TOUR: The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is celebrating its premiere. But isn't it more of a comeback?
Marion Rousse: A bit of both. It's true that there was already a Tour de France féminin in the 1980s, a precursor to this race. For me, however, the Tour de France Femmes is a novelty - if only because I never experienced the Tour de France féminin, I was still too young. What's more, this Tour is something different: a real Tour de France, like those of the men. We (the Tour organisation ASO, editor's note) see both races on the same level, that was very important to me when I took on this job.
Women's Tour de France 2022
- From 24 to 31 July 2022
- 8 stages
- 24 teams with six female drivers each
- The route of the Tour de France Femmes 2022 at a glance
TOUR: How did this come about?
Rousse: Christian Prudhomme (Director of the men's Tour de France, editor's note) called me and offered me the position of tour director. I felt very proud and at the same time wanted to know what he hoped to achieve with this project. I quickly realised that everyone in the team supported the idea of equal rights. The women's tour is not an appendage to the men's tour, it will be a big event.
It is a great honour for me to lead this race. I was a racing cyclist myself and cycling has always been part of my life. Even when I was little, I used to stand on the sidelines of the Tour de France and watch the riders. I never missed a single stage on the television. Now young girls like me can finally identify with female champions and cheer them on at the side of the track. The women's Tour de France will make it more normal to see a girl on a racing bike. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case in my day.
Rousse worked alongside the sport
TOUR: What has changed since then?
Rousse: A lot! For example, the financial framework. I stopped professional cycling because I had to earn money. There was no salary in my team, so I had to look for a job. And that meant double the work. I worked at the city council in the morning and trained in the afternoon. In my day, there were only a few women who could really make a good living from cycling.
Meanwhile, we saw what the men were earning and that they could concentrate fully on the sport. They had fully equipped team buses, we travelled to the race in a rattletrap. A lot has changed since then. Since the introduction of the minimum wage in women's cycling by the UCI, this gap has narrowed. And the race courses have become much more attractive. We haven't reached our goal with women's cycling yet, but we're on our way.
I think that the Tour will show many more people that women can also achieve great performances on the bike.
TOUR: With the Tour de France féminin, la Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale, the Route de France féminine and La Course, the Tour de France Femmes had many predecessors, none of which lasted. Is the new Tour sustainable?
Rousse: We hope that the Tour de France Femmes will still be around in 100 years' time. The worst thing for me would be to realise in three years' time that we have failed. But I am very confident. We've come at the right time: women's cycling has developed, in sporting terms it's in no way inferior to men's cycling. And I believe that people are now ready for it. You can also see that on the roadside, for example at Paris-Roubaix.
People want to watch cycling races, regardless of whether they are for men or women. I think that the Tour will show many more people that women can also achieve great performances on the bike. I also hope that people who are not yet familiar with our sport will become aware of us and that this in turn will attract new sponsors.
Rousse works as a TV commentator
TOUR: Before taking on this job, you were deputy race director of the Tour de la Provence, a TV commentator for Eurosport and France Télévisions and, of course, a racing cyclist. Which of these experiences were helpful for your new role?
Rousse: All of them. For example, my work for the media has helped me to speak up - and also in dealing with journalists. Thanks to my professional career, I can empathise well with the female racers and I know what is important to them. And of course it was very helpful to lead a race. It's an enormous task. You have to coordinate a lot with authorities, cities and regions.
Rousse secretly signed up for the cycling club
TOUR: You started cycling at the age of six and haven't left this world since. Is it fair to say that cycling is your life?
Rousse: It's in my DNA. Cycling is and remains my life. When I started, my father's first reaction was: "No, this sport is too hard. A girl on a racing bike, that's not possible, it's too hard for you." I didn't want to hear that. I already had a strong will back then and simply signed up to a cycling club in secret. At some point, I convinced my father and he became my first coach and supporter. He was very proud of me. And I had what I wanted.
TOUR: Women's cycling is booming: you see more and more women on racing bikes, there are more races for women, and some sponsors now even prefer to support women's teams because there are more opportunities for growth. Is women's cycling experiencing a historic opportunity?
Rousse: Yes, indeed. I think that the Tour will reinforce this once again. We want to strengthen and stabilise the economic basis of women's cycling, that's our goal. This first edition of our race is a real opportunity for our sport, yes.
I got the job because I have the skills for it. And I want to show people that.
TOUR: Today you are regarded as a pioneer of women's cycling. Do you feel comfortable with this role?
