Tour de France Femmes 2025 Impact, Men’s Viewership Decline, CAS Ruling

The latest AIRmail Weekly Newsletter from The Outer Line digs into the current state of pro cycling and the wider sports world. This week’s issue looks at big developments in the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, falling viewership in the men’s Tour de France, and some major legal changes at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

It also touches on the U.S. President’s executive action on college athletics and what that might mean. If you’re a fan or stakeholder, there’s plenty here to chew on, with a mix of expert takes and data-driven stories.

Tour de France Femmes 2025: A Turning Point

The 2025 Tour de France Femmes stands out as a milestone for women’s pro cycling. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s popular win didn’t just confirm the event’s top status—it put a spotlight on the creativity and grit of the sport’s leading women.

The race had its fair share of drama, from crashes to surprise victories. Fans got a real spectacle this year.

Highlights and Key Moments

There was no shortage of action or plot twists:

• Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s Victory: Her stage 8 ride was phenomenal, and when she sealed the deal on stage 9, French fans had every reason to celebrate.
• Challengers and Crashes: Big names like Elisa Longo-Borghini and Marlen Reusser crashed out early, while Lorena Wiebes snagged two sprint wins.
• New Faces and Rising Stars: Riders like Dominika Włodarczyk and Sarah Gigante showed they’re ones to watch.

The event’s vibe has changed. Fans, riders, media, and sponsors are all in, and you can see it in the numbers—2,500 women lined up among 6,000 participants at the L’Étape mass start. That’s a lot of momentum for the sport.

Challenges in Women’s Cycling Development

Even with the Tour’s success, women’s cycling still faces big hurdles in growing and diversifying its talent pool. The Women’s WorldTour is mostly run by a few cash-rich teams, and the under-21 talent pipeline just hasn’t kept up with how fast the WWT is expanding.

Structural Issues

Natascha Knaven-den Ouden, who started NXTG Racing, pointed out the deep-rooted issues in developing talent. Young riders feel like they have to get noticed, signed, and successful by 19—or risk fading out.

That kind of pressure creates a bottleneck, and it could hurt the sport’s long-term growth.

Calendar and Viewership Challenges

The UCI calendar isn’t helping. The season peaks mid-year, just like the men’s Tour, and that’s led to shrinking viewership and a smaller fan base.

With only a handful of teams dominating and too many races on the calendar, fans lose interest fast. It’s tough to stay excited when the odds feel so stacked.

Men’s Tour de France Viewership Declines

The men’s Tour de France has seen viewership drop for years, even with tweaks to the race. The final stage on the Champs Elysees, while always a thrill, couldn’t turn things around for TV numbers.

Factors Contributing to Decline

So, what’s driving people away?

• Dominance of Top Teams: When only four or five teams have a real shot, the race loses its edge.
• Migration Behind Paywalls: More races are locked behind pricey subscriptions, shutting out a lot of fans.
• Over-Bloated Calendar: Too many races make each one feel less important.

The first two weeks’ numbers matched last year’s downward trend, and week three didn’t break the pattern. The short-lived Pogačar-Van Aert duel gave us a spark, but it just wasn’t enough to shift the overall story.

Significant Legal Shifts at CAS

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has long held a lot of power, mostly unchecked. But a new EU ruling now says national courts in member countries need to review CAS decisions closely, making sure they line up with EU public policy.

Implications for Cycling

This could really shake things up in cycling. CAS has ruled on plenty of doping cases and contract arguments, so bringing in more oversight and transparency feels like a win for athlete rights.

U.S. President’s Executive Action on College Athletics

The NCAA’s strict amateurism rules have been under fire for years. Recent legal cases, most notably House vs. NCAA, now let college athletes get paid directly—up to $20.5 million a year for some schools—and even include “back pay” for athletes from previous years.

Current State of College Sports

College sports these days? Honestly, it feels like the wild west out there. Governance, money, power, freedom—every piece is tangled up in some kind of mess.

The College Sports Commission just loosened up restrictions on NIL collectives paying athletes. This move pretty much clashes with the recent Executive Order and throws even more chaos into an already confusing, barely regulated scene.