It’s hard to believe that the Tour de France organisers ASO weren’t keen to run a women’s Tour de France, after reading the audience numbers in a recent report about the inaugural Tour de France Femmes. You can read my previous rants here and here, but in short, the ASO ran a pathetic attempt at a women’s road event for several years before finally starting a ‘real’ race in 2022.
The report, commissioned by title sponsor Zwift found that the race attracted a cumulative live audience of 23.2 million for the Tour de France Femmes in 2022.
The data, from Nielsen Sports, also showed:
- An average live audience of 2.9 million per stage of the Tour de France Femmes
- An increase of more than 300 per cent in social posts, reach and engagement for the Top 5 women’s cycling races in 2022 vs 2021 as a result of the introduction of the Tour De France Femmes.
- An increase of 8.6 per cent during the tour in Facebook and Instagram followers for the top 35 female riders competing in the Tour de France Femmes
- 73 per cent of women’s cycling fans are interested in participating in sports/fitness activities vs just 44 per cent of the general population.
This is a significant milestone given this is the first edition of the race in 33 years. I feel…
