The Tour de France: A Universal Story… That Speaks to Everyone
At the height of summer, with 7.7 million viewers, the finale of the Women’s Tour de France nearly matched the audience of the men’s legendary final stage at Montmartre (8 million). Olympic cross-country champion last year, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot gave the women’s race a true heroine, a popular momentum, and genuine international visibility. Despite the transformation of the economic model, concentration around very powerful teams with constantly increasing budgets, constant material innovations, the growing role of data, among both men and women, and despite persistent suspicions of doping, more among men than women, the Tour continues to thrive, enjoying persistent and even growing popularity. Let’s take a closer look at the reasons behind this unique phenomenon, and what lessons it offers for communication.
Small Stories Build Big Audiences
Traditionally, it is believed that for a sporting event to attract an audience, three elements are required stakes, national pride, and champions. The Tour de France goes further by telling something else: individual stories, landscapes, and symbols. This is exactly what the Netflix series Unchained understood: it shifted the focus to backstage, conversations, injuries, doubts. The result is that the Tour now reaches audiences who previously knew nothing about cycling, and who nevertheless find themselves reflected in it.
The rejuvenation effect is also tangible: throughout the stages and in the fan zones, spectators are treating the Tour as much as a cultural experience as a sporting one. Another decisive change: these cyclist-pilgrims from all over Europe, as well as Australia, Colombia, and New Zealand, who climb the Alpe d’Huez or Ventoux themselves before the peloton passes. They don’t just watch the Tour, they live it. This year, thanks to an initiative by the organizers, 10,000 amateur riders tackled the ascent to La Plagne just days before the professionals. And like many others lining the roadsides, they amplify the spectacle: their stories, reels, and TikTok videos are now part of the overall narrative. In 2023, more than 150 million interactions related to the Tour were recorded on social media, proof that the experience extends far beyond the roads of France. The spectator becomes an active participant in a collective story, extending it both through personal practice and digital amplification.
What the Tour Teaches Us About Communication
For sponsors, the Tour remains a unique accelerator. LCL has its name tied to the yellow jersey, Škoda to the green, E.Leclerc to the polka-dot jersey: beyond visibility, these brands acquire values, such as endurance, merit, proximity, and more broadly, a place in collective imagination. On-the-ground activations (caravans, hospitality, starting villages) now extend into social content and behind-the-scenes microformats. Mass-market brands gain instant affinity; technical brands, enhanced credibility. The Women’s Tour adds an inclusive, modern dimension, appealing both to CSR departments and marketing divisions. Host cities also invest heavily to secure a start or finish: the boost to local economies and tourism visibility more than justifies the commitment.
Above all, the Tour proves that a global narrative is not a single discourse: it is an orchestration. At its heart lies a shared promise, emotion, individuals, heritage, and pushing boundaries. Around it, targeted narratives thrive: the underdog winning on Ventoux, the French athlete embodying equality, the powerhouse team mastering sports science, the brand associating with a jersey, the cycling tourist recreating a stage, the fan extending the event on social media. The strength lies not in uniformity but in polyphony. And it is precisely this polyphony, anchored in a shared emotional foundation, that allows the Tour to absorb crises, withstand the economic dominance of major teams, and continue bringing together diverse audiences, from Netflix fans to long-time enthusiasts, from young urbanites to cyclists from the other side of the world.
At a time when communication still seeks ways to address everyone without losing substance, the Tour de France provides a compass: sustain a shared imagination, nurture multiple stories, and turn that tension into energy.
Eric Giuily, President
Matthieu Meunier, Account Manager