Tour de France women – 5th stage: in Guéret, Kim Le Court finds the yellow jersey

At the end of the longest stage of the Tour stretching over 165.8 kilometers, ending with the rise of Maupuy (2.8 km to 5.4 %) then a sprint in the streets of Guéret, a group of candidates for the final victory, consisting in particular of Kim Le Court (AG Insurance), Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), Anna Van der Breggen (SD Worx) Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon) and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-lease A Bike), fought a tough battle.

The representative of Mauritius has won a few millimeters in front of the two Dutch women who close the podium. Kim the Court thus becomes the first non-European won a stage of the Tour and endorses the yellow jersey for the second time.

Arrived in second position half Vollering seemed in full possession of his means, after his fall on Monday. A good omen for its clan.

Launched from Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, opposite the Futuroscope, the departure of the 5^e Step was also responsible for symbols for the FDJ-Suez, the only tricolor formation evolving in World Tour, therefore the highest international level, brigating the title at the end of the competition.

A French success-store whose roots took in this same place twenty years ago. The opportunity of a glance in the rear view mirror.

Vienne and Futuroscope, a whole story

At the end of the 1990s, a young girl named Emmanuelle Merlot discovered a little by chance that she had a hell of a pedal stroke, until becoming a French road cycling champion in 2002. Her talent risks being overnight since there is no high -level female team in France.

Gatien Merlot, the father, decides to set up one to offer a sporting future to “Manou”. Himself boss of a wood construction company, he mobilizes partners until convincing the manager of the famous amusement park. In 2006, the Vienne Futuroscope team was organized, quickly joined by Stephen Delcourt.

Always manager of the training today, the manager readily evokes some memories, next to the bus where the runners heat up, in front of a conquered audience. Impossible to imagine such a scene at the time.

“We really thought about it but not from there to have a tour of France, not from there to have so many journalists and fans”, he shares with a smile, perhaps thinking of all the people who promised him failure, now « premiers fans » team. “We are showing that female cycling can be a model for all these little girls who want to believe in their dreams. »»

Some figures attest to the dazzling epic of the initial enthusiast band. Constituted around three employees in 2006, it now has more than 50, including 18 runners. Started from 200,000 euros to more than 5 million euros this year, the budget has continued to grow with major FDJ reinforcements in 2017 then Suez in 2022.

Party of little, the training now plays the victory at the Tour de France with, last fall, the signing of Demi Vollering, a world number one in the UCI ranking. So, with such a work shot and such means, it is not surprised to see the FDJ-Suez at the top of the team ranking since last Saturday.

“Girls suffer”

But, obviously, all the training in the country do not marry a similar trajectory, even if the impact of the Tour seems to benefit everyone. Almost the opposite of this same classification by team, at the 20^e Place out of 22, members of the French training Winspace draw the language more.

“The pace is very high, the girls suffer. Yes, it is hard psychologically to be behind … but they are not made to put their health in danger, tempers their manager, Jean-Christophe Barbotin. On our side, we don’t have a lot of technology, care to recover well. »

Despite the sporting difficulties, the Tour is already essential. “It forces us to structure ourselves. In the first round, we had a motorhome, now we have a big bus. »» Formerly named Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime, the team managed to attract the Winspace company, specializing in the manufacture of bikes, and thus multiplied its budget by four. A giant step.

“We remain the smallest budget of the competition but, now, we are revolving around the million euros of budget. With such popular and media visibility, the Tour is the time of the year when our partners can have a return. »» Whatever the sporting results ultimately.