155 towns in the loop
Riding into the Future is the banner under which the Tour de France is committed to promoting cycling mobility as a means of transport. With this in mind, the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift are encourage local authorities to participate in this initiative. The “Tour de France Cycle City” label, which was created in 2021, enables municipalities that have hosted the Tour de France, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift or a Critérium of the Tour de France at least once to have the entire cycling promotion policy implemented in their area assessed.
With 24 towns awarded the label for edition four, including 22 awarded for the first time, nearly 20% of eligible towns have now been awarded the label. This year's list of winners reflects what makes the Tour de France so unique: a clever mix of municipalities of varying sizes, from small French towns to major international cities, in an almost perfect balance. Indeed, nine small towns (population less than 10,000), seven medium-sized towns (population between 10 and 50,000) and eight large cities (population over 50,000) have obtained at least one level of certification. Alongside the three smallest towns in this year's competition: Évaux-les-Bains (1,328 residents - 2 bikes), Semur-en-Auxois (4,219 residents - 2 bikes) and Gruissan (5,131 residents - 2 bikes) are Saitama in Japan (1.3 million residents - 2 bikes), Nice (345,000 residents - 2 bikes) and Montpellier (300,000 residents - 2 bikes).
More than 11 million people in 10 different countries now live in a town awarded the "Tour de France Cycle City" label. In this year's Italian Grand Départ, Italy makes a remarkable entry, with three towns awarded the label (Piacenza, Pinerolo, Rimini). Italy is ranked third among foreign countries behind Spain (5) and Belgium (4).
Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France Director:
"A pillar of our “Riding into the Future” programme, the “Tour de France Cycle City” label is proving to be a concrete indicator for the Tour's towns and cities. This fourth edition shows that they understand the importance of promoting cycling. Whether for daily use or more sporting pursuits, the towns are committed to promoting cycling in all its forms to benefit the 11 million residents of the 155 towns that have now received the label."
Clotilde Imbert, Director of Copenhagenize:
"The 2024 "Tour de France Cycle City" label reflects the cycling policy progress made by French towns and cities. This year, large cities are investing in increasingly high-quality cycle networks. The impact on cycling mobility is already tangible. But the most remarkable feature is the application from small towns in sparsely populated areas, which are also keen to develop cycling in all its forms, whether for sport, leisure or daily use. This shows that, even if the development of cycling in these areas is more complex, cycling is not exclusive to urban centres and that the political will now extends to all types of regions."
The composition of the jury for the " Tour de France Cycle City" label:
Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France Director; Émilie Defay, deputy editor-in-chief at France Bleu Paris; Jean Ghedira, LCL Director of Communications, Sponsorship and General Secretariat; David Lazarus, Mayor of Chambly and Chairman of the Sports Working Group of the Association of French Mayors; Olivier Schneider, President of the FUB; Karine Bozzacchi, CSR Manager for the Tour de France.
155 Cities have already received the label:
Four levels of labelling are symbolised by small yellow bicycles displayed on the signs that the municipalities set up at their town limits. The label criteria (set out in the application file for the second promotion, which can still be downloaded via the link below for your information) look at the cycling infrastructure development strategy, concrete actions to promote cycling (e.g. learning in school, awareness campaigns and recreational rides) and the support provided to clubs and various associations involved in cycling in their area.
Tour de France CSR Manager Karine Bozzacchi explains how the great disparity in resources between large cities such as Paris or Rotterdam and rural towns of a few hundred residents are taken into account when awarding the label, as is only natural: "While it can be hard for a small town to build a bike path, implementing 30 km/h zones in some neighbourhoods is more feasible and still shows a real commitment to supporting cycling as a means of transport."
If you have any further questions, please contact labelvilleavelo@aso.fr!
