‘Watch the Femmes!’ goes the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift slogan. It’s everywhere, on hats, on musettes, on advertising hoardings. And people do; in fact, this year, more people than ever watched the Tour, on the roadside and at home. It’s happening. In just four editions, the race has changed so much from La Course, an event tacked onto the men’s equivalent to something in its own right. People no longer need to be told to watch the Femmes – they already are.
France TV, the host broadcaster, published figures this week showing that they had an average audience of 2.7 million viewers per stage, an increase of more than 500,000 each day last year, which meant a 31.6% TV audience share. The final stage, won by Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in Châtel had an average audience of 4.4 million, peaking at 7.7 million. People are watching the femmes.
