WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO COMPLETE LE TOUR?

As the Tour de France lights up our afternoons, Maria David gets a vivid insight into the demands of the race from a team of amateur women who completed the full route one month ahead of the pros

- Maria David

What does it really take for Joe or Jill Bloggs – normal amateur riders – to complete the full route of this year’s Tour de France? We don’t need to speculate, because a group of amateur women have just returned home from doing just that.

Each year for the last six years, international team Donnons des elles au Vélo has ridden the route of the Tour de France as part of their campaign calling for a women’s Tour de France, while raising the profile of women’s cycle racing. The team consists of 13 riders, selected from around 100 applicants. Guests (men and women) can accompany the group on the rides, though it is the women’s team that takes centre stage. In a normal year, they ride each stage one day ahead of the pros, but due to the pandemic, this year’s ride took place one month ahead.

The women trained specifically for the Tour route over eight months, despite being constrained by lockdown. One of the riders, Claire Floret, suffered from Covid-19 symptoms, leaving her with neurological issues including loss of taste and depression. Other participants – Magali Lagarde, Soléne Marquet and Valerie Jeudy worked on the frontline as nurses, juggling training with the demands of their job – it didn’t stop them from covering thousands of kilometres in preparation for the challenge.

STAGE 1

Nice to Nice via Castaigners – 155km

Type: Flat