Female voice of cycling on France Télévisions since 2017, Marion Rousse is also the director of the women’s Tour de France which sets off from Paris on Sunday July 24 for its first edition. The one who started competition at the age of six, champion of France in 2012, has remained in her element.
Marion Rousse is blonde. But above all, a fan of cycling. For the role of potiche, we will have to look elsewhere. The former French cycling champion, 30, consultant on France Télévisions, who has been commenting on the Tour de France since 2017, is still very keen on the Little Queen. “ I was in the stroller when we went to see my dad on the bike races on Sundays. He was an amateur and I have always been involved in cycling. In my DNA, I’ve always had sport in me “, she confides with good humor. Three of his cousins were professionals.
At the age of 3, Marion Rousse runs around the table, goes over and under the chairs and carries a backpack with books inside. Our subject is his sport “, according to the memory of his mother. Already the taste of the effort.
” Those who think that women’s cycling is not interesting are in bad faith »
At the age of 6, the kid begins the competition. The 2012 French champion has never tried any sport other than cycling. She remembers being the only girl surrounded by boys. ” I always wanted to prove that even though I was a girl, I belonged. It followed me “, she laughs, legs crossed and mischievous look.
Model silhouette, here she is now director of the women’s Tour de France, organized from the summer of 2022 by Amaury sport organization which also manages the men’s Grande Boucle. If women have long been criticized in the world of cycling, today women’s cycling races are taken seriously and even the classic Paris-Roubaix has its female counterpart. “L’Enfer du Nord” is no longer the landmark of boys who arrive at the velodrome with their faces sometimes mired in the mud, their bodies exhausted and in pain, their legs trembling. From now on, both sexes have the right to exist in their own right in the world often “ macho from the Little Queen.
To those who criticize the fairer sex on a bicycle, she responds bluntly: “ Let them turn on their TV, watch the women’s races and they will realize that everyone has their place on a bike. Those who think that women’s cycling is not interesting are in bad faith. “The one who does not define herself as an activist asks that we” open your eyes » and that we live with « its time “. We must jump on the bandwagon of modernity. That should silence some mouths.
The choice of route? Marion Rousse never asked herself the question of whether she should take the highway, the national or the alternative route. ” I never had a career plan in my life. “She just landed on the path of her desires at the end of her cycling career, and let herself be guided by the proposals. But with conviction, for this woman with a past as a high-level sportswoman who allowed her to get to know herself well, because her working tool has, according to her, been for a very long time “ the body ” and “ the mind “. From all these years of cycling, she has made it a strength.
No ” privileges »
” I didn’t want people to think that I ended up on television because it was necessary to put a little blonde in the comments to feminize the antenna, she warns. I wanted people to realize that I was as capable of talking about cycling as Laurent Jalabert [son collègue à France Télévisions, NDLR] ; that I knew the subject and that I deserved this place. In the end, I worried for nothing, because people very quickly understood that I knew what I was talking about. “Marion Rousse, who wanted” continue to live ” of ” his passion “, has always seized the ball at the leap. But not anyhow. ” In all the proposals that I receive, I always accept when I am sure of being able to do so. Otherwise I say no. Marion Rousse only changes gear if necessary.
A girl from the North, from a modest family, Marion Rousse says that she has worked hard to get where she is, without having had any ” privileges “. She deserves it, and the times also lend themselves to it. Surprisingly, she doesn’t feel like she’s outgrown her parents. Marion Rousse does not want to talk about social mobility. ” Yes, I have a different life, I don’t know if it’s better than theirs. I’m going through things they’ll never go through, but am I happier? Moment of silence. “ My life is different, but I don’t feel above others. What makes me happy is spending time with my family. ” Moments of sharing, despite a life at 100 at a time when notoriety is not a goal. Marion Rousse loves getting away from it all while keeping her feet on the ground.
It must be said that parents have long been frightened by his strong character, his determination and his choice to always want to challenge himself. ” They are protective, worried. They are quite fearful whereas I go for it. They don’t know who I hold [rires]. But they are proud of me. And they love it when I get involved in the North, more than seeing me on TV “. Marion Rousse smiles, her eyes widen. The feeling of speed has always appealed to him.
After spending time on the bike, on television, here she is ready to promote women’s cycling in one of the races that should open up a new horizon for female riders. The little girl from the North has become the ambassador of a popular sport.