"Why are we watching Demi Vollering crash on somebody's phone?" - TNT presenter slams ASO for partial Tour de France Femmes coverage
CyclingSunday, 09 August 2026 at 09:00
The Tour de France Femmes is women cycling's largest event of the year. And yet, the race has to do with only a partial coverage as mainstream platforms prioritize the men's Tour de Pologne instead with the full race being broadcast. But there's more.
Just three stages of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes, stages one, five, and nine, are being broadcast from start to finish.
The other days see only two to three hours of action. This has caused us to for example miss Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset's move on the Col de la Savine, which allowed her to complete a 88-kilometer solo to win the third stage and take yellow jersey.
Or to have missed Demi Vollering's crash; one of the main race favourites' critical moment.
Read also
"I’m getting really annoyed, I’m getting really, really pissed off. Excuse my language, but what the heck?" TNT Sports’ main presenter Orla Chennaoui did not hold back in her critique.
More exciting than some men's races
In her arguments for the full coverage of women's Tour, Chennaoui highlights how the women's racing is often far more unpredictable, chaotic and exciting:
"There is so much excitement and interest in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The riders, the race has proven over and over again how dynamic and dramatic this sport is. I have never seen my algorithm so flooded with excitement, with joy, with celebration for this race."
"I mean, it’s everywhere on Instagram, podcasts popping up all over the place. YouTube videos, more written articles than I would ever have imagined when I started covering women’s cycling 10 years ago. And we still, despite this, despite how proven the interest is, we cannot get live TV coverage," she continues.
"Why can we not get to watch all stages live? Every stage, of all stages live. Why are we watching Demi Vollering crash on somebody’s mobile phone before the live TV cameras have a chance to cover this race? Former winner, one of the big favourites, and she could have crashed out of the race. And we wouldn’t have seen it."
Disservice to women's racing
What's even more concerning according to the presenter is that pretty much every party involved - fans, foreign broadcasters in particular - are interested in full-time coverage... yet the ones who hold the power the change the current situation - race organiser ASO and host broadcaster France Télévisions - seem not overly rushed to bring about change anytime soon.
"There is a huge will to broadcast this race from start to finish, as there is with every women’s bike race. We need ASO to put it on. We need France Télévisions to put it on?" Chennaoui has a clear opinion on the matter. She doesn't wish for the same situation as we saw at the Paris-Roubaix Femmes repeat all over again.
"I’m sorry, but Paris-Roubaix this year, regardless of what they’re going to say about TV numbers, was a step backwards. They’re still doing a disservice to women’s racing."
"And we can’t then say that the audience isn’t there, we can’t. It is there, the will of other broadcasters is there. We want to watch this race and see what’s going to happen to Demi Vollering, and all the other contenders, and all the other riders in this race."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Top post!Cyclingsbestfan09-08-2026
- Yes, it already disappointed me that she said her win on Ventoux was 'payback' for only being able to manage third before that, as if life owed her that (great!) win. And now she feels she was entitled to cling onto Demi's wheel with gritted teeth yet again. Saying angrily that her team would find a way to get it (the yellow jersey) back took everything away from Demi's performance. But at the same time, if Gery was not French champion she may well have been sanctioned for her move.Hills3309-08-2026
- With weight loss, Its a thin line between peak performance and fatigued.abstractengineer09-08-2026
- People like you and Mou are really to be pitied.MajorPayne09-08-2026
- I assume Kasia is right b.c. she is more feminine.whkman09-08-2026
- "partner" ...drinkwhkman09-08-2026
- Clown statement from a CLOWN !frieders309-08-2026
- Was that Mouse next to him ? Trying to hold his hand?frieders309-08-2026
- A question: chasing back to Vollering’s wheel after being cut off doesn’t take any energy, does it? Of course it does. The complaint is very clearly that she was forced to chase and waste energy exactly in the way that let Vollering pull away. Given how she was positioned before the turn and after the turn, I see her anger. Also, racing is a team sport, and teams use all sorts of tricks to isolate riders. This is one of them. She has every right to be angry and lose respect for them, as well. Sometimes it’s appropriate to believe two things at once.RidesHills09-08-2026
- That is honestly adorable. Anyone who gives Vingegaard grief for focusing on his family should look at this and eat their words. What exactly is wrong with loving the people you love? Her caption, his delight, the way he runs with her, c’mon, it’s adorable and human and private but we get to see some of it and that’s cute.RidesHills09-08-2026
Loading
Write a comment