For six years in the 1980s, the Tour de France included a women’s race alongside the men’s: the Tour de France Féminin. It gave women cyclists the chance to compete on the same roads, face the same iconic climbs, and ride in front of the same crowds. Despite delivering dramatic victories, intense rivalries, and remarkable displays of endurance, the women faced constant challenges—including financial struggles, injuries, discrimination, and the growing influence of doping in the sport. Yet through it all, they built something more lasting than trophies: a deep sense of camaraderie. Now, more than 30 years later, these women reflect on their time at the pinnacle of professional cycling in a new film. Their stories shed led on what their experiences mean for the next generation of female athletes. That’s what the film, Breakaway Femmes dives on into. Those years of women’s cycling paved the way for the current iteration of the Tour—the Tour de France Femmes, now approaching its fourth year. But these original years of the race followed a long gap without a proper Tour de France for women. There were smaller iterations along the way—much shorter, some even just a one-day race—for years before an official Tour de France for women associated with the men’s. – Canadian Cycling Magazine