Australia's Amanda Spratt cries as women's Tour de France returns 'emotional'

Australian cyclist champion Amanda Spratt bursts into tears after crossing the line on the Champs-Élysées during the first stage of the historic women’s Tour de France.

Key points:

• Spratt isn’t sure she’ll have the chance to ride in the women’s Tour de France event
• Australians Tiffany Cromwell and Nicole Frain are top-ranked Australians at 11th and 12th respectively
• Dutchman Lorena Wiebes wins the first stage after sprinting with former Olympic champion Marianne Vos

Since 1903, men’s racing has been the pinnacle of international cycling and regularly attracts more than 1 billion spectators worldwide.

Now, for the first time since 1989, the Tour de France Femmes is back, finally allowing veterans like the 34-year-old Spratt to compete.

“When I got to the podium there I started to tear up a little; I think I got a little sentimental in my old age,” the 34-year-old told SBS on Sunday.

“I think it just made me realize how big this moment was.”

Pratt went on to acknowledge the “pioneers” of women’s cycling, saying “a lot of hard work” had gone into seeing the Tour de France Femmes return.

Load

“I honestly don’t know if it will happen in my career,” Pratt said in tears.

“I grew up watching the SBS highlights of the men’s Tour de France when I was a kid, and most of my icons and idols were male cyclists because I couldn’t see women racing on TV.

Load

The symbol behind this, the message we will get from this [is that] girls and boys alike can watch us race from Australia, from their couches, and I really hope we can inspire the next generation.”

Spratt, who races for Team Bikeexchange-Jayco, did not get off to an ideal start on the Champs-Élysées, crashing with five kilometers remaining as he prepared for the final sprint.

Nonetheless, he got back on the bike to finish the stage in one hour, 54 minutes and 56 seconds.

It was another sign of tenacity from the Australian rider, who is recovering from a COVID-19 infection he picked up during the race at the Giro d’Italia Donne.

Eight Australians competed in the historic race, with Tiffany Cromwell and Nicole Frain finishing 11th and 12th respectively.

Wiebes hold off Vos for first stage win

The Champs-Élysées stage was won by Lorena Wiebes from the Netherlands.

The Team DSM driver scored in the final 150 meters of the 82-kilometer circuit in Paris to beat former Olympic champion Marianne Vos to the line, punching the air in celebration.

“I’m very happy to finally be able to race on the Champs-Élysées,” said Wiebes.

Load

“It was a difficult race, a fast one. It feels very special to ride here around Paris and even more special to wear the yellow jersey.”

Wiebes celebrated on the podium with the baby in her arms — later insisting that the baby wasn’t hers, but her friend’s.

“It’s not mine,” he said in his post-race press conference.

“Otherwise I don’t think it’s possible to race this year.

“It’s a good friend of mine and we bet on it [that] if I win the stage and get a yellow, then I can get him on the podium.”

Flanders tour champion Lotte Kopecky was third.

The first stage starts at the Eiffel Tower and ends on the iconic street, just hours before the end of the men’s race.

The “Tour de France Femmes” will conclude on July 31 in eastern France at La Super Planche des Belles Filles, a spectacular uphill peak frequented by Tour men.

The eight-stage race aims to become a permanent fixture on the women’s world tour cycling calendar.

A Tour stage race ran from 1984 to 1989, running parallel to the men’s edition, before being shortened.

Various other versions have been tried but they are very underfunded.

Female cyclists lag far behind men in terms of salaries and resources, with conditions slowly improving.

Online fitness platform Zwift has signed a four-year sponsorship contract after drivers spent years calling for a women’s version of the race.

Several people rode each stage of the men’s race to raise awareness of the issue until the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), which organizes the Tour de France, announced the new event.

With AP

#Australias #Amanda #Spratt #cries #womens #Tour #France #returns #emotional