Through the mist, up to the summit, Davey Vodering takes the win on the...

Hello, you're listening to Business Daily on the BBC World Service with me, Lexi O'Connor.

Today we're looking at the most iconic cycle race in the world,

and one of the most renowned tests of human endurance and stamina.

But tour is hardly the right word. It's more like one of the labours of Hercules.

The course is 2,500 miles long and include some of the highest mountain passes of the Pyrenees and the Alps.

But for most of its long history, female cyclists have been excluded from the Tour to France.

That changed in 2022 when a new women's race was launched.

We shall learn our stripes and make history.

Now in its third year, the Tour de France farm is growing.

It's building its sponsors and its TV audience.

There's a real buzz around it and a feeling that things can only get bigger and better.

But the female riders compete in a shorter race for a much smaller prize fund.

And the TV audience so far is much smaller.

So what's its potential for growth?

And will it ever be on a level footing with

its much older brother? Quite a lot of bikes in here. How many of these are yours?

Poor. I'm in a back garden in Stockport, Northern England. And pro cyclist Alice Wood is putting her bike away after a morning training session.

Today I just had a two-hour general ride.

I raced yesterday in Belgium, so it was just an easy ride where I went out

for just under 60 kilometres in the local countryside.

So 60 kilometres is an easy day for you then.

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