Every minute or so a rider flies by on her time trial bike, her team car screaming around the course behind her. Near the halfway point the road rises; it’s the Netherlands so the slight incline is the result of a bridge crossing the Rotterdam harbour. A triple-decker yellow bus sits next to the course, so close to the road that the riders are coming within a meter of the barriers separating the VIP guests from the race itself.
People lean over the upper stories, sipping Chardonnay and watching the riders zoom by. On the ground a group of women laugh together, all of them dressed in bright colours and sporting intricate nail art and the yellow lanyards that indicate they are part of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. They aren’t riders or team staff;, they are the women who are instrumental in the Tour taking place at all. They are the women who sit in positions of power within the cycling industry, women who work for the brands whose equipment is currently speeding around the 6.3 km course in Rotterdam.
The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has only been around for three years, but already it is the place to be in the summer, and not only for the riders. Women who work in the cycling industry are also finding a home at the race, connecting with other women and brainstorming ways to grow women’s cycling at every level.
“The race absolutely transcends cycling, and it sends a strong message to the world,” said Cassondra Spring, global brand manager at bike brand Liv. It’s gaining attention and popularity with each edition, she added. “It’s broadcast in more than 190 countries [and] the numbers keep going up. We’re seeing such amazing strides every year.”
From its inception, the Tour de France Femmes has felt different from its male counterpart. There is an energy around the event that radiates joy, possibility, femininity and a celebration of women in sport. The riders are leaning into it, but so are all the other women around the event, from industry professionals to journalists to fans.
“There is this vibe that had its own feeling and sensation, and it felt powerful and interesting and exactly where I wanted to be,” said Spring.
“It’s showing that women have a space,” said Alexa Cunningham, marketing manager for Shimano Road. “It’s a standing joke between us girls, but every year, it’s like the level up of, okay, what are we wearing? What are we doing? But just seeing that women can be women within a space that was traditionally always occupied by men, we can bring our femininity to it.”
The growth of women’s professional road cycling is boosting more than just the bubble of the sport. Yes, riders are seeing higher salaries and more opportunities, but the rising tide lifting boats throughout the global bike industry.
“When I come here now, especially with the Rotterdam start, all my favourite femmes in the industry are there,” said Kate Veronneau, director of women’s strategy at Zwift and a central force behind the race’s existence. “We’re here supporting each other. Some of us are partners. For others, you can’t miss it, and it’s super exciting.
“One of the best byproducts of this race is the elevation of women in the industry, the connection of women in the industry. We’re creating a community, and that’s what’s going to drive real progress, is having more women supporting each other, moving up in their respective industries, teams, brands, and then making decisions and really helping drive the future of the industry.”
The Tour isn’t the only race industry women consider a must-attend event. “I would say that the two key moments are [The Tour de France Femmes] and Paris-Roubaix [Femmes],” said Cunningham. Both races have become more than just a showcase for women cyclists; they’re a key opportunity for these women to all meet up and start to plan how they can, all together, grow the sport. “Because we’re here, we’re together, we just need to find a space where we could just sit and chat.”
Both events are run by an organization that, until four years ago, only hosted men’s editions of the two races. Perhaps crucial to their role as summits of a sort for women’s cycling, both women’s events take place separately from the men’s races. For the Tour de France Femmes, it shares the same name but since 2023 has an entirely different route and zero physical contact with the men’s Tour de France. Paris-Roubaix Femmes happens on the same course as the men’s event, but a day in advance of the men’s race, allowing it to have its own space during the monumental weekend.
“The main focus is what is affecting the industry,” said Cunningham of the discussions that happen at the events. “How do we make the industry more attractive to women, to come work in the cycling industry? That’s the biggest challenge that we have is getting more women working in the cycling industry but also fewer women leaving the industry to go to other sectors. We see that a lot.”
On the racing side, with the professionalism of the sport on the rise, there have been more opportunities for former or retiring riders to remain in the sport in positions of management within teams, but there have also been a number of riders who have moved into industry roles to work with brands who supported them throughout their careers. The ratio of women to men in the bike industry is still lacking, with far fewer women represented in the space. The Tour, and other races like it, are helping to show that there is a place for women in the world of cycling.
“This event is not just elevating the racers, but elevating all the women in and around the industry, because we’ve been here for a long time doing what we do, without a lot of visibility, without a lot of opportunity, and now it feels like the glass ceiling came crashing down and the sky is the limit,” Veronneau said.
