The GC contenders will be “drooling” at the inclusion of Mont Ventoux in next year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Zwift director Kate Veronneau has said, adding that the climb will play a “massive” role in raising the profile of the race.
The full route for the 2026 edition was unveiled in Paris on Thursday, detailing a Swiss start, Nice finish, and a marquee ascent of Mont Ventoux on stage seven. The iconic mountain has featured 18 times in the men’s Tour de France, but is relatively unknown to the women’s peloton, who have only raced it twice, and never at the Tour.
Veronneau was at the route announcement ceremony on Thursday and thinks the nine-day parcours is “spectacular”.
“Honestly, I think it’s going to really showcase the depth of the peloton. It’s got moments for everyone,” Zwift’s director of women’s strategy told Cycling Weekly.
Asked how important Ventoux might be for increasing the race’s visibility, Veronneau said: “Oh, massive… I don’t think there’s a better pick for next year. I used to work in bike tours, bringing people to the men’s Tour, so I know all the climbs really well, and it doesn’t get more quintessential than Ventoux.
“When you think of the Tour, those images are immediately conjured, and for the women to go up that, and for where we know their strengths are at right now, and the epic battles that we’ve had on the Tourmalet, Alpe d’Huez, the Madeleine, Ventoux is next, and it’s going to be fireworks. I already see peak French audiences – we’re going to smash this year’s record for live audiences on France Télévisions.”
Having acted as a title sponsor of the event since its rebirth in 2022, indoor training brand Zwift announced on Thursday that it has renewed its partnership for at least another four years, citing a long-term commitment to growing women’s cycling.
“After this year’s record-shattering Tour, and one that just delighted audiences around the world, this was our time to double down and say we’re in it for the long haul,” Veronneau said. “This has been an incredibly rewarding partnership on all levels, and has exceeded so many expectations that we can’t imagine Zwift without it.”
In the past three years, Zwift has seen a 5% increase in its volume of new female subscribers, up from 18% in 2022 to 23%. This uptick, Veronneau says, comes as a “direct relationship” from sponsoring the Tour de France Femmes.
“We got it in the first place to grow the sport, to grow Zwift,” she said. “It’s an extension of our commitment and puts our values first, but at the end of the day, it’s got to be good business as well… It’s fabulous to see that the race is inspiring more women to ride, and more women to come to Zwift.”
Veronneau would not be drawn on how much the sponsorship deal is worth, or specific subscriber numbers, but said the partnership with the race has been “very significant” for company.
“Our job is to just get as many eyeballs on the race as possible,” said Veronneau, who dedicates most of her job to Zwift’s ‘Watch the Femmes’ campaign.
After four editions, there remains a frustration among fans at the lack of television parity between the women’s and men’s races. The latter is shown with coverage from kilometre zero, while the starts of the women’s stages have often not been broadcast.
“It does seem disparate, right?” Veronneau said, but added that she can “kind of argue it both ways”.
“At the end of the day, yes, I would like to see full coverage, but I think it’s more important that we deliver great sport to audiences that shows the value of the action,” she said. “If you have two hours of incredibly exciting racing, that might be better in some ways than dragging it out for five hours.”
That exciting racing, she’s sure, will be guaranteed on Mont Ventoux next summer. “It’s so otherworldly,” Veronneau said. “There’s just something about it that’s kind of magical.”
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