2023-07-24 04:40:25
Landed late on Saturday evening in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) after three weeks of commentary on the men’s event on France Télévisions, Marion Rousse is preparing to give the start of the second edition of the women’s Tour de France.
“There is the excitement that comes little by little. That’s it, we’re in the Tour de France atmosphere, appreciates the former French road champion, when hundreds of people were already gathered on the Place de Jaude, a sign of great popular success. “It shows that we were right to redo a women’s Tour de France, and the girls deserved it, she insisted. People adopted us.”
You often speak of the “fourth week of the Tour de France”, the objective is to surf on the popular success of the men’s race?
MARION RED. In July we want to watch the bike! For us it’s important to be the fourth week of the Tour de France. It’s during the holidays: people want to come and see us, they have the opportunity to come with their families, it’s still a free sport. All this “party spirit” means that the Tour de France is really a race apart, whether for men or women.
Do you believe in a French victory on this Tour?
We hope so! Already last year, we have nothing to be ashamed of the performance of our French women. This year, Juliette Labous may have gone one step further and she was really in good shape on the last Giro (2nd). I think she has really focused all her preparation on the women’s Tour de France, on a route that suits her still a little better than last year. And why not also stage victories with a girl like Évita Muzic!
Like the duel between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, should we expect a battle between Annemiek van Vleuten and Demi Vollering for the Yellow Jersey?
It is possible, at least as organizers we hope so. And we also hope that there will be suspense until the end, that’s why we put a timer on the last day. There are these two names that stand out. Annemiek Van Vleuten has already won the two Grand Tours this year but she may seem less imperial. Demi Vollering has taken another step forward, and she really has the strongest team around her. But we must not forget other teams such as FDJ Suez, or the Trek collective and their leader Elisa Longo Borghini.
The organization has established a difficult route, with many tricky stages. Gaps can be created today…
This is the advantage of being able to start from a mountain range, here from Clermont-Ferrand. This first stage will be flat during the first part, but we have added a difficulty in the last ten kilometers, which means that we have a somewhat unpredictable scenario. Will the sprinters be able to pass everything? Will punchers, like Marianne Vos, try in the final? We really tried to create a course that corresponds to different types of runners. I think we’re going to have a great show from the first days!
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