Route Unveiled for La Course By Le Tour de France The route for the women’s race to be run on the final day of Le Tour de France was revealed on April 30, CyclingNews reports. La Course By Le Tour de France will run on a 90 km course which will include 13 laps of the final circuit of the Tour on the Champs-Élysées. The race was announced in February by the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) in an effort to promote women’s cycling on the international stage.

The event came about in large part due to the petitioning of Le Tour Entier, group founded by cyclists Chrissie Wellington, Kathryn Bertine, Emma Pooley, and Marianne Vos for the purpose of finding higher profile opportunities for the sport of women’s cycling. Vos, a multi-discipline world champion and Olympic champion, was on hand in Paris to present the route for the July 27 race, calling it “a historic day.”

Besides line honors, prizes will be awarded for intermediate sprints for the best sprinter's classification on each of the first 11 laps. A prize for the best young rider under the age of 25 will also be given. In the keeping with the theme of an all women’s race, certain conventions of the Tour have been adjusted. Along with the 100 women of the peloton, security for La Course will be performed by policewomen from the Paris Police Prefecture. Riders who reach the podium will receive kisses from podium boys and the blackboard official is to be a man. Winners of La Course will be awarded the same amount as Tour stage winners, a total of €22,500 (approximately $31,063.50).

The race is slated to be the most highly visible event in female cycling event since the 2012 Olympic Games in London. It will be broadcast in 147 countries, with live viewing available 104 countries. To read more or see a photo gallery from the route unveiling, take a look at the story at CyclingNews.