Female Cyclists Want Women's Tour De France To Be Run In Conjuction With Men's Race

Top female riders have called for a women's Tour de France "to be run in conjunction with the world famous men's version," according to the PA. Britain's former world champion and 2008 Olympic time trial Silver Medalist Emma Pooley "is one of four top riders who published a petition to resurrect the event," which has not been held since '09. The letter to Tour Dir Christian Prudhomme calls for women to be on the starting line of the 101st Tour de France in '14, stating: "Hopefully 30 years from now, we will see 2014 as the year that opened people's eyes to true equality in the sport of cycling." The petition, "which was launched this month by Pooley, Olympic road race champion Marianne Vos, Kathryn Bertine and ironman triathlon champion Chrissie Wellington," had 62,683 signatures by 2pm Monday. British Cycling President Brian Cookson has described a permanent women's Tour as a "great'' idea but feels it might need to be held "over modified distances, modified number of days, and so on" (PA, 7/22).