Tour de France ends podium girls amid sexism complaints

A famous tradition of the Tour de France has been scrapped with “podium girls” no longer to join the winners on stage for this year’s race.

Australian Rohan Dennis gets a kiss from a hostess after winning the opening stage of the 2015 Tour de France. Picture: Sarah Reed

One of the Tour de France’s most famous customs will end this year when the post-race podium ritual of the winner being flanked by two young, attractive women comes to an end.

Instead, organisers said that there will be just one hostess on one side of the celebrating cyclist with a male host on the other when the 2020 Tour starts in Nice on August 29.

“You used to see the champion surrounded by two hostesses, with five elected officials on one side and five representatives of the sponsors on the other,” race director Christian Prudhomme said.

“Now, it will be different with only one elected official and one representative of the sponsors of the yellow jersey, as well as a hostess and a host for the first time.

“Yes, it’s new but we have already been doing it in other races for 20 years like in Liege-Bastogne-Liege.”

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The presence of attractive young women on sports podiums has been a bone of contention in recent years with many condemning it as sexist.

In 2018, Formula One put an end to “grid girls” who had been ever-presents at the start of grands prix in the world championship.

Last year, a petition containing nearly 38,000 signatures objected to the use of podium girls on the Tour de France with activists protesting “women are not objects nor rewards”.

Despite the change at the Tour, Prudhomme did not say whether or not the tradition of each hostess giving the cyclists a kiss would continue.

Christopher Froome is helped into his yellow jersey by one of the podium girls during the 2015 Tour. Picture: Sarah Reed

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However, the current health protocols required during the coronavirus pandemic will likely spell the end of such familiarity.

The Tour de France was pushed back to August/September from its traditional July slot due to the pandemic.

Health concerns remain paramount ahead of the Tour which ends in Paris on September 20.

Thousands of fans routinely line the route of three-week showpiece. On Wednesday, Prudhomme appealed to spectators to wear protective masks when they congregate at the road side or high up in the mountain stages.

Wearing a mask in public is not compulsory throughout all areas of the country. The problem is compounded out on the road and countryside.

During the various cycling events of the summer, many riders regularly expressed their concerns on the subject.

“People do not realise that when they come to shout at 40 centimetres to encourage us, there is a risk,” Trek team rider Julien Bernard said.

The worst scenario for the organisers would be that a case of COVID-19 spreads in the peloton.

A range of health measures for the Tour were announced, which includes cyclists being subjected to two tests before the start of the race as well as each rest day.

Originally published as Tour de France ends podium girls amid sexism complaints