On the road again

The GIST: Last week, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift confirmed its 2026 route, which will be the race’s longest course in its four-year history. And rather than beginning immediately after the men’s Tour de France, the women’s race will now begin one week later, with the push for a longer course and a separate schedule fueled by explosive interest in the women’s race.

• Virtual indoor cycling training platform Zwift, which recently extended its multiyear title sponsorship, is a big reason why the Tour de France Femmes exists today, showing the difference a dedicated sponsor can make in women’s sports. Leading the pack.

The history: After women’s cyclists and advocates spent decades organizing their own races, Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) — which runs the men’s race — launched the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2022 thanks to the sponsorship support of Zwift, which has been so instrumental to today’s race that the company has been credited as an event “cofounder.”

• The VR cycling platform went above and beyond — it saw an underserved market in women’s cycling enthusiasts, so it made a case to host the race. Zwift’s financial backing and viral marketing campaign created a sustainable environment to launch a permanent, official version of the women’s race. Très bien.

The growth: Together, Zwift and ASO pushed for broadcast coverage, which was integral to promoting the race. In its initial year, the total live audience across eight stages was 23.2M in key markets as women’s cycling became the world’s fourth most-followed women’s sport. Viewership was largely concentrated in France and nearby countries like Germany and Spain at the time.

• The race has continued to notch high numbers through 2025, which had an average audience of 2.7 million viewers per stage in France alone, or a 31.6% audience share. The final stage attracted a peak audience of 7.7M — close to the average viewership during Game 7 of last year’s NHL Stanley Cup.

The company: Since the introduction of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2022, Zwift has seen an increase in the number of women joining its platform. Last week, the brand shared that 23% of new subscribers are women, up from 18% in 2022. With these numbers, it’s no surprise that Zwift has doubled down on its sponsorship and committed to the race for the next four years.

Zooming out: Not only does this highlight the opportunity for all companies in the surging women’s cycling space, but it illustrates how an established, aligned brand can transform a sport. Zwift identified a passionate niche community, which coincidentally was one its platform was built to serve.

• It’s similar to how energy drink Red Bull cultivated an entire ecosystem sponsoring extreme sports, leading to out-of-this-world promotions. This could also work in emerging sports like softball and volleyball, where home workout system Tonal established something similar with LOVB. A win-win.

Between cruel comments, clickbait content, and a lack of coverage on women’s sports, being a fan online can be downright terrifying. 😨

• That’s why we built The GIST Plus — a members-only community designed to fix fandom with healthy conversation, exclusive perks, and zero toxicity.

Because sports should bring people together, not scare them off. We promise, when you join The GIST Plus, it’s all treats and no tricks.