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- La Course by Le Tour de France: Marianne Vos and Rabo Liv Team.
- See also: Tour de France LIVE

- There are 20 teams entered in the La Course by Le Tour de France, a race for the women that will be held in Paris on the final day of the men's Tour de France.  There are 20 stages in the TDF before the final day.  So each day of the men's TDF leading up to Paris, we will feature one women's team and rider for La Course.

- This page originally published July 14, 2014.

- July 27, 2014 update: Marianne Vos won the 2014 La Course by Le Tour de France, the inaugural edition of the race.

Marianne Vos
Rabo Liv http://www.raboliv.com/
Twitter: @marianne_vos Fulltime-hobby-cyclist
Strengths on the bike: I am quite all-round and can do well in sprint stages but also in hilly stages. Time trialing is not my strongest point, although it gets better and better and I love the team time trial, which is also a big goal for our team in the upcoming year in the World Championship.
Age: 27
Nickname: Fox/Voske
Website: mariannevosofficial.com

In 2006 when Marianne Vos won two world championships in her first year as a professional, fans of the sport knew she’d leave her mark on cycling history. Since then the Dutch sensation has become the planet’s best female cyclist twelve times in the combined disciplines of road, track, and cyclocross. She has taken top honors overall in stage and one day races like the Giro d’Italia Femminile and Flèche Wallonne. A two-time Olympian, she has brought home track and road race gold medals. And still she seeks more: a world team time trial title and a voyage from Germany’s Black Forest to Rome – yes, on a bike. “Fox” supports riding clean as an ambassador for Bike Pure and the Dutch 100% Dope Free organization. She is a member of the UCI Athletes’ Commission.

As one of the founders of Le Tour Entier Vos helped make La Course a reality by petitioning for a women’s Tour de France. Now the current world champion looks forward “to show women’s cycling to the whole world and how attractive the races can be. It is already a big accomplishment that we have a race like La Course, now it is up to us to show what we can,” Vos says. “It will be incredible to ride over the Champs Élysées with all those spectators, can't wait to race there.”

Presently Rabo Liv ranks first in the UCI’s road team standings. Sports director Koos Moerenhout runs a squad of eleven riders containing three national champions. The team swept the national road podium on its home soil with Iris Slappendel taking the Dutch title. Annemiek van Vleuten is the new Dutch time trial champion. Pauline Ferrand Prevot doubled-up in the French national road and time trial competitions. Co-title sponsor with Rabobank, Liv/giant provides a line of cycling equipment designed for women.

Self-description in three words: passionate, driven and stubborn
Favorite activities off the bike: Reading a book
Gluten-free or pasta lover? Definitely pasta lover
What’s on my iPod: Goo Goo Dolls - Iris, K's Choice - Not an addict
What’s on my bucket list: To cycle from the black wood in Germany to Rome, Italy
Cycling career goals: To get the best out of myself and help developing our team further, and of course I am thinking of Rio now.
Post pro cycling plans: To make cycling more accessible for women so we develop women’s cycling and give all those women (of all levels) a stage to live out their dreams.

https://www.facebook.com/MarianneVosOfficial
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http://www.youtube.com/MarianneVosOfficial
http://www.strava.com/pros/mariannevosofficial

by Mary Topping
(photo courtesy Rabo Liv Team)