The 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift generated more than 100 million television viewing hours in Europe and was broadcast in 190 countries, according to audience figures published on Friday.
The international data, shared by UCI president David Lappartient on August 14, follows record digital engagement and a new high for average television audience share in France.
The European figure measures cumulative time spent watching rather than the number of individual viewers. It does not represent an audience of 100 million people; it is the clearest available measure of the race’s international television consumption.
“The figures speak for themselves. The audience and worldwide engagement around Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift continue to grow year after year,” Lappartient said.
In the Netherlands, four million people watched the race, equivalent to 24% of the country’s population. Dutch riders won five stages before Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) secured the overall title in Nice.
France Télévisions separately reported that 23.2 million people in France viewed the nine-stage race for a minimum of one minute; it was held from August 1 to 9. Live coverage averaged a record 32.9% audience share, up from 31.6% in 2025, although the total reach fell from 25.7 million.
The audience-share figure indicates the percentage of television viewers tuned in at a given moment, making it a different measure from total reach or viewing hours. The Mont Ventoux stage produced the biggest French peak at 5.1 million viewers and averaged a 41.5% share.
Video and website traffic set new records
Videos published through the race’s official platforms and social channels accumulated 241 million views, an increase of 72% from 2025. The Tour de France Femmes had 3.6 million followers across its social networks, up 12.5%, while posts generated a record 10.5 million likes, comments and shares, a 48% rise.
The organiser also published more than 2,000 social-media posts during the race period. Its most-watched post, showing the difficulty of collecting a bottle, reached 24.6 million views. Two other leading posts recorded 16.5 million and 12.5 million views.
Between July 27 and August 9, letourfemmes.fr recorded 12.4 million visits from 4.8 million unique visitors. The latter figure was 48% above the average for the previous four years. Page views reached a record 41.2 million, 9% higher than in 2025.
The website’s Race Center attracted two million visits, up 73% against its four-year average, and generated a record 6.4 million page views. The official fantasy game drew 38,000 players.
The figures have prompted calls for every stage to receive start-to-finish television coverage. France Télévisions showed at least two and a half hours live each day, but only some stages were broadcast in full. Race director Marion Rousse said the broadcaster and organiser ASO were giving full coverage “serious consideration”.
As our earlier report on the French figures detailed, Rousse said the women deserved complete broadcasts and that the audience results showed the race worked for viewers. No change to the 2027 broadcast format has yet been confirmed.
Cover image credit: BILLY CEUSTERS
Velora newsletter
Never miss a story
The biggest cycling stories, tech insight and race analysis — twice a week, free.
