LA COURSE

With the Tour Femmes coming in 2022, La Course 2021 may have been the last. Procycling speaks to Leah Kirchmann and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, the two riders who raced every edition, about how the race changed over the years

Interviews Sophie Hurcom // Photography Getty Images (various)

It was fitting that the rider to win the first edition of La Course was someone who played an integral part in getting it created. Marianne Vos was part of Le Tour Entier, a group who campaigned and petitioned ASO to create a women’s race at the Tour, and she also won the race’s inaugural sprint in Paris. Held on the same day as the final stage of the men’s Tour, the race featured 13 laps of the famed Champs-Élysées course, with Vos beating Kirsten Wild and Leah Kirchmann to the line.

LEAH KIRCHMANN

“I still remember how big that event was. The whole lead up was so big with the petition and I think it really showed a lot. The riders really banded together and the fans really banded together to say we really want this to happen. I was racing for Optum Pro Cycling, an American based team, at the time. When they finally announced that the race would take place and our team actually got an invitation, it was so exciting to know that we would be lining up there.

“And then the day itself... I remember it was just so magical to be there standing on the start line on the Champs-Élysées. Then to actually finish on the podium that day was a dream come true for me. It was also my first podium finish in Europe. To have it be on such a big stage was really special.

“I can still remember how much media attention I got as a rider for the podium there, especially in the Canadian media and the North American media who don’t normally cover a lot of cycling. But everybody still knows the Tour de France so the fact that I was getting so much attention told me that this transcended cycling a little bit and it had a far greater reach than a normal race would. I remember I was even getting mentions on Twitter from the Prime Minister of Canada, crazy things. Those things don’t normally happen.”

La Course returned to Paris for the next two years and gradually attracted criticism for not providing the women with a challenging enough parcours. Torrential rain marred the second edition, and made the lap of the Champs treacherous as multiple crashes caused splits. Anna van der Breggen stole the show from the sprinters, jumping away on the final lap and holding off the chase to win solo. A year later, Chloe Hosking won the sprint, ahead of Lotta Henttala and Vos.