2019 Women's Tour de France ride: 13 Women to again ride Tour Route Day Ahead of Men's Race - Ambassadors for cycling

 

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These 13 women will ride the entire route of the 2019 Tour de France, day ahead of the men's race.
Donnons des Elles au Vélo J-1 (formerly Donnons des ELLE au Tour) - sponsored by cyclingfans.com
- Click for high resolution -
photo Marie Istil

13 ambassadors for women's cycling and for all of cycling to again ride route of the Tour de France in 2019

 

- (July 2, 2019)  For the fifth consecutive year, a group of women (Donnons des Elles au Vélo J-1) will ride the entire route of the Tour de France one day ahead of the men's race.  For this 2019 edition, the women set out in Brussels on Friday, July 5 and will arrive at the finish in Paris on Saturday, July 27.  The women ride for the return of a Women's Tour de France and for women's cycling awareness.

- Key facts regarding the project and the push for the return of a Women's Tour de France:

- There is currently just one day of racing for women at the Tour de France: La Course by le TDF.  This one-day event is widely seen as a "token race" for the women.

- There has not been a full, official Women's Tour de France in 30 years, the last such event held in 1989.

- In 2019, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), cycling's governing body, joins a growing list of organizations backing our project to push for the return of a Women's Tour de France.  In a letter to project founder and leader Claire Floret, UCI president David Lappartient cited the recognition the project earned from the United Nations in announcing his decision to have the UCI back the project.

- Highlights from the 2018 Women's Tour de France ride: The project received global recognition via numerous world media organizations and propelled the subject of women's cycling to markets never before attained.  The project also earned recognition from the European Parliament and from the United Nations.

- In 2019 and for the 5th consecutive year, cycling fans worldwide will be able to follow the progress of these true women's cycling activists via on-bike live video feeds, GPS tracking, daily videos, photos and text updates.

- Shara Gillow (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) is the project "marraine" (godmother) in 2019.  Shara was preceded in this role by Valerie Fignon (2016), Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (2017), and Audrey Cordon-Ragot/Warren Barguil (2018).

- The 2019 edition of the project will see the addition of a second team of women on the road.  Details to come...

- Sponsors: Cyclingfans.com (CF LIVE) is founding sponsor for this project and has been joined since 2015 by sponsors including the French Cycling Federation (FFC), FDJ, Liv, Skoda, the UCI (cycling's governing body) and various other governmental and commercial sponsors. 

Skoda film which aired on LIVE television and online at the end of the 2018 Tour de France

 


The 2019 Women's Tour de France Ride jersey design

- Contact Pete Geyer/cyclingfans.com --- Contact Claire Floret/Donnons des Elles au Vélo J-1 -

 

Information, photos and links below from previous years

 

Donnons des Elles au Vélo J-1 (formerly Donnons des ELLE au Tour) - sponsored by cyclingfans.com
- Click for high resolution -
photo Marie Istil

Donnons des Elle au Vélo J-1 (formerly Donnons des Elle au Tour)
Women to ride route of the 2016 Tour de France from start to finish.
Front: Julie Cotteels.  Back row, left to right: Clara Herer, Claire Floret, Amandine Martin, Marie Istil, Tétiana Kalachova, Alexia Buzzi, Gaëlle Caccia.  Herer is unable to ride the Tour due to professional responsibilities.
cyclingfans.com Sponsors Women's Tour de France project

Women to Ride 2016 Tour de France Route Day Ahead of Men's Race
Cyclingfans.com Sponsors Women's Tour de France Project:
Donnons des Elle au Vélo J-1 (formerly Donnons des Elle au Tour)

- See also: Women's Tour de France LIVE (The Ride.  Live streaming and tracking when available)
- See also: Women's Tour de France Videos (The Ride.  Video coverage from the road and behind the scenes at the Tour.)

PARIS (June 30, 2016) - Seven women are riding the entire route of the 2016 Tour de France one day ahead of the men's race as part of the women's Tour de France project, "Donnons des Elle au Vélo J-1" (formerly Donnons des Elle au Tour).  The project seeks to raise awareness of women's cycling as well as a return of a women's Tour de France.  The women will depart Stage 1 from Mont-Saint-Michel on Friday, July 1 and arrive in Paris on Saturday, July 23.  For the second consecutive year, cyclingfans.com is sponsoring this project.

