The Tour de France has broken from tradition鈥攁nd I couldn鈥檛 be happier.

For decades, the race鈥檚 ownership group, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), kept the Tour preserved in time, like Han Solo frozen in carbonite. The rules, regulations, stage distances, and the presence of podium girls all felt like holdovers from a bygone era. At best, this reverence to the race鈥檚 100-year history felt quaint, like watching a baseball game at Wrigley Field. At worst, it was problematic, and watching the race sometimes felt like reading your Uncle Dave鈥檚 Facebook posts.

Then, a few years ago, ASO officials started trying out bold and sometimes bizarre experiments to freshen things up. First, they ditched the daily 120-mile stages for , and the shift breathed new action and aggression into the race. Then, they with men and women 鈥減resenters.鈥� The Tour even tried out a during a stage back in 2018, and it backfired in hilarious fashion. Now, there鈥檚 even talk of the Tour ditching the final stage in Paris for one along the French riviera.

Of course, the biggest change happened this year, when ASO officials finally launched a bonafide Tour de France for women鈥攁nd let us all commend them for doing so.

My take: these sudden changes are a sign that the Tour de France is no longer beholden to its own history, and that its organizers are open to innovation, no matter how wacky or weird the idea may be. ASO officials want to spice things up and bring the Tour de France into the 21st century. Well, lucky for them, I have a handful of half-baked ideas.

King/Queen Of Social Media Jersey

Perhaps the most challenging concept for casual fans to grasp about the Tour de France is that there are multiple races going on within the event鈥攜ep, the fight for the different colored jerseys. There鈥檚 the white jersey, given to the fastest rider under 25 years old, the green jersey, awarded to the best sprinter, and the polka-dot jersey鈥攃alled the King/Queen of the Mountains鈥攇iven to to the best climber. To win these jerseys, riders must chase points that are available at seemingly arbitrary zones along the course each day. Following the races within the race often requires the use of a calculator (or, for those Tour traditionalists, a slide rule).

Here a basic concept for a jersey competition that any casual fan can understand: the King/Queen of Social Media Jersey, awarded to the rider who generates the most likes, retweets, shares, and comments on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook (sorry, I鈥檓 not on TikTok yet). To honor this award, I propose the Kissy Face jersey (see rendering above).

I predict the battle would heat up as the Tour headed into its second and third weeks, and riders became hungry for likes. Perhaps they would resort to tweeting out theories about Stranger Things, or voicing their hottest takes on Tom Brady, or producing their own music videos in order to win. Who am I kidding鈥擟olombian and Italian would generate the most engagement every year.

Podium Critters

I鈥檓 not the first person to propose swapping out the podium presenters like pooches or kitty cats. Look, I understand the pushback here. Podium presents do play a role in the daily awards ceremony鈥攖hey show riders where to stand, and then direct whichever sponsor executive, or local politician, has been chosen that day to hand out the jerseys and medals.

Let鈥檚 replace them with animal handlers, and then bring in a few critters that best represent the local fauna. Australia鈥檚 Tour Down Under gives riders cute baby kangaroos to hold prior to each stage (see above). I鈥檇 love nothing more than to see Peter Sagan accept his ceremonial wheel of cheese from a Mouflon, and for Wout van Aert to receive his green jersey from a Chamois.

Bikepacking de France

Last summer, Australian pro cyclist Lachlan Morton by riding the entire Tour de France route as a bikepacking voyage. Morton covered huge distances by day, and slept in campgrounds or alongside the road at night. He even completed the lengthy transfers between each stage that the riders cover by bus or plane. In total, Morton rode 3,424 miles and finished late at night in Paris. The whimsical ride was called the Alt Tour, and Morton did much of it wearing sandals.

I was Editor-in-chief of聽VeloNews at the time, and I marveled at the by our coverage of Morton鈥檚 ride. Some stories overshadowed the actual Tour de France.聽I was surprised when team, , didn鈥檛 tap him to do it again this year.

