La Course by le Tour de France preview

On Sunday, the finest female cyclists racing today will take to the sport’s most prestigious race course for La Course by le Tour de France, a 13-lap, 90-km criterium through the streets of Paris with a finish on the famous Champs-Élysées.

The event, which is organized by ASO, is the product of a concerted campaign lead by Le Tour Entier, an organization formed by the racers Marianne Vos, Emma Pooley and Kathryn Bertine, plus triathlete Chrissie Wellington, aimed at fostering parity between men and women in the sport of cycling.

The involvement of the Tour de France has already made La Course one of the most prized contests on the ladies’ calendar, with exposure, cachet and financing that has been sorely missing in women’s cycling for many years.

There have been women’s tours in the past. In 1984, the inaugural Tour Féminin featured shortened versions of every stage of the three-week men’s race including all of the mountain passes; however, the ladies’ race suffered logistical and financial troubles in the following years. In 1990, women were left without a Grand Tour in France when the Tour Féminin transformed into the Tour de la Communauté Économique Européenne which ran from 1990 until 1993. A new race, with a different organizer, the Tour Cycliste Féminin, began in 1992 featuring fewer stages and a time-slot separate from the men’s race. In 1998, the Tour Cycliste Féminin was forced to change its name to La Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale due to a copyright dispute with the Société du Tour de France. La Grand Boucle was held annually until 2004, when it was cancelled due to financial problems. The event returned in 2005 and continued, in dwindling form, until 2009 when it was raced for the last time. By that point, the race included just four stages.

The hope for many in the women’s peloton, is that this new event, backed by ASO, will eventually lead to a full Grand Tour on par with the men’s. For now however, the ladies are focused on Sunday’s race and the chance to win on the Champs-Élysées. With a massive expected audience, international TV coverage and a large prize-purse, La Course is the kind of race that women have been working toward for decades. The shape of the race in years to come may be uncertain, but the rider who wins this first edition of La Course will undoubtedly earn a special place in history.

Twenty teams of six riders will take the start.

Kirsten Wild (Giant-Shimano), Giorgia Bronzini ( Wiggle-Honda) and Chloe Hosking (Hitec Products) are the riders most likely to win in the expected sprint finish while world champion Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv) can always be counted on to rise to such a special occasion.

Leah Kirchmann and Denise Ramsden of Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies are Canada’s hopefuls in the race. Kirchmann is Canada’s best chance for the finish. The 24-year-old sprinter from Winnipeg is in great form after sweeping the national road race, time trial, and criterium titles and claiming six top-five placings at BC Superweek, including wins at the Brenco Criterium, Tour de Delta, and Gastown Grand Prix. Naturally, such success lends her a certain aplomb. “Our team goal is to get on the podium. We are prepared to do this from both a breakaway or bunch sprint situation. I have confidence that our team can deliver a very fast lead-out, with Lauren Hall and myself capable of sprinting with the best in the world,” she commented a few days before the race.

Ramsden will likely be a part of that lead-out; however, she could seize her chance in a breakaway. The 23-year-old from Yellowknife is in super shape, having recently won the MK Delta Criterium and earned several other podium placings at BC Superweek, alongside the silver medal she won at the national road race championships. Ramsden’s excitement for the race was palpable in her words ahead of the event. “I’m really looking forward to being a part of, what I think, will be a hallmark event for women’s cycling. I hope that we can put on an exciting race that warrants our place on the Champs-Élysées and I’m sure it will be an amazing atmosphere,” she said.

Kirchmann underlined the importance of the event for women’s bike racing. “It means a lot for the most prestigious race the world to show their support for women’s cycling by including La Course. I hope that the event will increase public interest in women’s cycling and also act as a stepping stone for a longer event in the future,” she said.

La Course will begin at 12:45 (Paris time) and be televised in Canada on RDS.