Underappreciated, under rated, and often forgotten about is the ladies arm of professional cycling. Anyone who calls themselves a cycling fan can rattle off the names of at least 10 male riders, ask them to do the same for female riders and most won’t be able to get through a handful.
Women’s cycling seemed to reach a watershed moment at the conclusion of the 2021 La Course by Le Tour de France, the sister event to the almighty Le Tour, when three time world champ Judith Arndt took to social media saying “If they can’t organize a proper race for them, they should just leave it, women’s cycling is such a serious sport and should be treated as such.”
Fast forward to 2022 and we’ve seen a few huge announcements willing ladies cycling forward, with Zwift at the forefront of the fight. Towards the end of 2021 the Tour de Femme, an eight stage branch of Le Tour de France, was launched alongside Zwift’s presenting partner status.
Another step forward, announced earlier this week, was the four year investment in the Paris Roubaix Femmes Avec Zwift. “We’re incredibly proud to be the first ever presenting partner to Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift and to be expanding our relationship with the A.S.O. Alongside the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, this is a huge opportunity to shine a light on one of the most iconic and exciting races on the Tour and showcase the incredible quality and talent of the women’s peloton.” says Eric Min, CEO & Co-Founder of Zwift.
Here at Road Bike Magazine we can’t get enough of the long overdue airtime and appreciation ladies cycling is receiving and we can’t wait to share our annual Tour de France mag, where we’ll cover the ladies races in depth, with you in a few months.
