There is no time trial on the Tour de France Women 2022 route. However, it is indeed this exercise that a typical day looks like for all the teams participating in the Grande Boucle.
Preparation of equipment, briefing, transfer, protocol ceremonies, media, refueling... A stage goes by at breakneck speed for the riders as well as for their technical staff responsible for putting them in the best conditions for each stage.
Tuesday July 26, the start of the third stage between Reims and Épernay is scheduled for 1 p.m.
But the day starts much earlier for the Saint-Michel Auber93 team, lodged the day before at the foot of the final difficulty of the day's route, the terrible hill of Mutigny and its 900 meters with an average gradient of 12.2%.
From 7:30 a.m., the management is hard at work preparing the equipment with a final inspection of the bikes, the preparation of the water cans and the distribution of the following cars.
Eve Exorcism
Just before the start, Charlotte Bravard, the team's sports director, and Simon Arnold, the performance director, gather their troops in the hotel lounge for the traditional briefing.
The two first invite each of the riders to express themselves on the stage of the day before, marked by terrible falls, including that of Simone Boilard, leader of the "Madeleines", the nickname of the women's team from Saint- Michael.
The pre-race briefing is an unchanging ritual.
© Romain Houeix, France 24
"It's a shame. The girls were doing a great job of keeping me up front. I wanted to be placed when I approached the final circuit. We were almost there and it fell in front of me. At the worst moment", analyzes the 22-year-old Quebecer, who still bears the marks of her fall on her right arm.
>> Tour de France Women: alongside the FDJ team during its catastrophic stage
"You were in front of three quarters of the race. You have nothing to envy to the biggest teams", encourages Charlotte Bravard.
"The fall disrupted everything and we lost our goal, which was a white jersey for Simone. We're going to find a new one. At least you're all still here," she adds.
Another French team, FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope, was not so lucky, losing its leader Marta Cavalli to a concussion.
"Place a pawn in front"
Then place the decryption of the route of the day, between Reims and Épernay.
A rugged stage, 133.6 km long and with more than 1,500 m of elevation to climb.
The six runners already know her, having recognized her two weeks earlier.
"Today, races are so much about positioning that these reconnaissances have become essential. They allow runners to know the terrain to anticipate obstacles", confides Simon Arnold.
The performance director also reminds us: the first 40 hilly kilometers with crossings of villages with street furniture and narrowing of lanes, a part exposed to the wind but "a priori weak today", the coast of Mesnil-sur- Oger 40 km from the finish "which could skim the peloton" and obviously the final bump of Mutigny which "will be played on the pedal" - understanding the strongest will be essential.
To support his explanations, he scrolls through the data he has collected on the stage, the result of long research, in particular carried out using Veloviewer, the software which has established itself as a bible for the pro teams.
Charlotte Bravard speaks again: "Our objective today is to place a pawn up front and if possible a good one. With the profile, I would like it to be Sandrine [Bideau] or Coco [Coraline Demay, NLDR]. The peloton should leave room for the breakaway. Being in it can allow us to hitch the right wagon when the strongest trigger hostilities", concludes the sports director before the team embarks in the direction of Reims .
David versus Goliath
The Saint-Michel Auber93 know their strengths and their weaknesses.
Although it was created in 2012, the team did not achieve professional status until the start of the 2022 season. But it is not afraid to challenge the big teams of the World Tour, the highest division of the women's cycling in which all of the riders make a living from cycling.
On the side of the "Madeleines", this is not yet the case.
Thus, Barbara Fonseca is a sports teacher when she is not on a bike.
Alison Avoine, meanwhile, continues her studies to become a neuropsychologist.
Saint-Michel Auber93 has its history and its orange colors recognizable from afar.
The cycling team, men and women combined, is currently the second oldest French formation, created in 1994. And the David versus Goliath side is in the club's DNA, as Stéphane Javalet, team manager since the beginnings.
In the paddock, the bikes are ready for use.
© Romain Houeix, France 24
The team's history is also deeply rooted in its Ile-de-France roots: "Aubervilliers and Seine-Saint-Denis are truly our lifelong partners", recalls Stéphane Javalet.
