The organiser claims holding the two races simultaneously is logistically impossible, so the women’s Tour will follow the men’s race. According to Prudhomme, that cannot be the case in 2021, as the Olympics will begin right after the Tour and the best riders would not be available.
The 2022 Women’s Tour, speculated to be named Tour de France Femmes, is not the first attempt to hold a women’s Tour. The Tour de France Women, first held in 1984, did not survive more than six years and ended in failure. As Prudhomme noted, we must learn from the mistakes of the past.
“In my view, you have to put to one side the idea of parity between men and women. Why? Because there was a reason why that race only lasted for six years, and that was a lack of economic balance. What we want to do is create a race that will stay the course, that will be set up and stand the test of time. What that means is that the race cannot lose money,” the Tour de France organiser told the Guardian.
He added that the women’s events organised by ASO are not profitable.
“Today, all the women’s races that we organise lose us money. Even so, we’ve been running Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, La Course by Le Tour. There was the Tour of Yorkshire and the Tour de Qatar Feminin, there will be Paris-Roubaix in October. If it makes money, that’s great, but it mustn’t lose money or it will end up like the Tour in the ‘80s and it will die.”
The length or stages of the women’s Tour de France have not yet been revealed, but it is expected to begin on the same day the men finish stage 21. Further details will be announced in October.
