The Future is Here

The Road to the U23 Tour de France

By Black Sheep Cycling

August 18^th, 2023

Written by Matilda Raynolds

Women’s sports are having more than just a moment. There is a tectonic shift happening, made up of thousands of these moments, over a much longer period of time than we give credit to, all striving to achieve parity, improve conditions, demand better, break through barriers, and put women on the global stage. Some of these moments that come to mind include Katherine Switzer at the Boston Marathon, the Title IX legislation, the US Women's soccer team winning their court battle, and Annimeke van Vluten winning the Tour de France on top of La Super Planche des Belles Filles to an audience of millions. All of these moments reflected some degree of imbalance that needed to be addressed, and by doing so, serve as stepping stones toward progress.

In cycling, there remains one glaring, significant gap. In fact, it's an abyss, a gaping hole that many young female riders find themselves falling into, never to return to the sport. Can you imagine being at the fragile age of 18, ready to launch yourself into the world? You’ve just raced as a junior, likely excelling in your field, but there isn’t another step. Instead, it's like launching into another stratosphere, taking to the start-line against competitors almost double your age. But this is what faces U23 female riders, where there has been no dedicated U23 female racing. For non-European racers, this can be a jump too far, having to choose between following their peers to university or taking what many consider a gap year to chase cycling in a foreign country, with an unknown language, on their first trip overseas. Many end in devastating crashes and severe homesickness.

For the U23 men, there are currently a multitude of dedicated Spring Classics, Monuments, Grand Tours, separate National Titles, National U23 series, and World Championship racing. For the women, there has never been a U23 Grand Tour or, in fact, any dedicated global U23 female racing. Up until now, there has been nothing with their own race, their own field, their own peers to battle with. It is just one small part of why the first U23 Tour de l’Avenir Femmes, the Tour of the Future, the U23 Tour de France, is so significant. It starts to plug that hole, provides a plank to the world tour, and ultimately a goal of racing as a professional.

Listen to the Interview

We caught up with some of the key stakeholders of the first women’s U23 Tour de France Femmes to better understand its significance, why it’s taken so long, and its importance in having it succeed.

"We're finally getting what we deserve."

You can hear the excitement and anticipation in Lucinda Stewart’s voice, a 19-year-old Australian cyclist who is stepping onto the escalator precisely at the right moment. I speak with her from her base in Belgium, a 34-hour flight away from Melbourne, where she has just completed her first stint in Europe with the continental team ARA-Skip Capital, and now with AusCycling before travelling to France. "It’s a great time to be a young and aspiring female cyclist. Women's sport is just growing so significantly, and we're finally getting what we deserve.”

But why has it taken 59 years for a Women’s race to join the Tour de l’Avenir? It’s an unfair question to place in front of Philippe Colliou, the race director of the Tour de l'Avenir. His answer sounds a little more opportunistic than a reflection of any great plan, which I’ll come back to. "I think that women’s cycling has developed very quickly. Two years ago we had the first Paris Roubaix for women, and last year we saw the Tour de France Femmes start again. It takes a very long time to be at this level, and this type of progression is unusual." What Philippe can answer is that every resource offered to the Men’s Tour de l’Avenir is equally being funnelled into the Women’s race. Ultimately, what I take away from the conversation is that it’s up to sponsors, media, and federations to demand more, and be part of any long-term roadmap.

"This is more than just a moment. This needs to be another stepping stone to much more."

One of those sponsors is our very own John Polson, the Founder of Black Sheep Cycling, where I’ve witnessed first-hand the burden of a sponsor having the power to create change even though the commercial value is not immediately clear. "We as a brand definitely put pressure on the race organiser to not just provide empty words, but make it part of our three-year agreement. There was a commitment to put in a women's race, and if it didn’t happen, we could exit the agreement.” John revealed that the ultimate goal for Black Sheep Cycling was not just to sponsor a World Tour Team, but to partner with a team that had a long-term developmental plan. “As the father of a four-year-old girl, I get so excited about the opportunities that she will have. But we must also appreciate that this is more than just a moment. This needs to be another stepping stone to much more.”

Donna Rae-Szalinski, the Director of Pathways for AusCycling, who has had a hand in almost all current Australian female professional cyclists, is currently overseeing a group of U19 cyclists in Europe and knows the challenges for female cyclists better than most. She has been advocating the UCI for U23 female racing for over 10 years, with a U23 Female World Championship race being introduced in 2025. She reflected on her own time racing, and particularly in the original Tour de France Femmes in 1987; "The growth in women's cycling in the last five years has been exponential. It's almost beyond anything that I thought would ever be possible. And now we are about to make history,” said Donna, who will be the Director Sportif of the U23 Australian team at the Tour de l’Avenir. "Having that interim step makes it a bridgeable gap for our young female athletes to be able to pursue a professional career without having to jump straight into the frying pan, so to speak."

I should be very clear that it is not this race alone that is feeding the development of women's cycling. More and more World Tour teams are adding development squads, an investment that is already paying dividends. Canyon-Sram, perhaps the gold standard of a World Tour Team with an incredible developmental pathway, recently took two World Tour wins, including a stage in the Tour de France Femmes by Ricarda Bauernfeind, a rider part of the team's U23 pathway. Teams, federations and sponsors are coming together to drive these symbolic moments in the sport of cycling, and I feel we need to stand up and acknowledge how significant they will be in the future of our sport.

So why should you care about the Tour de l’Avenir? Well, it has always been the great predictor into the future of cycling. Every stage won at this year’s Men’s Tour de France was by a rider that had also prevailed at the Tour de l’Avenir. And as Philippe Colliou proclaimed with excitement, “the Tour de l'Avenir Women will, for the young women, show their possibility in sport, show their talent, and allow them to be recruited by professional teams. This race will now become one of the most important moments in their professional life.”