Why does the International Women's Route de France no longer exist?

Former women's cycling competition, the Route de France Féminine Internationale bid farewell in 2016. What was this stage race all about? Why was it removed from the women's world cycling calendar? We tell you everything.

What is the Route de France Féminine Internationale?

As its name suggests, the Route de France Féminine Internationale was a globally significant cycling competition reserved for women. The event consisted of a stage race with the number of stages varying each year. The female riders competed over 7 to 10 days across about ten stages throughout France. These ladies covered a total distance between 500 and 1000 km.

Ten editions took place between 2006 and 2016. The event was organized by the company Routes et Cycles (ORC). During its first two years of existence, the competition was in the 2.2 category of the UCI women's calendar before being promoted to the higher 2.1 level.

2009 marked a turning point in the history of the Route de France Féminine, as the Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale ceased to exist. With the cancellation of the Tour de l'Aude féminin the following year, the event became the most important stage race for women in France.

Why did this competition disappear from the calendar?

The birth of this initiative is credited to the UCI, which in 2006 sought candidates to organize a stage race in France. Its goal was to address the lack of international women's cycling races.

Unfortunately, the event did not achieve the expected success and fizzled out before it could take off. The reasons: lack of media coverage and insufficient funding. After a decade of women's performances on the Route de France, the decision was made to end it. The competition had already been canceled in 2017 due to a dispute between the UCI and the organizers. A second cancellation in 2018 marked the end of the race: Hervé Gérardin, director of ORC, permanently removed it from the women's cycling scene.

Faced with the difficulty women have in racing in events as prestigious as those for men, some have mobilized. In 2015, the collective “Donnons des elles au vélo J-1” was born. It consists of women who ride the Tour de France route the day before the men's peloton. Their mission: to generate excitement around women's cycling and revive a women's stage race in France for the professional elite.

The race's winners

Twenty years after the last yellow jersey of Jeannie Longo, a figure in the history of women's cycling, the Route de France took up the torch and propelled the careers of several women, such as Annemiek van Vleuten, Linda Villumsen, and Evelyn Stevens.

The first edition in 2006 was won by the Swiss Linda Villumsen, while American rider Amber Neben took the final title.

As for the record of stage wins, it belongs to the Italian Giorgia Bronzini (9 stage wins).

You now know the story of the disappearance of the Route de France Féminine Internationale. How about learning more about the Women's World Cycling Championship? Do you know which was the very first international women's cycling competition?