But perhaps no finish meant more to the Kempten, Germany, native than that atop La Super Planche des Belles Filles on the final stage of the first ever Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (TdFF) in 2022. Not only was it the final finish line of her World Tour career – she formally retired three weeks later, after finishing fourth at the European Road Race Championship – but it symbolised the sea of change in the sport that she had witnessed and helped bring about.
During her career, women’s cycling experienced significant growth, and recognition of the sport grew exponentially. There was a large increase in media coverage, with live streaming and TV broadcasts becoming more common. This led to greater fan engagement and increased participation, which attracted more sponsors. In addition, the UCI introduced minimum wages, maternity leave and other benefits for female cyclists, recognising their sport as a profession and improving working conditions.
And high-profile multi-stage races, such as the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, were introduced or re-introduced, attracting more media and more sponsors and raising the level of the competition. Brennauer’s final general classification ranking in that initial TdFF, 58th, more than an hour behind the winner, the legendary Annemiek van Vleuten, was incidental to her participation in a watershed moment for women’s cycling, a Grand Tour with global reach and the chance to climb cycling’s iconic mountains, such as La Super Planche des Belles Filles.
“The women’s Tour de France is a huge step forward for us,” she said in 2022. “Everyone is buzzing, riders and teams. The Tour tops our calendar. For example, my team, Ceratizit WNT Pro Cycling, uses the Tour for a big staff event in Paris. The whole company will come to the Seine, everyone cycles for a bit, watches ours and the men’s race. That’s when a big connection will happen. I’ve been following the race for decades, sat in front of the TV as a teenager, so to be part of the Tour now feels really good.”
Since that first TdFF, women cyclists riding in it have also climbed the Tourmalet and the Alpe d’Huez and this year will have the chance to tackle the Col du Granier and the mighty Col de la Madeleine. This is not about sightseeing, of course, but it is to make the TdFF into a global showcase for women’s cycling, just as the men’s Tour de France is for male riders.
In that 2022 interview, Brennauer elaborated on the importance of the TdFF for women’s cycling, saying: “Visibility is the be-all and end-all. The women’s Tour de France simply offers us a massive platform. If people have the opportunity to watch our Tour live on free TV, of course, that helps a great deal. For eight successive days, we can show how exciting our races are and that we are in no way inferior to the men. And the spectators have the opportunity to watch it at home from their living rooms.”
