Tour de France to host one-day women's stage

The Tour de France will host one-day women's stage on the Champs-Elyseés

The campaign to have a women's Tour de France staged alongside the men's event has borne fruit with the inception this year of a one-day event on the Champs-Elyseés to accompany the final stage of the Tour. It will be the first time since 1989 that women cyclists have raced alongside their male counterparts at cycling's most prestigious finish.

The race will be entitled La Course and while the route and distance have yet to be announced – this is expected in April or May – it marks a significant move for women's cycling given that the Paris finish will provide a much needed showcase for sponsors.

Yann le Moenner, the managing director of the Tour's parent company Amaury Sports Organisation, said that "making a contribution to all forms of cycling is a vocation for the Tour de France. This is even more so when it is about supporting a discipline that is clearly on the up and has been making its mark in professional sport for many years." La Course joins the Ladies Tour of Qatar and La Flèche Wallonne on ASO's roster of women's events.