David McKenzie
‘Macka’ will join us again as a co-host and analyst during the Tour de France Femmes. His take on the racing is influenced as much by his 16 years covering the Tour de France with SBS, as his 12 years racing at an international level, as the number of changes he’s seen the sport go through then, now and into the future.
Is there a moment or a stage that you are particularly excited to watch unfold in this year’s Tour de France Femmes?
Stage 3 from Reims to Epernay. With the absolutely stunning Champagne region as the backdrop, it will be postcard perfect. Although, for the riders, this stage will be deceivingly hard. The final run in to Epernay is on similar roads to what the men did a few years back. This could be one of the decisive moments of TDF Femmes. I can't wait for this stage...and maybe a sip of bubbly to celebrate!
The SBS Cycling commentary and presentation team
It comes off the back of the men's race. The challenge will be to reset and hit the road with renewed vigour. For the SBS team being on the ground it will be the most closely we have covered women’s racing at this level and for the riders it will also be an experience on another level. Thousands of spectators, unprecedented media coverage. I'm looking forward to this challenge as a whole and introducing some new heroes to the fans of cycling.
What do you hope audiences will enjoy seeing and discovering during this year’s Tour de France Femmes?
As above, discovering some new heroes of the sport. Many fans may not realise that there has already been previous editions of Tour De France Femmes, but the last was in the late 80's. So this is a new beginning for women's cycling. It's such an exciting time in the sport for women and I believe the fans will fall in love with the TDF Femmes and be blown away by the depth of the talent.
Bridie O’Donnell
As part of the SBS Tour de France commentary team, Bridie, a trained medical doctor, also brings more than a decade of professional road racing expertise to her insights and discussion on the racing as it unfolds.
Is there a moment or a stage that you are particularly excited to watch unfold in this year’s Tour de France Femmes?
The opening stage will be on the Paris Champs-Élysées, and while there have been years in the past that the women have raced La Course on these infamous boulevards, this time it will be not just for a race win but for the inaugural maillot jaune in the eight-stage women's race. The performances by the best women cyclists in the world will be broadcast to millions of viewers all over the world and that is groundbreaking for women in cycling and for the sport.
Can you tell us a little about one of the more interesting or surprising challenges you’re looking forward to as part of your role in covering the Tour de France Femmes?
This will be my first time commentating the race on location! I covered my first Tour de France from lockdown in Melbourne in 2020, and then in 2021 the whole team was in lockdown in Sydney. I'm beyond excited to be embarking on the biggest road trip of all time across four countries over 35 days (Copenhagen, France and side stages into Belgium and Switzerland) with this amazing SBS team covering the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes. We are going to have a lot of fun and be drinking a lot of coffee.
What do you hope audiences will enjoy seeing and discovering during this year’s Tour de France Femmes?
Fans of women's cycling won't be surprised to see these athletes and teams vying for the inaugural jerseys in this iconic race, but those new to watching women race will be so impressed by their speed, climbing prowess, the race tactics and the strategy involved. They will see just how impressive the Aussie riders like Grace Brown, Amanda Spratt, Tiffany Cromwell and Rachel Neylan are up against women from dozens of other teams.
The SBS Cycling live broadcast team. (L to R) Christophe Mallet, Mark Renshaw, Simon Gerrans, Kate Bates, Bridie O'Donnell, Matt Keenan, Dave McKenzie and Gracie Elvin. Credit: BWP
Matthew Keenan
Like Macka, Bridie and the rest of the SBS Tour de France team, Matt is also covering the men’s and women’s Tour de France. Lucky for us, and audiences who enjoy his commentary, Matt is never short of a unique insight or 15 on what to expect.
Is there a moment or a stage that you are particularly excited to watch unfold in this year’s Tour de France Femmes?
The final stage of this women’s Tour de France goes to the top of La Super Planche des Belles Filles, with the final decision of the race to be made on its brutally steep gravel section. This will be an epic finale.
And as much as we often complain about huge crowds causing problems on the men’s race, I’d love to see the gendarmes holding spectators back as the women fight for the coveted yellow jersey.
Can you tell us a little about one of the more interesting or surprising challenges you’re looking forward to as part of your role in covering the Tour de France Femmes?
Juggling the first stage of the women’s race on the same day as the last stage of the men’s race will be a challenge. We’ll be in a pattern with the men at this stage and it’ll be a fresh start with the women’s race.
