Fanny Del Reyer: A Tour de Force

On Saturday, while the eyes of the cycling world turn their attention to a pivotal stage of the Tour de France, back in Paris another grand tour will be getting underway. There won't be the fanfare. There probably won't be much of a crowd. Indeed, the handful of customers outside the Hotel Réveil Matin may not pay much attention as Fanny Reyer sets out on her epic challenge: to ride the route of the original Tour de France.

"I’m doing the route of the first Tour de France from 1903," Reyer explained days before setting out from Paris. "At that time the racers did 2,428 km (1,509 miles) from Paris to Lyon, Lyon to Marseille, Marseille to Toulouse, Toulouse to Bordeaux, Bordeaux to Nantes and Nantes to Paris. They did an entire Tour de France."

The story of that first Tour is the stuff of legends. On July 1 1903, 60 cyclists set out from the café Le Réveil-Matin in Montgeron, on the outskirts of Paris. Only 21 riders in that original field made it back, with Maurice Garin winning the race in a time of 94hrs 33mins 14secs. His margin of victory over the second-placed Lucien Pothier - 2hrs 49mins - is still the largest winning margin in Tour de France history.

The race itself was brutal. Six unsupported stages, taking in major cities around France. Most stages were longer than 400km / 248 miles, with the final stage - from Nantes to Paris – a massive 471km / 293 miles.

That final stage – and the two before it – are the ones that Fanny is most wary of.

"The first part is very easy for me," she explained. "I come from Paris and I know the road. The second half will be very hard as I don’t know these roads. And I think I will have bad weather, with the wind in my face. It will be very challenging."

A relative newcomer to the world of cycling, Reyer took up the sport after breaking her knee while running. Since making that transition, she has used the bike to pursue "extreme” challenges, while building a platform to promote women in sport.

"Last year I started a club to promote women’s cycling. I started it in Paris, to put girls on the top and to try and help them. Everything I do on the bike is to help promote women’s cycling.

"Last year I did the route of the first women’s Tour de France before the pros did it - but I did all the transfers on the bike - and did it in three days."

The pursuit of the extreme - coupled with the ambition to promote women in sport - will drive Fanny to hit her goals on this journey. So will another of her abiding passions: "I love the Tour de France," Fanny explains. "It’s my favorite race. To do the first one is important for me, and it’s the best way to honor the race.

"I want to do it as a performance race, so I want to be very close to the original podium. The three winners did it in under 100 hours so I want to do that – or less."