This Tour de France Femmes was exactly what women's cycling needed – Analysis

As Pauline Ferrand-Prévot rode toward victory on the final day of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, so high was the excitement of the fans that lined the road that they were shouting out "allez Pauline!" to the early passing race traffic as they gathered roadside hours before the riders charged through.

They kept it up all day, delivering a chant of "Pauline, Pauline, Pauline, Pauline!" the moment her yellow-clad form appeared in the distance during the final kilometres, with the unflagging chorus only interrupted to deliver a roar as she launched an attack at just over 6km to go.

It was a move that delivered the perfect shot for the next day's front page of L'Équipe – the Frenchwoman with her arms raised in victory while wearing the maillot jaune in front of a jubilant home crowd. The word emblazoned across the cover said it all: Géante.

It was a giant result indeed and a giant Tour for the French, with the Visma-Lease a Bike rider not only providing the first overall win of the modern version of the women's Tour de France Femmes from the home nation, but also taking two stage victories.

Then there was the French revelation of the Tour, Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ), who shocked by delivering a double victory. It delighted the fervent fans from Brittany in northwest France, who couldn't get enough of the Tour on the two and a half days it was in the region at the start, so they followed on and were rewarded in the best possible way on stages 6 and 7.

The French were always expected to get a Tour to remember, with Demi Vollering moving to FDJ-SUEZ and therefore raising the hopes that a French team would claim yellow, though a win with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was even more than what the French fans hoped for, given it was so soon after her return to the road. This was but one of the unexpected twists in a Tour de France Femmes filled with surprises.

New protagonists, beyond the French revelation of Squiban, emerged to drive the action through stunning backdrops and deliver suspenseful, exciting racing, where there were at least half a dozen riders who could have conceivably claimed the top spot as the race headed into the Queen stage on the second last day of racing.

Having exciting racing driven by a depth of competition and spread of winners from across teams and the globe, plus the buzz along the roadside, seems a perfect formula to plant the seeds of further women's cycling growth into the consciousness of an increasing fan base, and on that front, this year's Tour de France Femmes certainly delivered.

Of course, the three wins from the established Dutch riders who have a tendency to dominate in cycling were still something to behold. Who doesn't enjoy the seamless sprint prowess of Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) or Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) in celebration mode? Each Vos victory comes with the gusto of a first, and the follow-up interviews from the superstar of the sport radiate both insight and humble graciousness.

Outside of the usual Dutch success, though, it was refreshing to see Mavi García give her Jayco AlUla team and Spain their first Tour de France Femmes victory on stage 2 with her late attack. Then Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) broke through to the top spot on stage 5 after already taking two podium places and spending a day in yellow. The Mauritian became not only the first stage winner from Africa – and indeed outside Europe – but also stepped back into the maillot jaune for another three days as a result of the victory.

Still, while the sharing of the stage spoils was welcome, one of the biggest things to come out of the race wasn't just those who won, but also the picture that those lined up just below the overall podium spots paints for the future of the sport. It bodes well for a compelling continuation of charged battles among a globally diverse list of contenders rather than wholesale domination by one rider, team or nation.

Setting the scene for what's next

The riders who took the next three spots beyond the podium were Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ), Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) and Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) – all 24 years old, and three indicators of the depth that is building in the new generation rising to challenge the more established contenders. What's more, they are all from outside the traditional European cycling nations, so their successes have plenty of potential to deepen the global roots of the sport.

Włodarczyk, in particular, was a surprise. It looked like it was going to be a disaster of a Tour for UAE Team ADQ when they lost leader Elisa Longo Borghini to illness early and their rider numbers kept tumbling, but then came Squiban's wins while Włodarczyk took over in the mountains and the overall. To see the Polish rider there among the top favourites was an outcome no one would have predicted at the start of the race, not even the rider herself.

Then there was Fisher-Black, who may not have had the ideal lead into the mountains, so she started on the back foot time-wise, but her steadiness once they arrived was impressive. She finished third on stage 8 to Col de la Madeleine and then held firm with the lead group of favourites to finish fifth overall. The quietly spoken and thoughtful rider from New Zealand had moved to Lidl-Trek from SD Worx to explore her GC potential, and if this hasn't proven she has what it takes, nothing will.

Finally, in sixth place overall, we have Gigante, who came in from a stunning Giro d'Italia where she came third on GC and took two summit stage victories emphatically. As such, her climbing prowess was no secret, but it seemed that her rivals had underestimated her ability to hold on among the GC contenders through the earlier stages, particularly on the descents. However, between her efforts and the stellar team support, there was no doubt they had started paying attention as the race headed to the Col de la Madeleine.

There the Australian did what was expected and rode away from most of the field, and even though a phenomenal Ferrand-Prévot managed to curtail her run, leaving her with second place on the stage and overall at that point, it was a result to behold particularly given that she was only three races in from her recovery from iliac endofibrosis surgery. The edges may have frayed on stage 9, when she was dropped from the lead group on the mid-stage descent, but while her disappointment at falling away from the podium was clear in her face and demeanour after the stage, it seems that the overwhelming sentiment should be to celebrate the progress.

As Gigante pointed out, she finished only one spot higher overall than last year, but it seemed leagues further when looking at how much she had developed as a rider. She was one of the many riders who made this Tour de France Femmes so exciting to watch and is likely to help keep it that way in the years to come.

This was only the first Tour de France Femmes we have seen since the raft of transfers at the top have helped accelerate the process of evening the balance within the peloton, and if this is what the new era looks like, I'm here for it, and many more others are bound to be too.