Le Tour Femmes Dispatch: Stage 5

 All images: Justin Britton

It seems impossible that we are already halfway through this year’s edition of Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and it probably didn’t feel that way to the riders as they lined up in Bastogne this morning preparing for a so-called ‘flat’ stage that packed more altitude gain into its 150+ kilometres than yesterday’s undulating Ardennes classics stage, knowing that the daunting high mountain stages still lie ahead. Though four stages are done, and four remained, the lion's share of the hard work still lay ahead.

As the peloton rolled out of Belgium heading for the race's homeland, we were once again left reliant on social media to follow the action, and once again, we joined the broadcast late. When did drop in, with around half the day’s distance still to cover, the peloton had already crossed two QOM climbs – won by Elena Pirrone (Roland) and current QOM Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) respectively – and, finally, we were in France. Actual France! It’s been a minute – the Olympics ended on Sunday and I don’t know about you, but I was already missing the place.

Once again, a lone leader laboured at the head of the race – where are the big breakaways, this year? Today’s valiant hopeful was Loes Adgeest, long-time leader of the stage 3 time trial, and the FDJ-SUEZ rider had around a minute over the bunch, who themselves were gearing up for the next climb, the Côte de Fermont. On said climb, UAE Team ADQ's Silvia Persico beat Pieterse to the final available point, Adegeest having picked up the two half a minute earlier.

The pace and undulation was starting to take its toll on the sprinters, with Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) losing touch at the back of the bunch, the possibility of a bunch sprint reducing under the strains of the tough parcours. With such an outcome looking less likely, other riders were emboldened to try their luck in the break, Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease A Bike) and Julie van der Velde Fenix-Deceuninck) setting off in pursuit of Adegeest. They were able to catch her to form a lead trio, and the break - and its chances of victory - began to strengthen. Meanwhile at the back of the race, UAE Team ADQ’s Erica Magnaldi slid out on a corner and had to stop for a second bike change after riding on teammates Mikayla Harvey’s too-large frame for a few kilometres as she waited for her team car to catch up.

The intermediate sprint followed, without Charlotte Kool, and though her teammate Rachele Barbieri managed to come third from the bunch that contested the sprint, it was Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-ProTime) who was able to benefit from the absence of her rival in the green jersey competition.

The breakaway trio were busy extending their gap, with a lone chaser, Maeve Squiban (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) trying to bridge across (she didn’t make it in the end), but as the kilometres ticked down, the peloton began to wind the breakaway back in. With one final climb to go, and 16.8km left on the clock, Movistar powered the bunch, in an effort to launch Emma Norsgaard, with Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT) in close order should anything kick off, as the non-sprinters’ teams attempted to shed the threat of Wiebes and Marianne Vos.

The breakaway made it over the climb with just 21 seconds, their slender advantage threatened by the encroaching peloton, and under the pressure at the front of the bunch there were casualties at the back, with a group that included Lidl-Trek’s GC leader Gaia Realini being distanced for a time.

With 12km to go, van de Velde pushed clear at the head of the race, but her breakaway companions reeled her back in – a year after she was cruelly deprived of a stage win by the bunch, it looked as though it would go the same way once again for the Belgian rider and her two Dutch colleagues, as Mischa Bredewold drove the pace in the chasing bunch on behalf of the twice-denied Wiebes.

With the tension high, a narrow bend caught out a number of riders, and unable to scrub off enough speed, a nightmare scenario unfolded for a few, a high-speed crash affecing a number of riders, including the yellow jersey, Demi Vollering - more than 3km from the finish, this spelt disaster for her GC campaign as she remounted her bike and off. For others, it was the end of the race, British champion Pfeiffer Georgi and EF-Oatly-Cannondale's Magdalena Vallieres Mill both appearing badly hurt.

It soured the end of the race, with Vollering riding alone heading to the finish over a minute and a half down, and the Canyon//SRAM team pushing on in pursuit of the lone remaining leader, Loes Adegeest, and of as much time on GC as they could muster. Vollering picked up a teammate in Bredewold, only to ride right past her in her urgency to minimise her losses - no teammate could help her out now, as she rode full gas to the finish.

