Warner Bros. Discovery reveals Tour de France Femmes plans

Warner Bros. Discovery has revealed its broadcast plans for the inaugural Tour de France Femmes.

The race gets underway on 24 July, and every available minute produced by the Amaury Sports Organisation will be broadcast live on discovery+, Eurosport, and GCN+ in in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region (except Australia), Latin America and Middle-East and North Africa regions.

The mixed reality Cube studio, which was used for the first time in cycling during the men’s Tour de France this year, will be in use again, with Orla Chennaoui fronting the coverage. Former professional cyclist Iris Slappendel will report from within the peloton, much as Bradley Wiggins does for the men’s race.

Meanwhile, Laura Meseguer and Manon Lloyd will be onsite to speak with the cyclists, and Dani Rowe (UK) and Dani Christmas (UK), Jacky Durand (France), Ilenia Lazzaro (Italy), Jip van den Bos (Netherlands) and Dori Ruano (Spain) will provide commentary analysis in their local languages.

In addition, live blogs, interviews, and analysis will be available through the Eurosport website, and there will be in-depth race coverage through shows such as The Breakaway and exclusive weekly World of Cycling Show on GCN+.

The GCN+ App will be home to interactive trivia, quizzes, and preview content including rider analysis, stage breakdowns, predictions and reviews, as well as original documentaries such as Life, Cycling, and the Circle of Death; and Trailblazers. 

There will also be an on air campaign to promote the competition on Warner Bros. Discovery’s platforms, with the likes of Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Annemiek van Vleuten, Elisa Longo Borghini, Kasia Niewiadoma and Elisa Balsamo posing with the famed yellow jersey they will be vying for each day.

Chennaoui said: “We are at a place where we will all see a genuinely exciting race. I think the stories in women’s cycling are so much more colourful and textured. There is more depth to them because a lot of women have had to live separate lives as well as on the bike, which makes you identify with the riders even as you worship their greatness.

“We’re also aware of the importance of this place in sporting history, not just cycling history, and that brings a responsibility on all of our shoulders to get this right. I am genuinely so excited to be working on this for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports - it’s going to be such a massive week of racing.”

Slappendel added: “We all know that it’s a massive thing that the Tour de France Femmes is here. I’m looking forward to seeing very exciting racing every day, being on the back of the motorbike, being around the peloton, but also being able to really capture the atmosphere, the fans on the roadside, the weather, the road conditions, to see the riders from up close. I think it’s great that I can do that now for eight days in a row.

“As a rider, it’s nice to know your achievements are visible. It’s really important that we can watch this live and that there are experts in every country to report on the race. The riders can really show themselves and that will have an impact on their careers.”

Meseguer commented: “After covering six editions of the Tour de France and almost 20 Grand Tours, I have this feeling of being part of something huge.

“To have the privilege of being on site and part of this historic moment in the sport, and to say that I’m proud of our sport being diverse and inclusive, to have the best athletes in these eight days of competition, I think it will be so exciting.”