Anyway, in lieu of the Alt Tour鈥檚 absolute success, I suggest staging an unofficial and highly non-competitive bikepacking challenge along the Tour route each year. Note: invite retired pros, Instagram influencers, mustache aficionados, unicyclists, , and other quasi-famous internet cycling celebrities to ride it, and just sit back and watch the global media footprint swell. People love bikepacking content.

Domestique Skills Challenge

When you have a flight with Ryanair.

— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling)

The Tour鈥檚 mighty spotlight shines on only a handful of riders each year, and most of the 200 or so cyclists toil away in anonymity. These riders, of course, are the , or helpers, and their role is to block wind and carry water bottles for the team leaders. It鈥檚 incredibly hard and physically demanding, and yet few casual fans know much about this work. The Tour needs to shine a light on these oft-forgotten heroes.

My idea: designate one stage each year to be the official 鈥渄omestique skills challenge,鈥� which would basically be cycling鈥檚 answer to the , in which hockey players compete to see who is the fastest skater, hardest shooter, and best at . For cycling, I envision events like the water bottle carry (see above), the , and the .

Coed Relay Race

double the fun and double the power

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women (@visma_lab_women)

This one might not be that half baked. The Tour de France Femmes was a huge hit, and a sign that the world is hungry for more women鈥檚 cycling. The race was billed as a long-awaited event to have the world鈥檚 best women鈥檚 cyclists share the Tour de France鈥檚 mighty stage with the best men. My聽idea is to create an event in which the men and women actually share the same competition鈥攁 relay race pitting coed teams against each other. There鈥檚 already one of these at the UCI鈥檚 world championships and . And, the stars of the Tour and Tour Femmes just completed an exhibition-style event of this nature at the . The devil would be in the details of how these teams were chosen, and what stakes鈥攊f any鈥攚ould be on the line. I鈥檒l let ASO officials figure that out while I hold my breath for this event to get the green light.

Weirder Time Trial Helmets

Last month my colleague Caley Fretz the awkward and downright ugly new time trial helmets made by bike brand Specialized. I totally disagree with this take. As a fan of the film Spaceballs, I feel that the strange headgear is the closest our sport will ever get to aping Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet. Sorry, Gen Z readers, this reference may be before your time.

VIP Soigneur

Race support

— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas)

Check out this video of Formula One driver and global celebrity Valtteri Bottas handing out water bottles to Team Canyon-SRAM riders during the Tour de France Femmes. Pretty cool, huh? Bottas has a vested interest for lending a hand鈥攈is partner, Tiffany Cromwell, is Canyon-SRAM鈥檚 longtime rider. Still, the clip got me thinking about the intersection of celebrity and access at the Tour de France, and how some cycling super fans would happily pay whatever price necessary to schlep bottles for a team.

The staffers who hand out bottles are called soigneurs, and they also massage the riders after each stage, wash laundry, haul food, and complete dozens of other tasks. My idea is to invite a handful of paying VIPs into the race鈥檚 sogineur ranks, to give them the ultimate behind-the-scenes Tour de France experience. Sure, maybe massage duties are off-limits. But if handing out water bottles is fun for Valtteri Bottas, it鈥檚 gotta be something a CEO would love to do as well.

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Best of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

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Watch as Annemiek van Vleuten and the peloton take on the final kilometer in the eighth and final stage of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

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Highlights from Stage 3 of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes.

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This article was first published by聽.

In a pro cycling career that鈥檚 included nearly every type of victory, Vos has never had this: a stage win and the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes. She鈥檒l later call it 鈥渄efinitely the best鈥� win of her career鈥揳 weighty statement given that her career contains more than 240 victories in road cycling alone, including three world titles, an Olympic gold medal, three UCI series titles, and 32 stages at the Giro d鈥橧talia, among other wins. And that lineup doesn鈥檛 even include her eight cyclocross world titles, Olympic gold medal in track cycling, and various other accomplishments in cycling.

Sitting there past the finish line, in the eye of a post-race media storm, Vos shares a brief hug with her mother鈥揳 moment of comfort and calm with a stalwart supporter. Later, in her post-race press conference, Vos reflects on the significance of the celebration.