The women who work at brands that support women’s cycling are trying to work together to bring more women into the fold. One conversation with them and you’ll end up in WhatsApp groups and invited to events with chocolate fountains and nail painting. They are inviting, warm and welcoming to anyone who shows even the slightest interest in working in the industry. Attendees compliment each other’s outfits and work in the industry, with smiles that make you feel like you’re the only person in the room. It’s enough to pull up the Shimano “help wanted” page.
That networking is important “not only from an HR side of things but also from a sustainability aspect,” Cunningham said. “Looking at supporting more women in cycling, but also getting little girls through grassroots programs, who aspire to become professional cyclists or to work in the cycling industry. I think that those are the key topics that we need to look at.”
It’s also led to new collaborations. “We’ve done a lot of activation together with Liv,” Cunningham said. “Liv has 185 of their dealers out here and female riders so, yeah, if the industry works together to support women’s cycling we can only be stronger. That’s it: Stronger in numbers.”
Top women from these companies enjoy riding their bikes together, chatting about their lives and things away from the sport while also brainstorming brand strategy.
“I get to connect with people and get inspired by their leadership, by what they’re doing,” Spring said. “I also think that women have a bigger and bigger place in this sport and women’s sports in the world, right? So I’m excited because I think we keep moving in that direction.”
Walking around the start of a Tour de France Femmes stage, it’s impossible not to run into someone with a flashy title working for a brand you’ll then see out on the road, supporting the women. But the benefit of all these industry women getting together runs deeper than just sponsoring women’s teams. There is little competition between the brands; the women at the Tour want to work together, side by side. And it happens naturally.
“If you walked into the VIP area yesterday on the finish line it was Cassondra from Liv, it was Kate from Zwift, it was myself, it was [Melanie Jarrett, director of partnerships] from Strava,” Cunningham said. “We just started chatting. We started talking about, ‘Where are the synergies? How can we increase our involvement within the events, but also work together to really activate it a bit better?'”
That’s something relatively new, and which has been clearly fostered by the Tour. “At the very first professional women’s event that I went to, it was a completely different experience,” Cunningham observed, without as much of the collegial back-and-forth. Today, she said, “you walk around the team at the buses, the energy is completely different. Everybody’s chatty. Some of the team buses welcome you on. They make you a cup of coffee.”
In addition to enjoying the racing and the networking, the women at the Tour go all out with their clothing and accessories, with ample thought put into nail design, jewellery and every little detail. It’s a chance to really lean into individuality and personality while attending one of the top events in cycling.
“You don’t have to you don’t have to be masculine to work in this industry,” Cunningham said. “You don’t have to be anything that you’re not. You can just be yourself. And that’s what I really love about these events and about women’s cycling, is that it’s so inclusive.”
“We’re here, and we’re feeling so positive, optimistic, excited, plus we’re also on the world stage; the content coming out of here, the incredible photographers here, everybody’s bringing their best, and they’re expressing it through their fashion and through their fits. And I love that,” said Veronneau.
“The whole scene, it’s vibrant, it’s fresh, it’s fun, you know? There’s so much character and personality, not just in the peloton, but in the women in around the sport, and that’s what comes out here.”
“It’s not unique to women and how we like to interact with each other, but it’s unique to being here,” said Jarrett. “A lot of us, we go back to your corporate life, and you’re surrounded by a lot of men and you’ve got your girlfriends at home that you go out with at night. But here it’s both. You’re at work, but you’re surrounded by all these incredible women. How can we work together more and then? And it’s always over rosé.
“I feel like we get to just be ourselves and, do it authentically at work for once,” she added. “That’s pretty awesome.”
By enjoying their time together, whether it be chatting fits, bike or racing tactics, the industry women at the Tour just want to show that there is a place for women outside of the race. Can’t sprint like Charlotte Kool or climb like Demi Vollering? It is still possible to make a difference in women’s cycling from the industry side.
“That’s something that we want to show to the outside world is that women’s cycling is super inclusive, and getting behind it as brands and really supporting it is only going to benefit you as a brand,” Cunningham said. “I believe that there are more legs in women’s cycling. There’s so much more space to grow, which gives you so much more space to grow your business as well, and the opportunity within your business.”
There are already plans in place to continue the momentum the event has already given women in the industry, with talks of a summit for women in cycling: collaborating and planning to keep the sport growing, from grassroots programs for girls to the top women in the sport to those lounging outside the VIP tent at the Tour de France Femmes wishing they could be a part of the whole thing.
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