We climb to new heights with exceptional champions

In supporting the only French team in the Women’s World Tour, we have chosen to express our attachment to a sport that combines health and ecology, but also highlights team spirit and women-driven performance. A commitment intended to convey meaning and emotion, but also spark innovation. 

Indeed, women’s pro cycling is still a sport of pioneers. The Women’s World tour launched by the international federation UCI is only eight years old! Today’s thirty events take place all over the world, from Australia to Spain, from the United Arab Emirates to Sweden, and from Norway to China! 

Among them, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has pride of place in the international calendar. This year, the race took the pack on a week-long journey (from 23 to 30 July) from Clermont-Ferrand to Pau. In total, the riders covered more than 960 kilometres at an average speed of over 38 km/h for the winner, Demi Voellering. The FDJ-SUEZ team distinguished itself in the race by finishing fourth fastest team and posting a seventh place finish in the general classification for the volcanic Danish champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. This performance heralds a bright future, much like last year’s Under 23 time trial world championship title won by the young Italian rider Vittoria Guazzini. 

Out of the fifteen professional cyclists in the FDJ-SUEZ team, eight are French, and their list of distinctions is getting longer each year. Stephen Delcourt, the team manager, detects fertile ground for new vocations. “I hope that the young girls watching from the roadside, like at last year’s Tour where there were so many spectators, ask their parents for a bike […] that will be our finest achievement.”¹ 

Thanks in particular to the support provided by SUEZ, the team has gained a more professional backroom organization which today has 32 staff members: technicians, a doctor, a physio, a cook and a dietician, among others. Our commitment illustrates our dedication to women’s sport, of which we are one of the leading sponsors in France, supporting 200 elite women competitors. These actions are an extension of our actions in aid of inclusion, diversity and gender equality.  

Our recent partnership with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was an opportunity to highlight our know-how in the areas of water and waste, but also help to decarbonize a leading sporting event. The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift wished to do away with single-use cups in all its public areas. We therefore installed water fountains, eco-designed bottles and reusable cups. We also provided the public with full information on the quality of water and its access points in the application “Mon Eau”²

This scheme was welcomed by Marion Rousse, director of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, who said: “I am thrilled to see a major Group such as SUEZ signing up to support us [..] Coming a year after the partnership struck up with the FDJ-SUEZ women’s cycling team, this support will enable us to grow the event even further while controlling its impact on the environment”; 

1) From L’Équipe, 21 July 2023. 
2) This mobile app provides detailed information on water all over France and at any time (fountains, quality, bathing areas, etc.).

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