鈥淥f course, it鈥檚 special to us to share a moment with the people close to you,鈥� Vos says. 鈥淎nd I also know that, yeah, even when my girlfriend is not here, she鈥檚 also supporting from the side. And my dad and my parents, if they鈥檙e not at the race they鈥檙e also with their hearts at the race.

鈥淏ut it鈥檚 of course really cool that they were here and also here at the finish line to enjoy and celebrate with me.鈥�

There鈥檚 a nice symmetry to Vos winning a stage at the inaugural Tour de France Femmes. Back in 2009 she won the final stage of the final edition of the Grand Boucle F茅minine Internationale, one of several races touted as an unofficial women鈥檚 Tour de France in the years following the end of the officially licensed event. And then Vos won two editions of La Course by Le Tour de France鈥攁 race she helped to launch鈥攊ncluding the inaugural edition on the Champs-脡lys茅es back in 2014.

Like that win in 2014, her stage win on Monday at the inaugural Tour de France Femmes was a landmark result for both Vos and for the sport.

鈥淲hen nine years ago we were talking with the ASO about an opportunity to race [at the Tour de France] it went really fast to get La Course,鈥� Vos says. 鈥淎nd when we raced then the first time on the Champs-脡lys茅es it felt [like] a milestone. And now to be here back for a stage race, for a real Tour de France? Yeah, that鈥檚 another milestone.鈥�

In her press conference, the subject of Vos鈥檚 age becomes the subject of multiple questions. At 35, how is it she鈥檚 still at the top of the sport? Did she think she鈥檇 miss her chance to race the Tour de France if the race hadn鈥檛 happened now?

鈥淭hey say age is just a number,鈥� she says with a chuckle. 鈥淚 feel good and I try to be at the best [that] I can. And, yeah, I think the most important thing is to enjoy and to be able to ride your bike every day with pleasure. As long as I鈥檓 healthy and enjoying racing as much with this team 鈥�

鈥淎t this moment, I don鈥檛 think age is something that鈥檚 really playing a role except [for] the fact that, of course, some experience might help, especially if you鈥檙e racing a final. And that doesn鈥檛 mean you never make a mistake. I keep learning.鈥�

As Vos finishes her press conference in a humble sports stadium on the outskirts of Provins, she receives a hearty round of applause from the gathered media members. That鈥檚 not a normal occurrence in a Tour de France press room. Then again, there鈥檚 nothing normal about what Marianne Vos has achieved today or in the sport more generally.

Vos likely won鈥檛 be in yellow on the final podium on Sunday. She and her team are more interested in stage wins on the way there. But you can bet that while Vos is in the maillot jaune, she鈥檒l be doing what she can to keep it. On paper, it鈥檚 possible she maintains her lead for the next few stage鈥攁ll the way up to the mountains of the final two stages (Vos defended her yellow jersey on Tuesday鈥檚 stage into Epernay).

But even if Vos loses the jersey between now and Friday, there鈥檚 something most fitting about seeing her in yellow. The greatest cyclist of all time, so long a figurehead for women鈥檚 cycling, a winner of virtually every race there is to win in a career of remarkable longevity鈥攖here could be no finer recipient of the yellow jersey at the inaugural Tour de France Femmes.

In wearing yellow, Vos is right where she belongs.

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This year marks the 109th Tour de France. The race starts in Copenhagen, Denmark, and will end with the final stage at Champs-脡lys茅es, Paris. For the first time, the women’s Tour de France Femmes will premier. The first stage begins on the final day of the Tour.

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Watch as Jasper Philipsen, and the peloton take on the final kilometer in the twenty-first stage of the 2022 Tour de France.

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Cosmo Catalano talks through the critical moment from Stage 1 of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

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Watch as Lorena Wiebes, and the peloton take on the final kilometer in the first stage of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

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Cosmo Catalano talks through the critical moment from stage 20 of the 2022 Tour de France.

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