This is a historic turning point in the history of the female cycling. The first edition of the Tour de France Women starts this Sunday July 24 in Paris, on the cobblestones of the Champs Elysées. In the program : eight steps and 1029 kilometers to cover, without a day of rest, until the arrival at the top of the Beautiful Girls Super Boardon July 31.
24 teams are in the running, i.e. nearly 150 runners committed in total on this great loop. And among them: a 22-year-old Girondine, from Bazas. India Grangier will experience this first edition of the Women’s Tour de France, in the Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime jersey.
A few days before departure, in the family lounge at Bazas where India Grangier grew up, television vibrates to the rhythm of the men’s Tour de France. From now on, it is she who will set off on the Grande Boucle: “We always wanted there to be the same thing for girls, when we saw men on television. But I didn’t think it would be possible. When they announced it, I just wanted to be a part of it.”
Avoid the fall
India started cycling a bit by chance, by going to get her brother, registered with the Langon bike club: “The coach told me to come back on the bike. I did it a bit reluctantly at first. Then I hung “. Since then, the young woman has chained competitions, and successes! In her child’s room, a showcase is overflowing with trophies. Certain events have marked her young career: her victory at the 2021 French Espoirs championships. But also, a serious fall in 2016…
I fell in a sprint. I took the sidewalk in the face. I took a little helicopter ride. The hardest part was mentally. I had a hard time ignoring this fall, even if I came back up as soon as I could. For a year, I struggled in the platoons.
The first stage of the Tour promises to be particularly perilous for the riders. “In Paris, it’s in town. We’re going to drive fast, on the cobblestones. We’ll be together enough. Everything can happen. I would feel better in the Vosges, in the balloons“.
In the world of cycling, India Grangier has two models: the Belgian Wout van Aert, for men, and the Briton Elizabeth Deignan, for women. “She won Paris-Roubaix last year after her first pregnancy. She inspires me a lot”. For the moment, India is trying to combine her life as a high-level athlete with her studies at a business school in Nice. The agenda is full.
On the attack on the Tour
Reserved in life, she likes the stages where the selection is made “rear”“at the pedal”. She rarely embarks on risky escapes. The young woman prefers to resist on steep hills. But on the Tour, with her teammates, she intends to play in front. “We aim with the team, to be offensive, to show the shirt and to take breakaways.
For a first experience on the Tour, India hopes to complete the big loop, and if possible with a place of honor in the standings. “I can’t imagine raising my arms to the top of the Planche des Belles Filles. You have to be ambitious, but also realistic. But one day, why not have this ambition! I’m 22 years old. I still have time to evolve and grow my dreams.”