Donnons des Elle au Vélo J-1 is a project of the Paris-area cycling team, Club Omnisport de Courcouronnes Cyclisme Féminin (COCCF) (slogan: Donnons des Elle au Vélo), created by rider/club president Claire Floret and coach/trainer Mathieu Istil.  cyclingfans.com was the team's first sponsor when it launched in late 2014 and also the first sponsor of the Tour project.  COCCF riders compete at the national and regional levels in France.  They ride for women's cycling awareness and equal opportunity and are pushing for the return of a women's Tour de France.

"When we launched our club and project 'Donnons des Elle au Vélo' 2 years ago, Pete Geyer (cyclingfans.com) was the first one to give us the confidence necessary to embark on this challenge.  Several months later and again this year, as we set out to ride the entire route of the Tour de France ('Donnons des Elle au Vélo J-1'), Pete and cyclingfans.com have been there for us, to support our projects and spread the word of our aventures on the road."

"Women's competitive cycling, neglected for too long by international and national governing bodies, by race organizers and by the media, is a significant asset for cycling generally and has huge growth potential if all parties will fully recognize this and do something about it," said Geyer, cyclingfans.com publisher and cycling photographer.  "Claire Floret and her teammates have not only performed well on the road, taking multiple team and individual titles in 2016; they have also inspired their national federation in their efforts to get more women riding bikes and competing, gotten the attention of major sponsors such as FDJ (the French lottery), members of the government and others.  Working closely with Claire and her team has been the highlight of the season for me."

The 7 women riding the 2016 Tour de France route will set out Friday, July 1 from Mont-Saint-Michel and arrive in Paris on Saturday, July 23.

Project sponsors include: cyclingfans.com, FFC (Federation Française de Cyclisme), FDJ (La Française des jeux), Carrefour.

A Media Center with photos and more will be available here during the Tour de France.

- Project riders will wear specially-designed kits.

The 7 women riding the Tour route are: Julie Cotteels, Claire Floret, Amandine Martin, Marie Istil, Tétiana Kalachova, Alexia Buzzi, Gaëlle Caccia.  They will be accompanied by coach Mathieu Istil, a photographer, masseur, and doctor.  Valérie Fignon, project godmother, is also supporting the project.  More details to come...

Video: Women riding the 2016 Tour de France Route Introduce Themselves

- The team is thrilled to have Valérie Fignon's support as the project's godmother.


Valérie Fignon, the project's marraine (or godmother)
Photo credit: G Angibaud - Angibaud photo -

The 7 Women riding the 2016 Tour de France Route
(click photos to enlarge)


Alexia Buzzi

Gaëlle Caccia

Julie Cotteels

Claire Floret

Marie Istil

Tétiana Kalachova

Amandine Martin
 

 

 


COCCF rider and team president Claire Floret competes in a 2016 race in Argenteuil, near Paris.
- Click for high resolution -
Photo Copyright © 2016 Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com

For more information, contact Pete Geyer.

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About COCCF
The Club Omnisport de Courcouronnes Cyclisme Féminin (COCCF) is a French women's amateur cycling team based in Courcouronnes, near Paris.  The team competes at the regional and national levels and also seeks equal opportunities for women and to raise awareness of women's cycling.  - Visit the team page on Facebook -

About cyclingfans.com
Founded in Paris in 2003, cyclingfans.com is an independent media/publishing venture that covers men's and women's competitive cycling, including road racing, cyclo-cross, track, mountain biking and BMX.  Cycling fans worldwide, members of the media, pro riders, teams, sponsors, race organizers and others depend on cyclingfans.com year-round for live race coverage, video replays/highlights/interviews, race results, high quality photos and more.  Cyclingfans.com has worked with TV rights holders on both sides of the Atlantic to grow the online market for live and replay broadcasts in cycling.  More About Cyclingfans.com - Contact Cyclingfans.com -