‘We can make the race harder, but do we want to?’ Tour de France Femmes director Marion Rousse backs variety over difficulty for future route design

One of the biggest downsides for French cycling was that Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) was well off the pace, despite working hard to make that possible.

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“She trained like she had to, but she wasn’t up there,” Rousse said, “but that doesn’t mean she won’t be back in the future, fighting for the top spot overall.”

“I’m in a good place to know that in the life of a top athlete, from one year to the next, things can stop working so well. I hope people won’t forget her palmares and what we’ll be able to see in the future [in races] thanks to her as well.

“She’s the first person to feel disappointed not to be there at 100%. But she was there at the starts and finishes every day and that meant a lot to people, too.”

Rousse said there had been concern over how the race could play out in terms of viewer interest, given this was the first time in its modern history that the end of the men’s Tour de France and the start of the Tour de France Femmes had been separated by a week. But that calendar switch had worked out well and as a cumulative effect of its impact and success, “the race now forms part of people’s daily lives.”

On top of that she argued, the Tour de France Femmes had become a focus point to help “young girls dream if they take out a racing licence, or help them to identify with top feminine stars. It’s very important for us.

“When I started racing aged 6, I couldn’t help but identify with the men, because that was all you saw on TV.

“Helping young girls have an opportunity to dream, and not just about getting on a bike, is a very good goal to have, and that’s why I’m proud to be the race director. On a broader level, this is about how women take part in sport.”