The 20 teams due to take part in the inaugural La Course event were announced today. Organised by Le Tour, this one-day women’s event will take place on the Champs-Élysées ahead of the arrival of the Tour de France.
The event which is due to be one of the biggest events on the women’s calendar looks set to be one to remember as top outfits such as Specialized-Lululemon, Boels Dolmans and Orica-AIS have confirmed that they will be competing. Prize money for the event will equal that of a men’s stage of the Tour de France (€22,000).
It was also revealed recently that the event which will involve 13 laps of the Champs-Élysées totally 90km, will be broadcast in 147 countries with 12 channels across 104 of those countries showing it live. A huge step for the development of women’s pro cycling.
There is no doubt that all eyes will be on Marianne Vos of the Rabo Liv team at the event after her recent domination at the inaugural Women’s Tour. Vos has been one of the main pioneers for the inclusion of a women’s event at the Tour de France. Speaking at the announcement of La Course she said it was a historic day for women’s cycling.
Find out here what makes Marianne Vos so influential
Vos described the event as the showcase that women’s cycling needed. It did not come into fruition easily though. La Course is the result of diehard campaigning in conjunction with Le Tour Entier who gathered more than 80,000 signatures in a petition.
The 20 teams for La Course by Le Tour are as follows:Orica – AIS (Australia)
Equipe Nationale Australienne (Australia)
Lotto Belisol Ladies (Belgium)
Bizkaia – Durango (Spain)
Optum P/B Kelly Benefit Strategies (United States)
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team (United States)
Specialized – Lululemon (United States
Poitou Charentes Futuroscope 86 (France)
Equipe Nationale Française (France)
Wiggle Honda (United Kingdom)
Ale Cipollini (Italy)
Astana Bepink Womens Team (Italy)
Estado De Mexico Faren (Mexico)
Hitec Products (Norway)
Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team (Netherlands)
Boels Dolmans Cycling Team (Netherlands)
Team Giant-Shimano (Netherlands)
Equipe Nationale Hollandaise (Netherlands)
RusVelo (Russia)
Bigla Cycling Team (Switzerland)
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