Podium girl

The job requires working long hours in all weather conditions but is well-paid and sought-after, with candidates selected on the basis of their looks, endurance, personalities, and linguistic abilities.

In 2020, the Tour de France no longer has podium girls; instead, one male and one female host carry out the prize presentations.

[2] The women work as ambassadors for the race's sponsors, serving drinks and snacks to clients and VIPs in the morning, presenting prizes in the afternoon and hosting parties in the evening.

"[3] During the awards ceremony at the end of each stage, two of the women, working in pairs on alternate days, present the winning riders with their jerseys and prizes and give them a kiss on the cheek.

"[3] The most prestigious part of a podium girl's Tour is the final presentation ceremony in Paris, which is seen worldwide in photographs and on television.

[1] The women are chosen by the sponsors of the four coloured racing jerseys (yellow, green, polka dot, and white) awarded to those leading in particular categories.

[1] Transgressions are a disciplinary offence for both sides; during the 2003 Tour de France, one of the podium girls, Melanie Simonneau, was dismissed for accepting a note from rider George Hincapie,[1] while in April 2013, Slovak cyclist Peter Sagan videoed an apology after he pinched the buttocks of Tour of Flanders podium girl Maya Leye during an awards ceremony.

Hincapie admits that he "pretty much ended up chasing her throughout the entire Tour de France," though she told him that she was "totally not allowed to talk to you.

"[4] Another podium girl, Laura Leturgie from Bethune, married Belgian rider Gert Steegmans after the 2007 Tour de France.

This decision was attributed to the sexism of viewing women as "objects or rewards",[2] but also to the need to reduce the number of people on the podium and the physical contact of cheek kissing as a social distancing measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.