A deep dive into the first women’s Tour de France with Sandrine Bideau

Never has a stage race generated so much buzz in the world of women’s cycling: the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes is also here to remind us that women’s cycling has become highly professionalized. But that there is still a long way to go for all competitors to be on an equal footing. On this occasion, 3bikes.fr went to meet one of the participants, who still balances a demanding professional life with high-level sport. Here, we discover Sandrine Bideau.

By Jeff Tatard – Photos: Billy Ceusters

St-Michel Auber 93, Stéphane Javalet’s team, strongly believes in the development of women’s cycling.

After eight editions of La Course by Le Tour (2014-2021), which each year offered the women’s peloton the chance to race one stage of the men’s route, ASO decided this year to double down by organizing an eight-stage event fully televised on public channels and visible in 190 countries. And as Marion Rousse, the boss of the women’s Grand Boucle, says: “this is not a gift we are giving to the riders“. Nor is it the result of pressure on Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). 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 that it has evolved…

Sandrine Bideau considers it a privilege to participate in this first Tour de France Femmes. At 33, she has been actively involved for several years in the French Association of Women Cyclists (of which she is one of the vice-presidents), which works for better recognition and media coverage of women’s cycling. Also for the development of its professionalism. For the now Saint-Michel Auber 93 rider, who was introduced to cycling culture at a very young age by her father, uncles, and cousins, and who quickly distinguished herself as a true champion, it is an opportunity to prove to the whole world that women’s cycling has nothing to do with what it was a few decades ago. It must be admitted, the level has significantly increased. It is also probable that the UCI’s introduction of a minimum salary for World Tour teams has helped to standardize the value of athletes. Races have become even more interesting. On L’Equipe TV, Eurosport, or France Télévisions, we now have the chance to see several of them throughout the year, and we sometimes enjoy following them more than the men’s races. Women’s cycling seems to be on the right track.

Sandrine Bideau participated in the first Tour de France Femmes, with a smile.

Even for Sandrine Bideau, who started her pro career in 2012 with the UCI Team Vienne-Futuroscope, there is still a gap in the conditions under which she performs her job. When we first contacted each other by SMS to set the interview time, Sandrine suggested I call her back after work. I thus discovered that the Parisian works a little more than part-time as an accountant and that she took time off to participate in this global event that she could not miss under any circumstances. “But I don’t regret anything,” emphasizes Sandrine Bideau. “I was offered a permanent contract in my field, as I studied accounting, and I’m still with the same company 10 years later with a 25-hour weekly contract.” This leaves Sandrine time to train while earning a living, even if she is not in the same comfortable conditions as the world’s best, those who dominate the results on the stages of this first Tour de France Femmes.

For Sandrine Bideau, the Tour de France Femmes is a great opportunity to highlight women’s cycling.

In our exchanges, I discovered a true warrior. Not everything has always been easy. In her first professional years, she fractured her pelvis. Then the following year, she suffered from mononucleosis. She was not kept in the future FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope team and bounced back as an amateur in the National Division team of the Centre region. She took the opportunity to return to the podiums, finishing second in two rounds of the French Cup in 2015.

Sometimes, the routine of our daily lives or the repetitive accomplishment of our daily tasks tend to mentally exhaust us. The idea of seeing our days follow one another and resemble each other can lead to a certain weariness. But not for the 33-year-old rider. Sandrine never loses sight of her goals. And, so to speak, she never misses them, as evidenced by her recent sixth place in the 2022 French National Championships road race. Inspiration is the cornerstone of her success. I discovered a very inspired girl. And therefore very high-performing.

The rider from the Paris region is supported by her loved ones.

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, a former French champion, who is also responsible for the team. And the performances have been consistent with excellent results in the French Cup, and above all, she has shown excellent consistency in the French championships: 13th in 2018 and 2019, 7th in 2020, 11th in 2021, and again 6th this year but with a professional status. And until 2021, she was almost systematically the best French amateur.

It was thanks to the impetus of riders like Sandrine that Charlotte Bravard’s team was able to move up to the next level this year, in 2022. “With this UCI status, we can compete in higher-level races without needing an invitation,” the young woman appreciates. And she holds the ultimate reward. The one that ensures your cycling career is successful 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 transcends the boundaries of sport. We talk about women’s cycling and bring it into people’s daily lives, something no other race in the world can do. Perhaps business leaders will have turned on their televisions and thought that women’s cycling is great, and that will make them want to invest. Because even if it exists and is progressing, the economic system of women’s cycling is visibly still a bit weak at present. This “fourth week” of the Tour de France made all July holidaymakers very happy, and will certainly inspire vocations in little girls who were on the roadside or in front of their televisions.

Sandrine Bideau was able to appreciate the public’s support.

This first Tour de France Femmes, dominated by Marianne Vos in its first part and Annemiek van Vleuten in the last two stages (and overall winner), two Dutchwomen well over thirty with extensive palmarès, nevertheless showed that significant differences in level persist. Vos and van Vleuten have been 100% professional for years. They travel the world from race to race, doing altitude training camps, and riding up to 30 hours a week. Sandrine Bideau tried to stay afloat in the middle of the peloton. She doesn’t have the same level of preparation, nor the same race program to gain rhythm. She feared crashes at the start of the Tour, then had to endure the pace of the best in the mountains. But she showed great resilience, never completely cracked, questioned herself every day, even if she couldn’t express herself as she had hoped. And in the end, she completed her Tour, tired certainly, but discovering unsuspected resources, particularly in terms of recovery. She also perfectly played her role as an ambassador for women’s cycling, lighting up with her smile every request she answered, whether from the media or spectators asking for a photo or an autograph.

Annemiek van Vleuten dominated the last two mountain stages of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes.

While Sandrine Bideau cultivates discretion along with the art of perseverance that shapes the destiny of the greatest, this champion, who describes herself as a “diesel” but works on her explosiveness with sprints, contributes to shifting the goalposts 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.