Rousse: Phew ... (hesitates) Yes and no. I have a special role, that's true. I was very often the first woman in a particular position, for example in television when I started commentating on men's races. But I got the job because I have the skills for it. And I want to show people that. I didn't become a commentator because they needed a nice blonde on TV, but because I know what I'm talking about when it comes to cycling.
I've experienced and suffered everything on the bike, I know what it feels like - just as well as a man. And people quickly realised that I had earned my place there.
Rousse on her life with Alaphilippe
TOUR: Is your perfectionism a characteristic that you share with your husband Julian Alaphilippe?
Rousse: I think so. We are both super focussed on our jobs and what we have to do for them. We both share the attitude of wanting to do things really well. That's also partly down to our upbringing, taking responsibility and doing everything right. At the moment, I think our little son Nino has come at just the right time (June 2021, editor's note).
Because it also gives us some distance from all these things. You no longer take everything so much to heart. When you have a child, you realise that some things are just hot air. When we come home and spend time with our little one, we can now let go much more easily. And we say to ourselves: this time together is what counts, not the things we get annoyed about in everyday life.
I bet Nino will have an exciting childhood
TOUR: How do you and your husband Julian manage all the tasks of everyday family life with such travelling and time-consuming jobs?
Rousse: We are used to being on the move. We've never been in one place for long. Cycling means we're always on the move. When Nino came into our lives, it was an upheaval in our lives. Because suddenly our whole life was called into question. From one day to the next, we almost became different personalities, our priorities shifted. We want Nino to be part of our lives one hundred per cent, and at the same time we are convinced that he can only live happily if his parents are happy too.
And so we have found our balance. We do have jobs that demand a lot from us. But there are also phases when we have more time for each other, for example in winter. It's certainly a special rhythm of life, but it works for us. And I bet that Nino will have an exciting childhood. We take him everywhere with us and I want to show him a lot: Where I work, where we travel, what dad does and what I do. And of course we also have help from his grandparents. My parents are both retired and are there for Nino a lot. He is the favourite of the whole family.
Rousse expects a spectacle at the women's Tour de France
TOUR: When your husband rode yellow at the Tour in recent years, the whole of France watched. What will it be like at the women's Tour de France?
Rousse: The Tour de France is not just a sporting event, it's bigger. People are in front of the TV and on the roadside, regardless of whether they are cycling fans or not. But the women's Tour de France will also live up to its big name. A publicity caravan will be travelling ahead, we will have the same security measures as the men's race and will follow directly after their race, as a kind of fourth Tour week. There are still holidays in France at the end of July, so people can come to the route with their children and celebrate. And in sporting terms it will be a spectacle. That's why we're confident.
Equal prize money for men and women at the Tour de France?
TOUR: There are still differences in the prize money. The winner receives 500000 euros, the female winner 50000 euros. The same amount is already paid in other races.
Rousse: Yes, especially in one-day races, in classics like the Tour of Flanders - and the ASO has also started to do this. The prize money is important, but not the most important thing. It is more important to attract new sponsors, which in turn has an impact on salaries. We have also discussed this with the professionals, we agree on that.
The debate about the prize money is not the right one at the moment, because the prize money is divided up among the entire team in the end anyway. In addition, the men's tour is three weeks long and the women's tour is eight days long. That's why it's clear that we can't pay the same prize money.
That's why we have to compare the Tour de France Femmes more with one-week men's tours, such as Paris-Nice or the Critérium du Dauphiné. With prize money totalling €2,500,000,000, we are above the men's tours and also above the standards of the UCI. And why shouldn't the Tour become longer in the future? Then we could also equalise the prize money.
Who will triumph in the women's Tour de France?
TOUR: And which type of rider can win the premiere?
Rousse: In the end, it's a puzzle made up of many pieces. But it will be a climber, that's no secret. The last two days are really hard, there are no coincidences. If you want to be at the front there, you have to be really strong.
TOUR: Why is there no time trial in the women's Tour?
Rousse: We are not ruling out the possibility of this happening in the future. Because it's clear that time trials are part of the Tour de France. We decided against it for the premiere because otherwise we would have had to do without a flat stage, which attracts more spectators.
We wanted a very special kick-off
TOUR: The women's start on the Champs-Élysées on the day of the men's arrival is intended to create a connection between men and women. Can it succeed in simply drawing the audience over?
Rousse: We wanted a very special start. That's why we started at the Eiffel Tower and then rode the same course as the men. And on the same day. That way we create a strong link between the two races. For the future, however, we don't yet know whether we will always start in Paris. That would limit us somewhat with an eight-day race.
TOUR: A final in Paris would also be conceivable instead?
Rousse: Why not? We will not rule out any possibility. We want to constantly improve and develop with this race.
