Ahead of the rebirth of the Tour de France Femmes, the Grand Est Region has been announced as the official sponsor of the combativity award.
The award, in many ways, encapsulates the very heart of cycling, rewarding the most aggressive rider in the race; most often someone who has spent the day in a breakaway, that usually hopeless endeavour which gives cycling so much of its character and romance.
“There are two things in particular about our partnership with the Grand Est Region that please me,” said Marion Rousse, the director of the Tour de France Femmes. "One is that it celebrates brave riders who push their limits and make this sport what it is through the combativity award; the other is that it gives us the opportunity to work together to spread the message that cycling should be developed as a part of everyday life, everywhere and for everyone."
Formed in 2016 from the former administrative regions of Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne as part of the territorial reform to reduce the number of regions in metropolitan France, the Grand Est has a rich cycling heritage.
In recent years, the region has played host to several stages of the men’s Tour de France such as stage 3 of the 2019 race when Julian Alaphilippe (then Deceuninck- Quickstep) so memorably took the maillot jaune for the first time in Épernay.
This year, the women too will race across the Grand Est Region during the Tour de France Femmes for six of the race’s eight stages. On each of these days, there will be plenty of opportunities for the breakaway to emerge and fight for stage victories, particularly on the short, steep climbs of stage 3, the unpaved roads of stage 4, and the undulating terrain of stage 6.
Sponsoring the combativity prize at the Tour de France Femmes neatly aligns with the local government’s vision to become the first cycling-friendly region in France. Its sponsorship will also seek to promote gender equality and highlight the measures taken to tackle violence against women.
“Teaming up with an international event of this scale reflects the Region’s wish to support women’s sports and all their values, as well as to exhibit all the great things that our land has to offer,” said Jean Rottner, president of the Grand Est Region.
“I urge the people of Grand Est to join in this celebration of cycling, support these great athletes from the roadsides and in the host towns and cities, and discover every day the measures taken by Grand Est to make gender equality a reality"
