This article originally appeared as part of the Cyclingnews 25th anniversary series, and to mark such an important milestone, the editorial team published 25 pieces of work that look back at the sport over the last quarter of a century. The men's Tour de France is rich in history, with its beginnings in 1903. A women's version found its roots much later, and under a different organisation, as a one-off multi-day race won by the Isle of Man's Millie Robinson in Normandy in 1955. The women's peloton wouldn't see their first official launch of the women's Tour de France until 1984, and American Marianne Martin won it. It was an 18-day race held simultaneously as the men's event and along much of the same but shortened routes with shared finish lines. The Société du Tour de France, which later became part of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) in 1992, managed both events. The women's Tour de France ended in 1989, and while ASO went on to organise women's one-day races like La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, La Course, and the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes, the women's peloton had not been included as part of the official Tour de France for the past 30 years. Read MoreThe Marianne Vos effect: 2012 Olympics-Worlds and the elevation of women's cyclingBehind the scenes: How Cyclingnews reported on the Genevieve Jeanson storyBill’s excellent adventureTales from the women's Tour de France – Women's Edition Podcast Cyclingnews launched its first pages on the internet in 1995, six years after the women's Tour de France had ended. We followed the lineage of the Tour Cycliste Féminin, which had started in 1992, and the re-named Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale until it came to an end in 2009. Pierre Boué organised the Tour Cycliste Féminin and the Grande Boucle, and although it was not the women's Tour de France, it was one of the most prominent women's stage races of that period, and widely regarded as a women's French Grand Tour. In this feature, we take a look at how Cyclingnews covered the Tour Cycliste Féminin and the Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale through the 90s and early 2000s, along with ASO's introduction of La Course in 2014. Twenty-five years on from the start of Cyclingnews, an ASO-run women's Tour de France, of the kind that existed from 1984-1989, takes place from July 24-31 in 2022 at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Women's Tour de France 1984-1989 We would be remiss not to highlight the inaugural edition of the women's Tour de France in 1984 with memories from the overall champion Marianne Martin. Following her historic victory, the next editions were won by Italy's Maria Canins (1895-86) and France's Jeannie Longo (1988-89). The Société du Tour de France cancelled the women's race from the Tour de France in 1989, but those original six editions marked the height of ASO-run women's stage racing. Back then, the women's field was racing 18 stages that followed the last 80km, or so, of the men's route, and they would finish two hours before the men at the same finish line. The women also climbed iconic mountains such as l'Alpe d'Huez. It was the only time that the women's Tour de France existed alongside the men's Tour de France. Martin was the last rider selected to the American team to race in the inaugural women's event. Her strength in the mountains earned her the overall race lead partway through the 18-day race. She wore the yellow jersey into Paris. After crossing the finish line, she celebrated her victory alongside Laurent Fignon, winner of the men's race, together on the podium on the Champs Elysees. Find out more about the inaugural women's Tour de France in our special feature interview with Marianne Martin: Remembering the magic of the 1984 women's Tour de France, which includes rarely seen racing galleries and results. Marianne Martin The biggest thing that I remember about racing the women's race was that they didn't think we would finish it. We all knew that we could finish it, but it was disheartening, maybe more amusing, that the attitude was that the women weren't going to finish the race. But even with dealing with that, the whole thing was amazing, the entire time, we would go out into different towns, and the French relished the bike racing. We didn't have that in America, so the racing was amazing for that reason. We raced 18 stages, usually the last 60 to 80 kilometres of the men's course, about two hours before they did, which was cool because the roads were already closed, and people were out there to watch the racing. We had big crowds, and it was so much fun to race with so many people out watching. My name was written on the roads, which was super cool, and there was incredible enthusiasm for bike racing, which was awe-inspiring. Fans were out there having picnics, wearing costumes, and it was magical. We raced up the Col de Joux Plane later in the race; that was my most memorable climb of that race. It was my hardest day because