By contrast there was very little mention of La Course, the sixth edition of the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) women's race.

Launched in 2014, the development of La Course has been watched more keenly than arguably any other race on the calendar for women's cycling. Understandably, given its association with ASO and the Tour de France, it has been treated as a yardstick of how women's professional road cycling has progressed.

The release of the route and the race itself has essentially been met with the question: "Are we any closer to seeing a women's Tour de France established?"

Re-established is probably more accurate, given the former Tour de France Féminin. The event began in 1984 with the intention of having the women race the same stages as the men, but over time it was reduced in size before ultimately ceasing to exist.

La Course was viewed by some as a turn of the tide, with the first three editions consisting of a one-day race on the Champs-Élysées, prior to the traditional conclusion of the Tour de France. Naturally, the boost in television coverage and prize money on offer was a positive step.

Opinion became far more divided following the 2017 edition as the race was expanded to two stages, with the first featuring a climb of the Col d'Izoard. The second, though, saw an "innovate" pursuit event where the 20 top riders set off in accordance with the time gaps from the previous stage.

While the expansion appeared to single an advance, the second stage was largely viewed as farcical. A lack of coverage in the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, where the race concluded, was a negative. A view was also mooted that organisers were happy to use the women's event as an experiment, which they dare not do with the men's Tour de France.

This year's event returned to being one stage, with a 112.5 kilometre climber friendly route from Annecy to Le Grand-Bornand being held on the same route as stage 10 of the Tour de France. The outcome, a dramatic finish which saw Annemiek van Vleuten overhaul her fellow Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen in the closing metres, was viewed by some as more exciting than any of the stages of the Tour de France.

Would it lead to further progress? Not as such.

Next year's event will be a one-day circuit race, with five laps of the 27km time trial course being used on stage 13 of the men's Tour de France. The 120km stage is set to include a climb over the Côte d’Esquillot.

The sixth edition of the event does not exactly signal that a women's Tour de France is any closer to fruition.

The positives and negatives of La Course seem obvious.

It is clear that the event enjoys a significant boost in coverage from being associated with the Tour de France. There is merit to the idea that La Course has been able to "piggyback" on the brand associated with the world's biggest bike race.

This appeared to have been the view of International Cycling Union (UCI) President David Lappartient when he took office last year. Speaking after his election victory, the Frenchman claimed a marquee stage race was required to further enhance the exposure of women's cycling.

He insisted it was part of a global responsibility for the UCI and organisers, before stating he would speak with ASO with the view to boosting their involvement.

"Maybe if they had a 10-day race, that would be really wonderful," Lappartient had said. "They have the expertise, the relationships with the media. I will speak to them about this, and with other organisers, but it would be nice to have them with us."

It had been suggested that the ambition was to have a women's Tour de France in operation prior to Lappartient departing from office.

However, it seems apparent that ASO are reluctant to increase their involvement further.

So why the fixation on trying to force a women's Tour de France upon an organisation who seem lukewarm at best, and disinterested at worst, in holding the event?

If you examine the teams involved in the top level of women's professional cycling, there are a mix of dedicated women's teams and sponsors with both a men's and women's set-up. Team Sunweb and Mitchelton-SCOTT are examples of the latter.

The idea of forcing top men's teams to establish a women's squad would surely prove detrimental if their heart is not in it, so why is there an insistence on race organisers to back an event they clearly do not want to?

Backing should surely go to the organisers who want to drive women's cycling onwards.

Perhaps the focus could be placed on the Giro Rosa, which is already the biggest women's stage race to date, with this year's event featuring 10 stages. 

Boosting television coverage for the race would be a greater step forward than hoping ASO might add a couple of days to La Course.

You could make the case for the Women's Tour to be the "marquee event". 

The British race, launched in the same year at La Course, will expand from five to six stages for next year's edition.

The race has managed to avoid too close of an association with the men's event, the Tour of Britain. By avoiding calling it The Women's Tour of Britain and instead naming it The Women's Tour, the ambition to be the premier women's stage race appears obvious. 

The 2018 event was also boosted by greater prize money to bring things in line with the equivalent men's race.

This natural progression, following demand from riders and teams, seems better than forcing ASO into a Women's Tour de France.

Obviously, it would be great if all organisers wanted to introduce and sustain women's races, but while it is not universal, the focus should surely go to those who want to grow this side of the sport.

It was interesting to note that the UCI have included an ambition to "encourage the organisers of the UCI Men's WorldTour to set up a women's event" between 2019 and 2022 as part of their Agenda 2022 project.

Their ambition to set up a "globally renowned, UCI-backed women's stage race" by 2020 could also prove an area to watch in the coming months.

Rather than view the establishment of a women's Tour de France as a yardstick for progress, there are other areas, such as boosts in television coverage, the implementation of the minimum wage and increasing the financial viability of teams, which would prove better indicators to the health of women's cycling.