The Tour de France Femme Avec Zwift will change its date next year due to an international calendar conflict with the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The first two editions of the Tour de France Femme have been held in the week immediately following the end of the men's Tour de France, which last year ran from July 24 to 31.

This year the event will be held from July 23 to 30. The route starts in Clermont-Ferrand and travels south through the Pyrenees Mountains to the summit finish in the iconic Tourmalet and concludes with a time trial in Pau. [Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme admitted in an interview with BiciPro (opens in new tab) that the Tour de France Femme will change its schedule.

"In 2024 there will be the Olympic Games. The champions go to the Olympics after the Tour de France, so we have to change the dates. One of the successes of the last edition was that the competition was in the "fourth week.""

Cycling News contacted ASO to confirm the new date for the 2024 Tour de France Femme and was told that the timing of the race on the international calendar is "currently under consideration."

It is speculated that the Tour de France Femme could be held before or during the men's competition, or even after the Olympics.

The positioning of the Paris Olympics also means that ASO has adjusted the men's Tour de France schedule to be the same as before the Tokyo Olympics. Thus, the men's Grand Tour will be held one week earlier, from June 29 to July 19 next year, with the Grande Parle in Florence instead of Paris and the finish in Nice.

The women's peloton had its first official women's Tour de France stage race in 1984, won by American Marianne Martin; in 1985 and 1986, Italian Marianne Canin and Jeannie Longo won the triple crown from 1987 to 1989.https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2024-tour-de-france-expected-to-start-in-tuscany-and-finish-in-nice/

"When we relaunched the Tour de France Femme on Zwift, we told ourselves that we wanted to create a long-lasting event that would live on for another 50 years, like the Giro and Tour ..... .there were a lot of Jeannie Longo and Maria Canins duels in the 80s.

"Unfortunately, however, the demonstration was cancelled for economic reasons, and all subsequent events in France were also cancelled for economic reasons. So we wanted the first year (2022 Tour de France Femme) to be a balanced event. You know, an event that would have an impact on the future. But for that to happen, the economic aspect is obviously fundamental."

The first edition of the new Tour de France Femme was a huge success not only in terms of racing and fanfare, but also in terms of branding and marketability. The media, fan presence, and interest in the race were a testament to the race's international popularity.

According to the official Tour de France femme, there were a total of nearly 20 million viewers in France over the eight days of racing, with France 2 and France 3 averaging 2.25 million viewers per stage and a 26.4% rating. The finale alone, with Van Vleuten's victory atop La Super Blanche des Belle Filles, was viewed by over 5 million French viewers.

Prudhomme has praised the success of the first Tour de France Femme and expects the 2023 and 2024 editions to be even more successful, even if the race has to be moved back one race to accommodate the Olympics. He also noted the success of the Paris-Roubaix Fam in October 2021. This competition was postponed twice and was held in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The candidacies of the cities were excellent. After the first convention we saw it first hand. We did not expect so many people to gather along the streets. We did not expect so many people to gather in front of the TVs. We must continue. We must go further. And that means facing difficulties," Prudhomme said. [In 2024, there will be the Olympics. The champions go to the Olympics after the Tour de France, so we have to change the dates. One of the successes of the last edition was that the competition was in the "fourth week." After the pandemic, a women's version of Paris-Roubaix was held for the first time, which also succeeded without difficulty."