Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell is about to fulfil a dream that for so long seemed impossible.
The 34-year-old Olympian will line up for the Canyon-SRAM Racing Team for the inaugural women's Tour de France Femmes, beginning on July 24.
"It will be a historic moment for women's cycling," Cromwell said.
"We've been pushing for a women's Tour de France for a number of years and to finally be given a global platform is so exciting for the sport."
It is the first time since the 1980s that an equivalent of the Tour de France for women is being held.
The Tour de France Femmes is expected to be one of the most-watched races on the women's calendar and will start in Paris on the same day the men's race finishes.
It will cover 1,029 kilometres and eight stages that will include flat sprints, mountain-top finishes, cobblestone and gravel sectors, country lanes and city streets.
A road and gravel cyclist, Cromwell said the chance for women to don their own yellow jersey would increase the visibility of the sport.
"If you talk to anybody who doesn't know anything about cycling, they know the Tour De France," she said.
"Just having that [Tour De France] attached to the name and the global coverage it will receive, will take women's cycling to the next level."
'A great moment for us'
Cromwell is not the only one excited.
Her partner, F1 driver Valtteri Bottas, is also eagerly awaiting the Tour de France Femmes.
"He's excited to see women's cycling grow and thinks it's a great moment for us," Cromwell said.
Cromwell and Bottas live in the south of France near Monaco, where they cycle and train together.
"He has been very supportive of my career, coming to a lot of my races and I go to his F1 races," Cromwell said.
One of the biggest names in world motorsport, Bottas uses cycling as part of his endurance training.
The 32-year-old included mountain biking, road cycling and gravel riding as part of his training routine after he began to have issues with running.
"The training side has been really great because he enjoys cycling," Cromwell said.
"It helps him and he can also be a sounding ear for me.
"When you have someone who is in an equally high-pressure sport — if not more high-pressure — it's fun and nice to be able to share the two sports."
While Cromwell shares her vast cycling knowledge with Bottas, she has also been gaining insights from the Finn.
"Valtteri's got a lot of knowledge on aerodynamics," she said.
"He will look at certain things on the bike and crunch the numbers to make it more aero [aerodynamic]."
Cromwell chasing stage wins
Former Australian Olympic cyclist and world champion Kate Bates said women's cycling was experiencing a light-bulb moment with the Tour de France Femmes.
"The Tour de France Femmes is going to be huge," she said.
"There have been a lot of people in the sport pushing hard for women to get their time in the sun."
Bates said the likes of Cromwell and other Australians competing in the inaugural tour — such as Amanda Spratt, Grace Brown, Nicole Frain, and Sarah Gigante — were all capable of making an impact.
"They are not just names that are competing," she said.
"They are names that we could realistically see win stages."
Cromwell, who has won two stages in the women's Giro d'Italia (2012 and 2016), said she hoped the Tour de France Femmes would provide a new audience for the sport.
She said it would also give an insight into the personalities of female riders.
"We are similar to the men but also different in the way we race," Cromwell said.
"It's a distinctive style of racing, with smaller teams."
Women's cycling making progress
Cromwell can recall a non-existent support network when she began her international career in 2007.
"The teams ran on small budgets, many riders raced with no salaries, you lived in team houses, you couldn't have independence and we didn't have much media focus," Cromwell said.
There have since been significant improvements, such as cyclists receiving a minimum wage, a world tour and maternity leave.
"Before, if you wanted to have a family, you basically had to stop your career," Cromwell said.
"Now women can come into the sport and know they have all the things that come with being a professional athlete, such as the right physios, chefs and support teams."
Cromwell credited virtual cycling platforms such as Zwift for addressing inequality in cycling.
"Zwift has been an incredible support on the women's side and they're a major partner of the Tour de France Femmes," she said.
During the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Zwift hosted the world's first virtual Tour de France. Men raced alongside women, with equal coverage and prize money available.
In the real world, equal sponsorship and prize money remain a long way off but Cromwell said progress was being made.
"At least we can now say, we have the Olympics and the Tour De France Femmes," she said.
"It's exciting for the next generation of young girls who can now aspire to become the next Tour De France champion."