Tour de France Femmes: More exciting than the men’s race – but why? A commentary

Do you feel the same way? The first stages of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes are over, and it’s just incredibly fun to watch them. To be honest, I’ve noticed that I’m sitting in front of the screen feeling far more excited than I did just a few weeks ago during the men’s Tour de France. But why is that, actually? It’s both easy and yet difficult to explain. The simple answer is: the racing is more attacking. The complex answer involves far more than just this one aspect.

Familiar procedures...

Anyone who follows the men’s Tour regularly is familiar with the typical patterns. The strongest teams often control the race for hours on end. Thanks to their immense depth of talent, perfect support structures and increasingly detailed data analysis, they frequently manage to defuse dangerous situations at an early stage. This is impressive from a sporting perspective, but it also means that the course of many races becomes relatively predictable. Isn’t it astonishing that, in many stages, you can predict the winner in advance and, in many cases, be spot on? Of course, this is sometimes possible in women’s cycling too. For example, in sprint finishes. Anyone who doesn’t tip Lorena Wiebes as the winner must have missed the last two years...

The uncertainty

That said, the women’s Tour de France, by contrast, seems much more open. Of course, there are favourites for the classics or mountain stages, and dominant teams. Nevertheless, they are much less likely to manage to control a stage completely from start to finish. Attacks aren’t neutralised straight away, breakaway riders are given more leeway, and even seemingly clear-cut race situations can turn on a sixpence within a few kilometres. For spectators, this creates something that is priceless in sport: genuine uncertainty about the winner, and suspense.

It is precisely this uncertainty that is one of the main reasons why the races are so gripping at the moment. You get the feeling much more often that anything can happen. Whilst the men often wait for that one perfect moment, many female riders seem to be more willing to take risks. They don’t just wait for the final climb. Attacks come early, positions are defended aggressively, and even the favourites launch attacks that aren’t always successful.

An attack with a chance of success

One rider embodies this like no other: Cédrine Kerbaol. The Frenchwoman sometimes launches an attack that seems completely absurd at first glance. It can certainly go wrong – we’ve seen that often enough. But that’s precisely where the appeal lies. Not every attack has to succeed. On the contrary: it’s the possibility of failure that makes these attacks exciting in the first place. As a spectator, you realise that the race isn’t determined solely by calculations and probabilities, but often by courage, instinct and the willingness to put all your eggs in one basket. And Kerbaol proves that it can work. On the third stage of the Tour of Spain The 25-year-old broke away two kilometres before the mass sprint everyone had been expecting and won in a solo ride.

Another aspect is the role of the top female riders. The world’s best female athletes are, of course, extremely strong. Nevertheless, they often seem less unbeatable than the dominant stars in the men’s race in recent years. Even the biggest favourites regularly have moments when they come under pressure. As a result, the races remain open for longer and the tension lasts well into the decisive stages of the race. In the men’s race, on the other hand, it almost seems like a law: if Tadej Pogačar is at the start of a stage race, he wins it. If the Slovenian is absent but Jonas Vingegaard is there, the Dane takes the stage race victory. Yawn… oh sorry, I dozed off for a moment.

Thrills just like in the old days

What I personally love, too, is the dynamism of the races. Many stages don’t feel like a perfectly planned script. Instead, they develop a momentum of their own. A group that initially seems insignificant suddenly becomes a threat. An outsider rises to the occasion. A favourite falls behind and fights her way back. Wind, tactics or a single attack can change the entire course of the race.

It was precisely this feeling that got me into cycling in the first place. Not the watts per kilogramme that an individual rider can generate. Not the spec sheets. Not the theoretical calculations. But the fact that a race can take a new turn at any moment. That’s exactly what makes women’s cycling more tangible. You find yourself getting more caught up in the action, rejoicing more at success stories and feeling the pain more keenly when a bold attack falls short just before the finish line.

Don’t get me wrong: the men’s Tour de France remains the biggest and most prestigious cycle race in the world. The performances there are of an incredible standard and deserve the utmost respect. That’s why the men’s Tour is by no means boring.

Conclusion: It gives me that tingling feeling again when I watch it

Even so, I often get the feeling these days that the Women’s Tour has something that’s becoming increasingly rare in modern elite sport. There are more surprises, more risk-taking and more situations where riders are prepared to lose a race just for the chance to win it. And perhaps that is precisely the best explanation for why I enjoy watching it so much at the moment. The Tour de France Femmes may not yet have reached the scale and prestige of the men’s Tour in many respects. But when it comes to excitement, unpredictability and thrilling racing, it’s currently the most enjoyable for me. To put it quite simply: watching it gives me that same thrill I used to feel back in the day!