The sprint finishes on the first day of any stage race can be a little nerve racking, ensuring you’ve got the right rider across the line who will be taking the first yellow jersey. On Stage 1, I think it will be a battle between Elisa Balsamo, the current world champion, and Lorena Wiebes, who has dominated the sprints so far this season. It will be a big day of broadcasting and a significant day for cycling.
What do you hope audiences will enjoy seeing and discovering during this year’s Tour de France Femmes?
Because there are less riders per team in the women’s race, it will be harder for any one team to control. This often makes for less predictable and more entertaining racing. And it’s the surprises, in any sport, that get commentators and audiences on the edge of their seats.
There was a women’s Tour de France in 1955 and then again the race got going in the 1980s but has been missing from the calendar for too long. I hope within the first few stages audiences around the world will be saying, “Where has this been all my life.”
Gracie Elvin
After first joining the SBS Tour de France coverage from home in 2021, Gracie is working with the crew in Europe this year providing commentary and insights that draw on her 12 years of international racing experience, including two as the Australian women’s road race champion.
Is there a moment or a stage that you are particularly excited to watch unfold in this year’s Tour de France Femmes?
I am most excited about the first and last stages of this year’s TDFF. They are the perfect bookends to what will be a very exciting tour to watch with every stage providing opportunities and drama. The first woman to cross the line on the iconic opening stage on the Champs-Élysées will get to wear to first ever yellow jersey awarded for this modern version of the women’s Tour and will be a historic moment to set the tone for the eight days. The last day will be the ultimate showdown on a famous Tour climb for who gets to take home that final yellow jersey, and no matter what the results are there will be plenty of emotion from all the women that cross that finish line.
Can you tell us a little about one of the more interesting or surprising challenges you’re looking forward to as part of your role in covering the Tour de France Femmes?
I was lucky to race at the first ever La Course in Paris in 2014 and was very proud on that day to be on the start line. I had always looked forward to the day when La Course would evolve into a proper tour, but unfortunately I retired before this became a reality. I am very grateful to be on the ground and part of the SBS team that brings this historic race into the homes of our audience, but part of me will be sad that I’m now on the other side of the fence.
What do you hope audiences will enjoy seeing and discovering during this year’s Tour de France Femmes?
Women’s cycling is similar to men’s cycling in many ways and avid fans will be glad that they can continue to watch cycling for a whole extra week instead of going through the post-Tour withdrawals, but it is also quite different in other ways and I think there will be a whole new fan base who enjoy the shorter format and more dynamic racing style. It will be fast, aggressive, and less predictable, and there are some great characters and rivalries that I can’t wait to interview and talk about.
Kath Bicknell
Keen to include a voice from behind-the-scenes to this preview article, and aware that everyone is working hard on other pre-Tour deadlines, the Digital Team decided that I should wrap this article up by quickly interviewing myself. Hi, I’m Kath. This is my sixth Tour de France with SBS as a multi-platform editor and producer – a digital domestique.
Kath Bicknell
Outside of SBS, I also work as a researcher and teacher in anthropology and cognitive science. This means I’m always really interested in the kinds of things riders say in pre- and post-stage interviews that show how they experience the mental side of the sport, while the action is unfolding. Hard mountain stages and sprint finishes are double exciting in this way as they reveal so much about what bodies and minds can do in high-pressure situations; things the rest of us can learn from and possibly apply in other areas of our lives.
Can you tell us a little about one of the more interesting or surprising challenges you’re looking forward to as part of your role in covering the Tour de France Femmes?
I work with a team who do the early morning online shift in Sydney. One of the stranger parts of this role is it means falling asleep to the sweet sounds of the commentary team in order to wake up at 4.30am to get to work on time. This enables us to have a rotating roster and produce 24/7 coverage across all digital platforms. I’m always immensely proud of the work of everyone in this extended team and how they work collaboratively, across countries and time zones, to do this.
What do you hope audiences will enjoy seeing and discovering during this year’s Tour de France Femmes?
While we have covered women’s racing at SBS in the past, there has never been the sheer amount or depth of media resources available as what we’re about to see during the Tour de France Femmes: footage, images, stories, interviews, an extensive team following the racing and multiple days to cover all the action.
I hope audiences really enjoy the diversity of material on offer, that they can dip in and out as they like, and find content that inspires them to ride, travel, relax, marvel, seek out new challenges of their own, or whatever else it is that encourages so many people to fall in love cycling all over again each July.
It's the biggest race of the cycling season and the best place to watch the Tour de France - LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE - plus the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is right here on SBS.