the best riders were working hard against me to get one of their riders off the front, so I had to work hard. We came around this corner and you could look up and see the mountain as it twisted and turned around, miles and miles of road and all lined with people, which was cool. It was overwhelming because I thought, 'oh my gosh, I'm already tired. ' There was no structure, and people just filled up all along the road right before I raced through. I looked ahead and saw a sea of people, not even sure where to go, because you can't see the road, and the fans part as you ride up the climb and through them. I made it to the top. It's amazing what our bodies can do because when I looked at that climb and thought, 'there's no way,' but then you just do it. Our minds define what our bodies can do. As much as the race was amazing, it was also amazing to learn what we could do. There were press there, but there wasn't a lot following the women's race. I remember a photographer taking a picture of me brushing my hair in front of a mirror, that's what he wanted me to do, and that's how he set it all up, and I remember thinking to myself, 'would you do this for the guys?'. [The press] had asked us to join the men for the photos, too. The top three in the [women's race] GC went over to where the men were staying. There was a photoshoot with Laurent Fignon. Vincent Barteau, who was in yellow at that point of the race, and I were talking, and he pointed at Fignon and said, 'he's going to win,' and I remember thinking, 'I'm going to win. ' It's not my personality to say something like that, but I felt that I could win it and that I was going to win it. I went into the race to win the polka-dot jersey and I won all the significant climbs. The final day was not a parade. It was a race because Heleen Hage, who was in second place, was only three minutes behind, and so if I had a flat tire or something, I could have lost it. I stayed right on her wheel so that she couldn't get off the front, and the Dutch riders were a strong team. When we came down the Champs Elysees, I heard someone say 'go Marianne,' and I saw my dad on the next lap. They did the women's final podium first, then the men's podium, and then at the end, they put Laurent and I up there together. It was surreal. Tour Cycliste Féminin - 1992-1997 The cancellation of the women's race from the official Tour de France under Société du Tour de France left a gaping hole in the women's calendar for three years, until Pierre Boué created the Tour Cycliste Féminin in 1992. It was not the official women's Tour de France, but it began at nine stages and grew to 14 at its height. It included climbs through the Pyrenees and the Alps, and although there were plenty of organisational concerns, the race made the women's peloton feel that they had their version of the Tour de France. Lorentian van Moorsel (Netherlands) won the first two editions of the Tour Cycliste Féminin in 1992 and 1993, beating Longo the first year and multi-time track world champion Marion Clignet the second year. Heidi van der Vijver was third in both editions. Clignet remembered the race in 1993 covering more than 1,000km with 14 stages in 12 days, and concluding at the top of L'Alpe d'Huez. Marion Clignet It was also one of the longest editions [under Pierre Boué], and he wanted to prove that women could ride longer races and that we weren't going to die from it. Pierre wanted to have a lot of drama around it and have a showdown between the top riders. There were 12 stages, and there was a prologue in Paris, a team time trial, an individual time trial, and we also rode l'Alpe d'Huez. It was brutally hot in the individual time trial, and I won it by a little over a second to Clara Hughes, so it was pretty full-on. Racing up the l'Alpe d'Huez was a big deal for us because the women had not raced the big mountains. I had never raced up it before, and so that was a significant experience for me. I expected it to be super hard, but I remember the turns and switchbacks being similar to the banking in a velodrome, where you get launched out of the turns to hit the next ramp. One thing I remember about l'Alpe d'Huez was that it knows how to welcome cyclists, and we had a very nice welcome with lots of people, and a separate following for the women's race, which was still a discrete race at that time, but lots of locals, family and friends. I think if the women's Tour de France were to happen today, there would be the same fanfare as the men's race on that climb. Leontien van Moorsel won the overall title that year, and she was above, and beyond everybody; she won all of the jerseys, except for the hotspots. I was second overall by eight minutes down on van Moorsel, and Heidi van der Vijver was third at over nine minutes down, then Fabiana Luperini was 12 minutes down. I think one of the biggest highlights and moments was that we were racing up l'Alpe d'Huez. It was the beginning of an era of change and maybe a forward step for women's cycling. Even today, I find it dramatic that since