When the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift launched in 2022, the stakes were clear: this wasn't just a race, it was a statement. Four years later, the race has matured into the most important fixture in the women’s WorldTour calendar. It’s grown in ambition, stature, and complexity, and in 2025, it will stretch across nine stages, and 1,165km.
That evolution isn’t accidental. Each edition of the race has built upon the last, learning from the men’s Tour but crafting its own identity. In 2025, the route begins in Brittany, with two rolling days designed to spark action, before two sprint days, and then the parcours tilt sharply skyward into the Massif Central and then the Alps. Notably absent is a time trial, a conscious decision to keep the drama in the mountains. The final weekend is a true reckoning: with stages going over the Col de la Madeleine and the Col de Joux Plane. If it's anything like last year, when we witnessed one of the greatest bike races ever, as Kasia Niewiadoma held onto yellow by a four seconds atop Alpe d'Huez to beat Demi Vollering, then we are in for a treat.
It's sure to be a spectacle, one that will inspire and entertain. Beyond the competition itself, the partnership with Zwift has helped elevate the race far beyond its historic footprint. According to its latest report, Zwift has helped triple digital engagement with top-tier women’s races since 2022, and the Tour de France Femmes alone pulled in over 80 million viewing hours across 190 countries in 2024.
Crucially, that visibility is translating into tangible gains for the athletes. Minimum salaries for WorldTour riders have more than doubled since 2020 — from €15,000 to nearly €32,000. Top riders now regularly earn six-figure incomes, and with better TV deals, improved race support, and professional team structures, the future of women’s racing is improving all the time.
In the 1980s, the Tour de France Féminin ran alongside the men's race for six years, and like the Niewiadoma-Vollering battle of 2024, it featured the compelling battles between Jeannie Longo and Maria Canins, one of cycling's greatest head-to-head rivalries. Unfortunately the event did not last long but thanks to sponsors like Zwift, the Tour de France Femmes is here.
“Women’s sport around the world is being lifted by a tailwind of interest and investment and yet, until 2022 women’s professional cycling missed the crown jewel of the cycling calendar, the Tour de France," said Kate Veronneau, Director of Women’s Cycling at Zwift.
"To have such an iconic race as part of the Women’s WorldTour was pivotal to ensure that women’s cycling also benefited, to have other brands, partners and sponsors invested in growing the sport, on the biggest stage under the banner of the most famous race in the world.”
The Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes hold a unique place in global culture —they are more than just races, they capture the imagination through its epic landscapes, dramatic rivalries, and unique personalities. As sporting events, they sets the benchmark for endurance and strategy, while culturally, they have become symbols of national pride for any stage or jersey winner. The rise of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has added a vital new dimension, making the Tour(s) not just a reflection of cycling’s past, but a driver of its future.
At Rouleur, we have witnessed first-hand and celebrated the rise of the celebrities of women’s cycling, where we have seen a massive growth in the interest of female athletes at our annual show, Rouleur Live. Stars like Niewiadoma and Vollering have been headline acts and have packed out the venue with fans eager to see their idols. Our coverage and newsletters about women's racing has grown year on year as the readership has increased, thanks to the platform that races like the Tour de France Femmes has provided.
The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has become a mirror of the broader movement in women’s sport — one that values parity, investment, and long-term growth. And if the past four years have been about proving it could work, 2025 is about proving just how far it can go.
