The Tour de France is the world’s toughest cycling race. In 1984, 36 pioneering women rode in the first-ever Tour de France Féminin. Though their experiences on and off the bike were a far cry from the men’s, their heroic efforts set the stage for the 2022 debut of the Tour de Femmes Avec Zwift. Through conversations with these women and others, this series shines a light on how these women from the 1980s led the way in shaping women’s professional cycling.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Tour de France is the world’s toughest cycling race. In 1984, 36 pioneering women rode in the first-ever Tour de France Féminin. Though their experiences on and off the bike were a far cry from the men’s, their heroic efforts set the stage for the 2022 debut of the Tour de Femmes Avec Zwift. Through conversations with these women and others, this series shines a light on how these women from the 1980s led the way in shaping women’s professional cycling. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On July, 1984, three dozen pioneering women stood on the starting line in France to contest the first-ever Tour de France Féminin, the world’s first Tour de France for women. These courageous women rode versions of the same leg-breaking courses on the same day as the men, climbing some of the highest mountains in Europe, and descending at speeds of over 50 miles per hour to the cheers of fans who weren’t expecting to see women in the Tour de France.

Join Jill Yesko, director of the documentary Uphill Climb: The Women Who Conquered the Impossible Race, as she speaks to the women who rode the world’s toughest cycling race, as well as some of the most influential women cyclists from the 1980s and today. Through these conversations, this series shines a light on how these amazing women led the way in shaping women’s professional cycling.

Uphill Climb: The Women Who Conquered the Impossible Race

The Tour de France is the world’s toughest cycling race. In 1984, 36 pioneering women rode in the first-ever Tour de France Féminin. Though their experiences on and off the bike were a far cry from the men’s, their heroic efforts set the stage for the 2022 debut of the Tour de Femmes Avec Zwift. Through conversations with these women and others, this series shines a light on how these women from the 1980s led the way in shaping women’s professional cycling.