then, there hasn't been a race that has included climbs like the Tourmalet or l'Alpe d'Huez, those big climbs. Bill’s Cycle Racing Results and News Service - 1995 In 1995, a man named Bill Mitchell founded Cyclingnews. It started as Bill's Cycle Racing Results and News Service, and it was a newsletter that quickly morphed into an online page on the world wide web, and was largely supplied by information sent to him through email and fax. Suddenly, all races - big and small - and including the Tour Cycliste Féminin, appeared on Bill's Cycle Racing Results and News Service. A 21-year-old Italian, Fabiana Luperini, burst onto the women's circuit in 1995. The year that she became one of the most accomplished climbers in the sport's history after winning both the Giro d'Italia Femminile and the Tour Cycliste Féminin. The 1995 edition of the race was mountainous, and Luperini remembers racing up the Madeleine, the Glandon and the Tourmalet, and it reportedly also included l'Alpe d'Huez. It was supposed to be a showdown between the up-and-coming Luperini and the veteran Jeannie Longo. In the end, it wasn't quite the contest everyone had envisioned because Luperini put eight minutes into Longo on the Madeleine and subsequently won her first overall title at the Tour Cycliste Féminin. The results and brief bulleted insights from the 1995 Tour Cycliste Féminin could be found on the daily pages of Bill's website. It wasn't until the following year that the Tour Cycliste Féminin got its own landing page on Bill's website, which made it easier to locate results and information about the race. In his second year online, Bill was already facing the demands of cycling fans wanting more coverage of women's racing, and he felt compelled to defend his work in a Bill's Editorial Comment section located at the top of the homepage for the 1996 Tour Cycliste Féminin. He explained to his readers that a lack of women's content reflected the bias toward men's sports in the mainstream press. "I should add that France's premier sporting newspaper L'Equipe has only given spotty coverage to France's premier women's cycling event this week. Nothing like comprehensive finish results. You are getting from my site the best there is. In general, the bias towards men's racing and news on my site is merely a reflection of the bias that the capitalist press and news agencies give it. "Luperini would go on to win the overall titles Tour Cycliste Féminin in 1996 and 1997, making it three consecutive victories. Bill's website documented those wins by posting top-10 stages, previews, short race explanations, and any other details and race information he could find in the international press. He also included some of the politics and pending litigation that Bouè began to face from the Société du Tour de France. "The prologue does not count towards the overall classification, but serves to put Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli in the gold leader's jersey (litigation by the Societe du Tour de France against La Societe du Tour Feminin Organisation has restrained the latter from the use of the term "yellow jersey" and "green jersey" and certain logos). " Fabiana Luperini Fabiana Luperini and Joane Somarriba (Image credit: Getty Images) In 1995, I remember the stage with the Madeleine, Glandon and finish in Vaujany. I went in a breakaway after just 3km, and when we started at the foot of the Madeleine, I was in a breakaway for 80km with the yellow jersey, and I won with well over 8 minutes on the second placed rider, who was the great Longo. Even today, if I close my eyes, I can see the street and the people along the road. In 1996, I remember the finish at the top of the Tourmalet. My teammates got me back again [after a crash], we were more than 5 minutes behind from the group. They managed to bring me back to the group at the foot of the Tourmalet and although I was all sore and bleeding, I had to win to repay them for their work. I won at the top of Tourmalet and pulled on the yellow jersey. In 1997, I remember the stage with the finish in Sestriere, that crossed into Italy. I arrived alone in the Sestriere wearing the tricolor [Italian champion jersey] and took the yellow jersey. I remember a lot of people, and Italians, on arrival screaming my name, it was a great emotion for me, and it continued even after the arrival when was then wearing the yellow jersey. Luperini’s third consecutive victory at the 1997 Tour Cycliste Féminin marked the final edition, and she beat world champion Barb Heeb (Switzerland) and Linda Jackson (Canada). Boué was forced to change his event’s name because the use of 'Tour' was the intellectual property and the trademark of the the Société du Tour de France, which was by this time was part of ASO. That final edition of the 1997 Tour Cycliste Féminin was 14 stages, with two double days, held from August 13-24. By this time Cyclingnews had developed a more organised landing page for the event. It did not include detailed reports, images or full results, yet, but it had an event preview, d