I’m writing this on my way to the fifth Tour de France Femmes, which feels like one of this race’s first big milestones. Half a decade! It’s sometimes strange to think that, because it feels like this race has been around forever and is already the defining point of the calendar despite being so new to it, but amazingly this is only the fifth edition.
It’s been a whirlwind half-decade, and the race – which already felt enormous in the first year – has only grown and grown, bringing in new viewers and fans, new sponsors, platforming new teams and riders. It has also lifted the level of the sport in more ways than one, whether it's the knock-on effect of higher salaries or the rapidly rising performance that goes along with the increasing challenge of women's Grand Tours.
