Women’s Pro Cycling Teams Are Finally Getting the Gear They Deserve

While at the men’s version of the Tour de France Femmes (see what I did there), we took a look, with the help of the Lotto-Intermarché team, at how much equipment goes into preparing for three weeks of racing around France. (Spoiler, it’s a lot).

Fast-forward a few weeks and now we’re here at the Tour de France Femmes and we have the same question on our minds.

We dashed around the pits in Lausanne and Aigle over the past few days to find out not just the quantity of kit that had had to be packed into either fancy mechanics trucks (if you’re a Visma or FDJ-sized team) or the back of a couple of Ford Transit long-wheelbase vans if you’re one of the smaller teams. We want to explore whether there is still a significant gap in equipment quantity and quality not just between the men’s and women’s peloton but also between the super-teams, mid-tier teams, and the new-kid-on-the-block teams, such as the first-year team and the wildcard entry to the race, Ma Petite Entreprise.

And without ruining the video, it’s been enlightening as well as surprisingly uplifting. Equipment sponsors have definitely upped their game, not just in the past few years but since this time last year. The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has, by all accounts, helped elevate the stature of smaller teams when it comes to negotiating for bikes, wheels, and other equipment.

No longer do we see a large helping of lower-tier components on race bikes that are competing in the premier women’s race on the UCI calendar. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a smattering on spare bikes, but a fraction of what was visible even last year.

But as I said, I won’t ruin the video for you. All I’ll do is encourage you to hit play and see what is now being used in the Peloton. And expect more; we’ve got plenty more tech videos coming from the race over the next week.

Cheers,
Dave