Watch new cycling film ‘Breakaway Femmes’ in Canadian theatres in April
The doc about the women’s Tour de France in the '80s includes some notable Canadian pioneers of cycling
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Demand Film
Looking for a reason to go to the theatre in April? How about a new documentary about some of the early years of pro women’s cycling at the biggest race of the year?
For six years in the 1980s, the Tour de France included a women’s race alongside the men’s: the Tour de France Féminin. It gave women cyclists the chance to compete on the same roads, face the same iconic climbs, and ride in front of the same crowds. Despite delivering dramatic victories, intense rivalries, and remarkable displays of endurance, the women faced constant challenges—including financial struggles, injuries, discrimination, and the growing influence of doping in the sport.
Yet through it all, they built something more lasting than trophies: a deep sense of camaraderie. Now, more than 30 years later, these women reflect on their time at the pinnacle of professional cycling in a new film. Their stories shed led on what their experiences mean for the next generation of female athletes. That’s what the film, Breakaway Femmes dives on into.
The six Canadian riders who made history at the Tour de France Feminin
Those years of women’s cycling paved the way for the current iteration of the Tour—the Tour de France Femmes, now approaching its fourth year. But these original years of the race followed a long gap without a proper Tour de France for women. There were smaller iterations along the way—much shorter, some even just a one-day race—for years before an official Tour de France for women associated with the men’s.
Canada has all kinds of talented women racing now—Paris-Roubaix winner Alison Jackson, national champion Olivia Baril, sprinter extraordinaire Maggie Coles-Lyster—to name just a few. But it’s worth taking a look back at some of the O.G. women who laid the groundwork for women’s cycling today. You can listen to the great Kelly-Ann Way of Windsor, Ont. as she describes racing the Tour, for example.
Check out the trailer below.
Demand Film is presenting theatrical screenings of Breakaway Femmes in Cineplex cinemas across Canada on Monday, April 7. Tickets are only available at demand.film. For each screening to proceed a minimum number of tickets need to be reserved in advance at each location by March 27.