Skoda embraces bicycle heritage with Tour de France Femmes partnership

July 29, 2025 George East

Skoda will provide the Tour de France Femmes with 32 fully-electric and plug-in hybrid support vehicles, with the all-new Enyaq serving as this year’s ‘Red Car’ driven by race director, Marion Rousse.

The women-only Tour de France Femmes began on July 26, and will end on August 03. The event has 154 riders competing. The 22 participating teams will cover nine stages over 1,165 kilometres (715 miles) from Brittany in western France, to the Alps in the East.

As well as being the Tour de France Femmes’ official vehicle partner for the fourth year in succession, Skoda’s association with the event reflects its 130-year history. The Czech carmaker was initially founded as a bicycle maker by Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement, and branched out into motorcycles with the Slavia in 1899. Skoda’s debut car, the Voiturette A, followed six years later.

“Cycling has been an integral part of our DNA for 130 years,” said Martin Jahn, Skoda board member for sales and marketing. “This year, we are supplying a fleet consisting exclusively of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

“Last year, the Women’s Tour achieved more than 80 million viewing hours across seven European countries for the second year running, and it attracted 2.5 million fans on social media. It’s inspiring to see how women’s cycling is getting more and more attention.”

The Skoda-sponsored Tour de Femmes trophy (Image: Skoda)

Once again, the 2025 Tour de France Femmes ‘Green Jersey’ will be sponsored by Skoda, as will the winner’s trophy. The former is awarded to the leader of the points classification, while the latter will be crafted from green crystal to commemorate Skoda’s 130th anniversary.

As well as displaying its one-off Elroq Respectline at various legs of the Tour de France Femmes and the race director’s red Enyaq doubling up as a café, cycling fans can follow the event via weloveycling.com.

The updated Skoda Enyaq debuted earlier this year, and features several changes over the previous-gen car including an all-new ‘Tech Deck’ face and an improved range.