Cycling‘s New Wave: Influencers Fuel Surge in Women’s Sport Participation & Viewership
A growing cohort of Gen-Z and Millennial cycling influencers are leveraging social media to drive unprecedented engagement and participation in the sport, especially within women’s cycling. A recent report indicates the official social media channels for the Tour de France Femmes grew to 2.6 million fans in 2025, a substantial increase of 700,000 from the previous year. This surge in visibility is coinciding with a broader shift in cycling culture, making the sport more accessible and relatable to a new generation of riders.
The impact is particularly noticeable in how fans are consuming women’s cycling events. In the US, social media is the primary source of data for the Tour de France Femmes, with 45% of viewers utilizing Instagram and 43% using Facebook.
Influencers like Laura Kirkpatrick (@lauradoessports) are playing a key role in this trend. Kirkpatrick, who began cycling as a beginner in 2023 and afterward left her corporate job to focus on creating cycling content full-time, documented a 1,500km bikepacking trip following the route of the Tour de France Femmes.
“As a creator, especially with something as niche as female cycling, which doesn’t have as much coverage, I feel like I have a responsibility to promote women in sport, and to promote the events surrounding it,” Kirkpatrick told Cyclingnews. “I made some fun things about the Tour,as I think that it’s really critically important to raise awareness for the race,but I also wanted to do something that isn’t just being a classic influencer. It’s educational content.”
This shift reflects a broader trend where social media has moved from a secondary channel to an integral part of sports culture, impacting visibility, participation, fan engagement, and sponsorship.For cycling, this is creating a more inclusive landscape where amateur and professional riders connect online, and the entire spectrum of the sport – from beginners to elite athletes – is being actively documented and shared.More women are riding bikes,and younger riders are actively pursuing challenges like KOMs (King/Queen of the Mountain) segments.
