"There was obvious interest in watching women’s cycling" - Marion Rousse on the growing importance of Tour de France Femmes ahead of 2024 edition

The women's World Tour has been getting bigger and bigger over recent years. Key to the development and the growing interest in the women's sport, has been the emergence of the Tour de France Femmes in recent years.

For each of the two editions of the Tour de France Femmes, Marion Rousse has been the one pulling the strings behind the scenes as the female version of Christian Prudhomme in the men's race. "We still had to prove ourselves in the first year, because a lot of people had preconceptions at the beginning," recalls Rousse to Velo. "The Tour came at the right time because women’s cycling had started to develop properly, but it was still economically fragile. Only a few riders were truly professional, so we had to be sure of making a strong impact, and it was only with the media power of the Tour that we managed to do that."

The added influence of the Tour de France Femmes has come with more TV coverage than ever for women's racing. "With such large audiences, in both France and abroad, the situation has changed," Rousse explains. "On the Dutch NOS TV channel, for example, we had a market share of almost 50 percent during live broadcasts. So, there’s been a real return on investment for all of the partners in women’s cycling, and that’s really significant. The sport’s economy is all the better for it."

This year around, Rousse and the ASO made the call to bring the start of the Tour to the Netherlands, home of both Maillot Jaune winners in Annemiek Van Vleuten and Demi Vollering. "The location of the Grand Départ is obviously critical, particularly this year with it being in the Netherlands. This has given us the opportunity to pay tribute to the role played by Dutch cycling within women’s racing, as it was a pioneering country and is still a driving force in the discipline; it also offers a bit of recognition to all of the great spring classics that are now very much part of the women’s calendar," she explains. "The nicest thing is to be able to piece together a route and then see it working on the big day."

"It’s a job where there’s a lot to learn! I didn’t have any fears exactly, but I didn’t know how the race was going to work at the start. With two years’ experience, you gain confidence in your role and you find your own way of doing things," Rousse concludes. "I feel much more at ease going into this third edition. I’m putting a lot of myself into it, and I actually feel that I need to. And, of course, it’s very rewarding to feel that you’re playing an active role in the development of women’s cycling."