A dive into the heart of the first women's Tour de France with Sandrine Bideau

Never has a stage race been so talked about in the world of women's cycling: the first edition of the Women's Tour de France is also there to remind us that women's cycling has become much more professional. But whatThere is still a long way to go before all competitors are on an equal footing. On this occasion, 3bikes.fr went to meet one of the participants, who still combines a busy professional life with high-level sport. Here we set off to discover Sandrine Bideau.

By Jeff Tatard – Photos: Billy Ceusters    

After eight editions of La Course by Le Tour (2014-2021), which offered the women's peloton the chance to run a stage of the men's course each year, ASO has decided this year to go the extra mile by organising an eight-stage event, fully televised on public channels and visible from 190 countries. And as Marion Rousse, the boss of the women's Grande Boucle, says: " This is not a gift we give to runners "It is not the result of pressure on Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) either. The girls deserve it. It is consistent from a sporting and professional point of view. It is also proof that women's cycling is ready and has evolved...

Sandrine Bideau considers it a chance to participate in this first women's Tour de France. At 33, she has been an activist for several years within the French Association of Female Cyclists (of which she is one of the vice-presidents) which works for better reconbirth and media coverage of women's cycling. For the development of its professionalism too. For the now member of Saint-Michel Auber 93, who was educated very early in the culture of cycling by her father, her uncles and her cousins, and who did not take long to distinguish herself as a true champion, it is the opportunity to prove to the world that women's cycling has nothing to do with what it was a few decades ago. Admittedly, the level has clearly risen. Probably also the introduction of the minimum wage in the World Tour teams by the UCI has helped to homogenize the value of the athletes. Racing has become even more interesting. On L'Equipe TV, on Eurosport or on France Télévisions, we now have the chance to see several of them throughout the year, and we sometimes have more fun following them than the men's. Women's cycling seems to be on the right track.

Even if for Sandrine Bideau, who began her professional career in 2012 in the UCI Team Vienne-Futuroscope, we still identify a gap in the conditions in which she practices her profession. When we contact each other for the first time by SMS to set the time of the interview, Sandrine suggests that I call her back after work. I thus discover that the Parisian works a little more than part-time as an accountant and that she took time off to be able to participate in this global event that she could not miss under any circumstances. « But I don't regret anything, underlines Sandrine Bideau. I was offered a permanent contract in my field, since I studied accounting, and I am still in the same company 10 years later with a 25-hour weekly contract."This gives Sandrine time to train while earning a living, even if she is not in the same comfortable conditions as the best in the world, those who are monopolizing the results on the stages of this first women's Tour de France.

In our discussions, I discovered a true warrior. It wasn't always easy. In her early professional years, she fractured her pelvis. Then the following year, she contracted mononucleosis. She wasn't kept on by the future FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope team, and bounced back as an amateur in the National Division team of the Centre region. She took advantage of this to find her way back to the podiums, finishing second in two rounds of the Coupe de France in 2015.

=> SEE AS ​​WELL : In the wheel of… Kevin Le Cunff, Paralympic cycling champion on route

Sometimes, the routine of our daily lives or the repetitive accomplishment of our daily tasks tend to exhaust us mentally. The idea of ​​seeing our days follow one another and look the same can lead us to a certain weariness. But not for the 33-year-old runner. Sandrine never loses sight of her goals. And so to speak, she never misses them, as evidenced by her recent sixth place in the road event of the 2022 French championships. It is inspiration that is the cornerstone of her success. I discovered a very inspired girl. And therefore very successful.

Since 2018, she has joined the Saint-Michel Auber 93 Women's National Division team, in her home region. Sandrine is managed by Charlotte Bravard, former French champion. She herself is responsible for the structure. And the performances follow one another with excellent results in the Coupe de France, and above all, she shows excellent consistency in the French championship: 13th in 2018 and 2019, 7th in 2020, 11th in 2021, and again 6th this year but with a pro status. And until 2021, she has almost systematically been the best French amateur.

=> SEE AS ​​WELL : In the wheel of… Océane and Dany or the secret of a tandem that rolls

It is also thanks to the leadership of girls like Sandrine that Charlotte Bravard's structure was able to reach the next level this year, in 2022. With this UCI status, we are racing at a higher level without needing to be invited., appreciates the young woman. And the supreme reward, she holds it. The one that makes your cycling career a success no matter what. The right to participate in the Tour de France this year. This status that Sandrine has achieved is thus a consecration. Whether for men or women, it is the most beautiful race in the world. It goes beyond the boundaries of sport. We talk about women's cycling and we bring it into people's daily lives, something that no other race in the world can do. Maybe business leaders will have turned on their TV and said to themselves that women's cycling is great, and that it will make them want to invest. Because even if it exists and is progressing, the economic system of women's cycling is clearly still a little weak at the present time. This "fourth week" of the Tour de France has made all the July enthusiasts very happy, and will certainly inspire vocations among the little girls who were on the edge of the routes or in front of their TV.

This first women's Tour de France, dominated by Marianne Vos in the first part and Annemiek van Vleuten in the last two stages (and overall winner), two Dutch women who are well over thirty and each with a long list of achievements, nevertheless showed that there are still significant differences in level. Vos and van Vleuten have been 100% pros for years. They travel the world from one race to the next, taking part in the stagare at altitude, do up to 30 hours of cycling per week. Sandrine Bideau tried to stay afloat in the middle of the pack. She doesn't have the same level of preparation, didn't have the same racing program to build up her pace. She feared falls at the start of the Tour, then had to endure the pace of the best in mytagne. But she showed great resilience, never completely cracked, questioned herself every day, even if she was not able to express herself as she had hoped. And in the end, she completed her Tour, certainly tired, but discovering unsuspected resources, particularly in terms of recovery. She also perfectly played her role as ambassador for women's cycling, lighting up with her smile each of the requests she responded to, whether in front of the media or in front of spectators asking for a photo or an autograph.

If Sandrine Bideau cultivates discretion at the same time as the art of perseverance who shapes the destiny of the greatest, this champion who qualifies as a "diesel" but who works on her explosiveness with sprints, contributes to moving the sliders and changing mentalities so that this feminized sport becomes even more spectacular and media-friendly... She hopes to continue to be an actor in this evolution in the seasons to come.

=> SEE AS ​​WELL : All our MAG articles