At the front, with Adegeest caught, a small group drove clear, comprising just five riders – Norsgaard tried, then Kristen Faulkner launched, but it was Blanka Vas (Team SD Worx-ProTime), Liane Lippert (Movistar) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) who would fight it out for victory - the second three-up sprint in as many days, and in the end it was Vas who prevailed, making up for her Olympic road race disappointment with a Tour de France Femmes stage victory, a strong final sprint against a fading Lippert and a once again frustrated Niewiadoma. With Vas also displaying prowess on the cyclocross field and mountain-biking tracks, it was two wins from two for the off-roaders, and beyond the stage victory there was a big shake-up in the standings, with Niewiadoma taking the yellow jersey, a consolation perhaps for missing out on the stage win twice. She goes into stage 6 with a 1:19 advantage over Vollering, and as one of the strongest riders in the race, it’s a lead that’s going to be very hard for the Dutchwoman to overturn. It's all to play for though, the top five separated by less than a minute, and two of them - Kerbaol and Juliette Labous - flying the flag for France.

FEATURE: The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

One of the constant, predictable factors in the sport of pro cycling is how completely inconstant and unpredictable it is. For the riders, and for the fans, when you’re up, you’re on top of the world, but you can come down just as quickly, be it literally, or figuratively. Complacency has no place in this sport, and ambivalence lurks around every corner, as on the one hand you roar your favourite to victory while on the other, your heart breaks for the rider who misses out on the line, or crashes out of the race.

The conflicting emotions can be felt within the same team, all at once. There was joy and pain for Team SD Worx-ProTime today, as they celebrated a stunning stage victory for Blanka Vas, while suffering the disappointment of Demi Vollering’s crash and subsequent loss of time on the overall standings. So too for Team dsm-firmenish PostNL in the race so far, veering from wild celebrations as they won the first two stages, to the crushing blow of losing Pfeiffer Georgi to a horrible crash on stage 5. But Charlotte Kool still wears the green jersey, and for the rest of the team, the show must go on – a cruel reminder that however gutted the team may be to lose a member of the collective, there is little time for sentimentality in pro sport.

As for those on the up, Kasia Niewiadoma has a history of coming close but just missing out, and this has only been reinforced by her third and second places on the past two stages – but the joy of wearing the fabled maillot jaune was clear to see on her face as she took to the podium, and with the bit between her teeth, and a clear lead over her most dangerous rival, she will aim to keep fortune on her side in the coming days.

For the fans, we’ve been treated to two breath-taking stage finishes in a row, but the joy of seeing Vas claim such a huge win in her young career is marred by feelings of sadness and concern for the riders who we saw brought down, unable to move and clearly in a great deal of pain, and our thoughts will inevitably stray to them even as we may celebrate the victory of Vas or the yellow jersey of Niewiadoma.

Here’s hoping for a positive swing in the fortunes of all the riders tomorrow, or at the very least, that they stay safe, and the disappointments are reserved for simply ‘not winning’ rather than for something worse. As always, it's a sport of brinkmanship, of pushing the limits, and sometimes, of tasting the sweetness of victory, and whether you are a fan or a rider, it's all the more vital to savour those fleeting moments in the knowledge that they are so transient in nature.

PREVIEW: Stage 6 – Friday 16 August – Remirement – Morteau (122.5km, Hilly)

Believe it or not, stage 6 is the first of the race to take place entirely in France, and there’s no going back now, it’s time to climb. The GC battle will shift up a gear today ahead of a huge weekend in the mountains, as the race heads south into the Vosges region of north-eastern France, and there’s a whole lot of climbing to contend with, on a heavily backloaded profile that may see a strong break have a chance, depending on how the GC teams race. Given the circumstances, it’s likely we’ll see a big battle between the protagonists however, and with four categorised climbs on the menu heading towards the finish line, it will be game on as those who have managed to steer clear of mishaps, and those with the best legs, will hope to drive home their advantage ahead of a major weekend of high mountain action.

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