The" pappy "of the Ronde is Pierre Morel a small businessman and great cycling fan who boasts among his circle of friends one Jean-Marie Leblanc ' director of the Tour de France .
Every year the Ronde has grown in strength,
from attracting regional teams to national teams and now international
.
The bureaux has composed of local police
chiefs , bureaucrats and enthusiasts .
As the race became more popular so the
weight of responsibility fell heavier on the shoulders of those in the
command .
In 1998 a decision was made to turn the
race into an Espoirs race making it the foremost international Espoirs
stage race in France. (This was mainly a reaction to the trend for ex pro
racers to take an amateur licence for a year tour the races ,winning, then
returning to a more lucrative contract as a pro again)
The requests for entries that year was
heavy.The committee which is built of volunteers found the work load increase
to become too heavy and In 1999 there was a change of leadership .
For the year 2000 there is a strong and
committed team working hard .The race details
and team selection are published
in April and the results will
appear on this site in the evening after each stage .