Marion Rousse hails success of ‘proper women’s Tour de France’

There were not one, but in fact, two historic moments in women’s sport at the weekend. The first, as you may be aware, came at Wembley on a joyous night for English football; the other was on a mountain summit in the French Vosges, where Annemiek van Vleuten won the Tour de France Femmes at Super Planche des Belles Filles.

The 39-year-old Dutchwoman overcame a stomach bug to utterly dominate the mountain stages of the eight-day race. Such was her superiority over the peloton that only six riders finished within 10 minutes of her overall winning time.

In a way, the outcome of the race mattered less than the breakthrough it represented. The various incarnations of the women’s race have endured exile, underfunding and mockery, until finally, after years of reluctance, the Tour promoters ASO were browbeaten into launching this year’s event.

There are other major women’s races – the Women’s Tour in Britain and the Giro Donne in Italy – but the Tour de France is the pinnacle of the sport, the global showcase of elite cycling. Now plans are afoot to make the Tour Femmes bigger, better and significantly more competitive.

While the men’s Tour has survived world wars, pandemics and crippling doping scandals, women’s cycling has existed in a sporting hinterland. It’s to the great credit of those athletes and campaigners who lobbied so hard, for so long, that Van Vleuten was able to stand, in a maillot jaune, on the final podium.

What started in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe and finished on a gravel track was only the beginning. “I was always sure of one thing with this race,” said the Tour Femmes director, Marion Rousse. “It wasn’t a gift that we were giving to women’s cycling, to create a women’s Tour de France. They simply