-Vosges to Rosheim Hilly stage 7 30 July Sélestat to Le Markstein Mountain stage 8 31 July Lure to La Super Planche des Belles Filles Mountain stage Total
Race overview
Annemiek van Vleuten, Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini, Ashleigh Moolman, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Marta Cavalli and Katarzyna Niewiadoma were all named as pre-race favourites for the general classification (GC), which determines the overall winner of the race. The sprinters tipped for winning the points classification were Lorena Wiebes and Elisa Balsamo. The Queen of the Mountains (QoM) classification (similar to King of the Mountains classification in the men's race) would be won by the best climber in the race, with the media noting Uttrup Ludwig, Niewiadoma and Vollering as contenders. Overall, the field of 144 was described as "packed with talent", with the top 28 riders in the UCI rankings all taking part.
Media coverage prior to the event was positive, calling the race a "historic moment for women's cycling" and "game changing". There was some criticism of the €250,000 prize fund, compared to the €2.2 million prize fund for the men's race. ASO noted that the prize fund was larger than men's races of similar length – such as the Critérium du Dauphiné. Riders from The Cyclists' Alliance – a union representing the female peloton – stated that live TV coverage for races was their biggest priority, rather than prize money.
Stages 1 to 6
Stage 1 of the Tour took place on 24 July in Paris, with a start beneath the Eiffel Tower and eight laps around the Champs-Élysées (on the traditional circuit which concluded the men's tour later that day). In a bunch sprint finish, Wiebes (Team DSM) outsprinted Marianne Vos (Jumbo–Visma) to take the first yellow jersey of the race, as well as the green jersey of the points classification. Stage 2 to Provins was marred by multiple crashes in the final , with Cavalli () having to abandon the race as a result. Van Vleuten (Movistar Team) also came close to abandoning the race after suffering from a stomach infection and being unable to eat or drink. At the finish, Vos outsprinted a small group to take the yellow and green jerseys, assisted by bonus seconds available to the first 3 finishers.
Stage 3 took place on rolling terrain, with a final loop into Épernay. On the Côte de Mutigny, several riders contending for the general classification broke away from the peloton. On the final steep climb to the finish, Uttrup Ludwig () outsprinted the group to take the stage while Femke Gerritse (Parkhotel Valkenburg) took the lead in the classification.
Stage 4 to Bar-sur-Aube was another hilly stage, its final half having four gravel sections in Champagne vineyards. Multiple riders including Niewiadoma (), Longo Borghini (), Uttrup Ludwig and van Vleuten suffered punctures and other issues but most of them were able to rejoin the peloton and not lose time. Mavi García () was hit by her team car while trying to catch up to the main field after two punctures, causing her to lose time. With around remaining, Marlen Reusser () attacked, riding solo to win the stage by nearly a minute and a half.
Continuing east across France, stage 5 to Saint-Dié-des-Vosges was the longest of the 2022 Women's WorldTour calendar at . With around left, a crash in the peloton took down several riders, with Emma Norsgaard () having to abandon. In the final sprint, Wiebes overtook Balsamo and Vos to secure her second stage win. In the , Vos kept the yellow jersey, extending her advantage to 20 seconds due to bonuses. Stage 6 to Rosheim was a hilly stage, with four categorised climbs and another climb with bonus seconds at the top. On the descent of the penultimate climb, a small group including Wiebes and Lotte Kopecky () crashed, but everyone involved ultimately finished the stage. A group of 14 riders who had been ahead of the peloton in a breakaway were caught in the closing kilometres, with the stage win contested by a large group of riders in a bunch sprint. Vos outsprinted Marta Bastianelli () and Kopecky to win her second stage of the race. In the , Vos extended her advantage due to the ten bonus seconds she gained for the stage win.
Mountain stages
Stages 7 and 8 took place in the Vosges mountains in Grand Est, with five category 1 climbs over the two days, and two summit finishes. The difficulty of the two stages meant they were considered to be queen stages, likely to decide the eventual winner of the .