Annemieke van Vleuten (Mitchelton Scott) rebelled against the decision of the Amaury Sports Organization (ASO) to return La Course by Le Tour de France to its roots as a circuit race in Paris in 2020, calling it a "setback." ...

The newly crowned road world champion told Dutch broadcaster NOS that organizers were undermining the women's race as "nothing more than a criterium."

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme announced details of the women's World Tour event Tuesday at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. He confirmed that next year's seventh edition of the event will feature 13 laps of the Circuit des Champs-Elysées for a total race distance of 90 km for the women.

"Have you heard that La Course is in Paris? Van Vleuten said in an interview with NOS. 'Unfortunately, yes. This is a setback. Now it's just a criterium. It is still known as a World Tour event, but for the men the criterium is not part of the World Tour."

La Course is currently scheduled for July 10 on the UCI's 2020 Women's WorldTour calendar; according to Cyclingnews, La Course's date could be changed to July 19 to coincide with stage 21 of the Tour de France, but has not yet been confirmed .

If the date is changed, the race would take place a week before the Olympic women's road race on July 26. Athletes participating in the Tokyo Games will likely not compete in the La Course race.

The Tour de France La Course was created by ASO in 2014 as a circuit race to be held on the Champs-Elysées on the final day of the Tour de France. It is a sprinter-friendly format, and the first three editions were won by Marianne Vos, Anna van der Breggen, and Chloe Hosking.

Van Vleuten won the next two events: in 2017, a two-day event held in Col d'Isere and Marseille, and in 2018, a one-day event held in Le Grand-Bornand. Vos won the circuit race in Pau this year.

However, some have expressed disappointment that ASO has not expanded La Course into a larger stage race since its creation six years ago; ASO announced last year that it would not host a women's stage race during the men's Tour de France.

ASO said last year that it was considering holding the women's stage race at a different time.

Van Vleuten told NOS that he is not asking for a women's Tour de France consisting of 21 stages, but rather for ASO to host a women's event that is more challenging than a flat circuit race.

"We don't need a la course that goes on for days, but a tough stage would be nice. "There are very few World Tour races that go into the mountains. This time around, La Course will have to host one, too."