Exclusive: 'There's a real discussion to be had' – full TV coverage being considered for Tour de France Femmes, says race director

Flag-to-flag TV coverage of every stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is currently under consideration, race director Marion Rousse told Cycling Weekly.

This year, only three of the nine stages have been granted full broadcasts – stages one, five and nine – with hours missing from the the starts of the remaining six stages.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly at the start of stage five in Mâcon, race director Rousse said she and the race organiser, ASO, were giving “serious consideration” to broadcasting the race in full.

“What’s certain is that I’ve discussed this at length with France Télévisions [who produce the broadcast for the race, commissioned by ASO], and we’re giving serious consideration to broadcasting all the stages in full in the future because the women deserve it, and because it works well in terms of audience figures,” Rousse said.

“We’re currently giving it real consideration, which is a step forward. Things are moving in the right direction.”

Fans, riders and team staff were left frustrated on stage three when the partial broadcast missed Sigrid Haugset’s (Uno-X Mobility) stage-winning move, which came with 88km to go, 5km before the coverage began. “The best way to get more public is to show it properly,” Paula Blasi (UAE Team L’IMAD) told Cycling Weekly. “It’s quite sad that we cannot really watch it.”

Rousse said she is “actually quite pleased” to see the debates around TV coverage.

“In the very first edition [in 2022], the question was whether the Tour de France Femmes would work or not. And now, five years on, everyone wants to watch the stages in full,” she said.

“I receive a huge number of messages from cycling enthusiasts who want to watch the stages in full. With the men’s Tour, [full live coverage] has only been around for a short time, and there were years and years without fully broadcast stages.

“We needed to get settled in [as a race] and we didn’t want to rush things, either.”

Asked if financial constraints played a role in the decision to produce partial stage broadcasts, Rousse said: “Of course. Everything’s a question of resources, like the production of the footage. [Full coverage] is a consideration we hadn’t necessarily had in previous years, and one we’re now asking ourselves.

“There’s a real discussion to be had. The stars, middles and ends of stages are spectacular to watch. Let’s hope we can pull it off.”