“The little girls will be able to identify with the champions”

The Tour Men’s commentator has been leading women for four years. The former professional cyclist has followed everything about the evolution of his sport on the side of women. Interview.

EIt would not have bet it, however Marion Rousse is now the “Madame Vélo” of France TV, all year round. Former professional runner, French road cycling champion in 2012, she became the first consultant woman in the history of the Tour de France. On the occasion of the 2025 edition of the Grande Boucle, she comments on both the male race and directed the France Women’s Tour, of which she has been the director for three years. Encounter.

You put an end to a career as a precarious professional cyclist in 2015, at only 24 years old. Since 2022, you have been holding the reins of the Tour de France women: what has changed in female cycling in ten years?
It has nothing to do with what I have experienced, and fortunately! I was a high -level sportsman at a time when female cycling was neither recognized, nor appreciated at his true value. We couldn’t live from it. At the time, races were not broadcast On TV and there was no salary for runners. With the Women’s Tour, we have created a reference competition that highlights our sport. I am proud to tell myself that the young generation will not live the hassle that I went through and that we will be able to create vocations: little girls on the side of the roads will be able to identify with the champions of the Tour.

The Women’s Tour lasts nine days, against twenty -one for the Tour Men. Why so much gap between the two races?
Our test is still too recent. If we imposed three weeks of racing now in the calendar, we would risk making other existing races disappear. The women’s turn must evolve at the same pace as female cycling, which is not yet at the same level as male cycling. Today, only a dozen runners at the start of the race are professional. And the level gap in the peloton remains too large, much less homogeneous than that of men despite the progress of the last four years. There is still a long way to go.

All my predecessors were men.

In 2017, you joined the French Televisions team as a consultant on the Tour de France. Your predecessors on this position are called Jacques Anquetil, Raymond Poulidor…
It was a lot of pressure at the start, especially on the first steps. I came from Eurosport [où Marion Rousse a commencé sa carrière de consultante en 2013, ndlr]which does not have the same exhibition as France Télévisions. It is A great responsibility to pass after such renowned personalities. And all my predecessors were men … When I started, a woman commentator of a male cycling race, that didn’t exist! But the public quickly understood that I had struggled enough on a bike to talk about it as well as a man.

In the documentary Crash, a peloton under tension, Broadcast on the team.fr, you speak on the falls, always more numerous and violent. How do you explain it?
Cycling is a dangerous sport in essence. With the evolution of equipment, more and more rigid and light, the speed continues to increase. There are also more financial issues, especially on the Tour de France, where everyone wants to shine. Permanent pressure linked to earrings [par lesquelles les coureurs reçoivent les consignes du directeur sportif, ndlr] And the stress of winning a place on arrival make it undoubtedly less respect in the peloton … and the falls can occur very quickly.

How could we avoid them?
Some speak of prohibiting the earrings, others to limit brackets to decrease A little speed. We must find ways to slow down the falls or better Protect cyclists. We are not motorcycle drivers: a throb and a jersey, that does not protect. Admittedly, it is impossible to secure 200 kilometers of racing. But health must remain a priority. The organizers, including me, now give up certain passes Because the descent is too technical. Three years ago, this was not the case. Without forgetting, of course, that cyclists are balancingists capable of passing everywhere. This is also what makes the beauty of this sport.