“We’ve been at it all year with the preparation, and we’re just finishing the final details,” announces Marion Rousse as she speaks to me from a taxi en route to another interview at a radio station. Representing Tour de France Femmes race organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), she’s been doing the rounds with the various stakeholders to promote the event and engage various organisations and sponsors for ASO’s flagship women’s event.
Now in its third year of the revived women’s grande boucle, Rousse is keen to keep up the momentum in making this the women’s professional race of reference, and more than just a race in France, but a cultural event like the men’s race has become over its 121-year existence.
