At a 24 percent incline, even a motorcycle falls to the ground, but not Annemiek van Vleuten, the 39-year-old metronome from Utrecht. Van Vleuten was by far the strongest rider on the last two stages of the “Tour de France Femmes” and also on the super steep section up to the Super Planche des Belles Filles.
In the Vosges, she showed how big the crater is that separates her and the competition. Van Vleuten, if she can be nicknamed after former cycling dominator Eddy Merckx, is something of the cannibal of women’s cycling: multiple world champion, Olympic gold medalist, three-time Giro winner – and now she’s adding victory to her trophy case added to the Tour de France.
Comparisons to earlier eras are easy to draw in cycling as in any other sport. Ten legends have already been written and spread during the tour. But all these legends sing of the heroic deeds and tragic fates of men. Women’s cycling, on the other hand, had to fight for recognition for a long time – as was shown, for example, in a television sequence from 1987.
After a stage, several riders came together on French television. The world’s best cyclist at the time, Jeannie Longo, took a seat in an otherwise all-male group. Among the participants was Laurent Fignon, two-time Tour winner and known as “le professeur” when he was active. And next to him sat a top macho of the field at the time: Marc Madiot, newly crowned French road champion.
26 percent market share, 20 million viewers – French television is satisfied
He attacked the reigning world champion several times directly and well below the belt: Aesthetics play a major role in sport. “There are sports that are feminine, and there are sports that are masculine,” Madiot philosophized: “Watching women dance is very pretty, watching them play soccer or cycling is horrible.” Longo kept trying to get involved but was held back by the testosterone-ridden Madiot: “Cycling is a very tough sport and I love women too much to want to see them suffer.”
35 years after this undignified scene and after many descents, women’s cycling has now reached a new peak in popularity. After eight stages over a distance of almost 1000 kilometers, the organizers and television draw a consistently positive conclusion for the first “Tour de France Femmes”. There was a previous event between 1984 and 2009, but it was canceled due to declining interest. From 2014 to 2021 there was only a one-day race. This year, however, the tour organization Aso decided to revive the old idea of a national tour – and the success was immense.
Over the eight days of racing, there weren’t quite as many fans at the side of the road as there were for the men, but there were still a considerable number. French television is also satisfied with a market share of 26 percent and around 20 million viewers. And that women would cut a worse figure on a bicycle than men was a fairy tale even in the time of Madiot and Fignon.
The winner van Vleuten climbed the climbs in the Vosges with the force of a steamroller that even a few male colleagues were amazed. The runner-up Demi Vollering, mountain specialist from the Netherlands, won a lot of sympathy because she struggled over the mountain with a pained face. And riders like Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Danish champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig moved up the climbs with remarkable ease.
Van Vleuten receives a bonus of 50,000 euros – more than in any other race, but only a tenth of men’s winner Vingegaard
This tour also served as a magnifying glass away from the podium to draw attention to the developments in women’s cycling. The progress in recent years has been immense. Fewer and fewer athletes have to work alongside their sport, but can lead a life as a professional. The prize money was increased: Van Vleuten received a prize money of 50,000 euros – more than at any other race on the calendar. However, only a tenth of the male Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard.
Tour director Marion Rousse, a former cyclist herself and now a commentator for French television, is certain that the women’s Tour will be a long-term project – and that many young girls will be inspired by the achievements of these riders. At the same time, the Tour also made it clear that the performance gap among women is significant because the training conditions differ greatly from team to team.
Some teams, especially those from sponsors who already equip a men’s team, have great financial advantages over others. In addition, the professionalization of women’s cycling started earlier in the Netherlands than in other countries. The riders live on that today. Six stage wins and the first two places in the overall standings went to Dutch women.
What Marc Madiot, the former senior macho and current team boss of Groupama-FDJ, thinks of the first “Tour de France Femmes” has not yet been revealed. Jeannie Longo, on the other hand, was asked about him these days. She said Madiot was a young man, one of many at the time who didn’t want women to do what made them excel. Today, however, they would even kiss each other hello. To the Parisien said the now 63-year-old Longo: “The cycling milieu has tried to extinguish our fire, even though the spectacle that the women offer is equal to that of the men.”