"Everyone retains this vision of us of the small team which, for its first Tour de France, won a stage victory with Cyril Saugrain. It boosted our popularity with the French public", says the 61-year-old manager, as the team vehicles take up position in the paddock.
A logistics that has risen to the height of the Tour with 13 management members instead of six on the usual races.
"We arrived on tiptoe at the beginning of the year and finally we did Paris-Roubaix, the Ride-London and here we are on the most beautiful event in the world: the Tour de France. It is a source of pride and recognition of our seriousness and our policy of professionalization of the female sector", savors the manager.
"We hope that the dynamics of the Tour will lead to real parity in terms of wages", wants to believe Stéphane Javalet, who makes it the objective of 2023. Because the economic balance remains fragile for Saint-Michel Auber93, who would like to hang the wagons when the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) creates its second division for women, the Continental Pro, by 2025.
While the manager recounts the rich history of Saint-Michel Auber93, the immutable pre-race ritual continues for the team's six riders.
After getting into their uniforms on the bus, they fasten their bibs then get on the bike.
A quick visit to the mixed zone to answer the journalists, a few discussions with the curious who gather in the paddock and it's already time for the warm-up.
“Fortunately we are not paid by the can”
However, the assistants' car will not see the start.
She must leave 20 minutes before to prepare the first supply point of the race.
Direction kilometer 36, in the middle of the vineyards, to be ready when the runners pass.
A sandwich swallowed by the side of the road and it is already time for Valérie and Ronan to put on their Saint-Michel chasuble and get into place.
Regulations oblige, they both position themselves on the right side of the road, about thirty meters apart.
During this time, the community-manager gleans a few shots.
The peloton arrives shortly after.
In the fray, they manage to give a can to each runner.
“Fortunately we are not paid by the can given,” jokes Valérie, an energetic fifties.
Valérie and Ronan are in position to give cans to runners in need.
© Romain Houeix, France 24
The time to let the cohort of vehicles following the race pass and we must already leave for the next point.
A real race against the clock to win kilometer 58 before the peloton and reposition yourself.
Then re-belote to position herself at kilometer 94. Throughout the journey, Valérie juggles between the data of the race and that of her GPS, while looking at the "old-fashioned" map to orient herself and avoid the barriers of the road. race.
She is also in constant communication with Charlotte Bravard and Simon Arnold to indicate the positioning of the players.
The two trackers, located in the team manager's car, behind the peloton, then pass on the information to the riders via the headset.
Laying down supplies is an art.
“There are already regulatory limitations which mean that we cannot refuel in the first 30 kilometers and in the last 20. Then we try to get level with the hills so that the peloton arrives more slowly. "also apprehend the points where the peloton risks being nervous which are not very favorable. Finally, we also do according to the road infrastructure since you have to be able to chain the points", explains Valérie, satisfied at the last stop , while the six riders grabbed a pit stop at the last point.
After the third stop, it's time for Ronan and Valérie to accomplish their final task of the day.
Race to the finish line for a final pit stop.
Post-race this one.
No more cans of water this time, but fresh water and above all sodas to reboost the six courageous "Madeleines" exhausted by the effort required by the last bump.
The race did not go as planned.
Contrary to expectations, the peloton again refused to let a breakaway develop despite the Saint-Michel's attempts to slip away.
When the hostilities started between the contenders for the general classification, they managed to hang on.
Coralie Demay even points to 24th place in the general classification, an honorable score for Saint-Michel Auber93.
In the middle of the vines, the madeleines are at the front of the pack 🍇 pic.twitter.com/9ZnnUIRIdN
- St Michel - Auber93 🍩 (@Auber93Cyclisme) July 26, 2022
"The race was difficult to read. The peloton didn't let go so we knew it was going to be tough at the end. But the girls held on well, especially Coralie [Demay] and Simone [Boilard]. We had scared for her after her fall yesterday. It was complicated at the start, but she came back very strong at the end, even if she ended up with an almost flat tire", debriefs Charlotte Bravard.
"We hope that tomorrow will be a little more favorable to us."
On the staff side, we quickly work to pack everything up.
We must already go to Troyes and the next hotel.
There, it will be necessary to clean the bikes, to eat, to sleep.
And be ready to start all over again the next day.
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