The organizers of the Tour de France, Amaury Sport Organization, ASO, have for years had two women hand out flowers and stuffed animals with sponsorship logos to the stage winners and the holder of the leader jersey, while the two kissed the riders on the cheek.

Now this is going to go away. In the future, a man and a woman will hand out the prize to the winner.

Restrictions on the podium

At the same time, you have to clear a lot among all the people who are up on the podium. The number shall be limited to four excluding those who belong there, ie the cyclists.

- We are used to the riders being assisted by two hostesses on the podium, said tour manager Christian Prodhomme to Europe 1.

Prodhomme explained that in the future, for the first time, only a local dignitary, a shirt partner and then a woman and a man will be on the podium.

The decision is in line with the Formula 1 circus' "grid girls" which was removed in 2018. At ASO's other competitions, such as the Belgian race Liege-Bastogne-Liege, there is already a mixed crew on the podium.