All photos by Justin Britton
Of the 21 stages of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift that had been ridden prior to yesterday's stage, 13 of them had been won by Dutch riders. A staggering return, on paper, though not all that surprising when you at the names themselves – Annemiek van Vleuten, Marianne Vos, and Demi Vollering with two stages each; Lorena Wiebes with three. Outside of the Netherlands, the spoils were shared between five other nations, with the Danish, Swiss and Germans winning two stages apiece and yesterday, Hungary adding their name to the list.
In terms of nationalities, ‘French’ was conspicuous by its absence. In the men’s race this year, the French proved that they are still here, still competitive, and that the future is bright for the country, with many prospects on the horizon. Yesterday at the Tour de France Femmes, one woman soloed to an assured victory and with it, the reassurance that the future of French women’s cycling is also in safe hands.
The future is bright for the Tour de France Femmes as a race, too. On the day the race enjoyed its first French winner, on its first full day on French soil, it was announced by Kate Veronneau, the head of women’s strategy at Zwift, that the virtual indoor cycling app had signed a deal to continue as headline sponsor of the race through 2026, to make it up to five years of sponsorship – she intimated that they were in talks to extend the partnership beyond that, too.
The race goes from strength to strength: with fans lining the roadside daily, the appetite for women’s cycling growing rapidly around the world, and with the race already providing drama, celebration and plenty of twists and turns in a finely poised narrative ahead of the weekend, there’s a real sense of optimism in the air, when it comes to the women’s side of the sport. It really does seem to be in the best shape it’s ever been. And we still have the showpiece of Alpe d’Huez on Sunday. Exciting times! On with the review of the day…
Stage 6: in review
While debate raged on over the perceived failure of Team SD Worx-ProTime to rally around their fallen leader in the closing stages of the previous day, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) rolled out ready for the day, resplendent in yellow, and with the race heading onto higher ground ahead of a huge weekend of high mountains, there was a palpable sense that anything could happen on this stage, and with so many animators and GC hopefuls, and everything to play for in all of the special jersey competitions, there was never likely to be a dull moment on stage 6.
And so it proved. When we dropped into the live broadcast, 70km of the almost 160km to go remained, and we discovered a strong breakaway two minutes up the road, tackling the Col de Ferriere climb. After a series of days with lone leaders, today was finally the day for a big, powerful breakaway, and contained within it were a number of riders with different goals – Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease A Bike), riding to secure intermediate sprint points to extend her total in the green jersey competition, with Fem van Empel in support and Franziska Koch of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL trying to thwart her in defence of her teammate, Charlotte Kool. Niamh Fisher-Black and Christine Majerus for SD Worx, riding to allow their leader, Demi Vollering, the chance to sit back in the bunch and allow herself to recover following the previous day’s crash. Justine Ghekiere for AG Insurance-Soudal on the hunt for QOM points. And plenty more riders simply on the hunt for a stage victory, including some big hitters – Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ), Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek), and Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Human Powered Health) among others.
It was a beautiful snapshot of a stage race, the patchwork of competing goals all represented in the leading group, but as the climbing increased in intensity, not all of them could remain up front.
Vos went on the hunt for points at the intermediate sprint and she was successful, adding 25 points to her total despite the efforts of Koch to defend for Kool. Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility) came through in second.
Ghekiere took the QOM points on the 5.7km ascent of the Côte de Laviron, making good on her set goal for the day, while at the back of the bunch Kool was distanced, but brought back to the group by Rachele Barbieri, though she would later struggle to stay with the bunch once more.
The gap was down to 1:20 as they hit the most challenging climb of the day, the category 2 La Roche du Prêtre, and with 5.5km to cover the breakaway’s day as a cohesive unit was over, as Fisher-Black attacked from the breakaway, with Brown, Gutierrez, and Ghekiere, following, while FDJ-SUEZ took the reins back in the bunch, and on the closing stages of the ascent, the pace setting of the French side saw the gap reduce to under a minute, with the remains of break swept up, and Fisher-Black attacked again, a last chance saloon effort to retrieve something from the stage, with Ghekiere behind, valiantly seeking the QOM points which she missed out on to the New Zealander, and it seemed like it would be the end of her day, as Brown caught up to Fisher-Black, but Ghekiere showed her mettle, powering back to the pair once again in a truly gritty display.
One final climb remained, and with the breakaway tantalisingly close, the stage win was there for the taking. Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) struck first, drawing out Silke Smulders (Liv-AlUla Jayco) and Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling), forcing the yellow jersey of Kasia Niewiadoma to give chase. The attack was neutralised, and next to go was Fenix-Deceuninck’s Pauliene Rooijakkers – a move that saw her catch the breakaway duo, but the reduced chasing group were able to do the same right after, allowing Puck Pieterse to attack at the top of the final climb to add some points to her QOM tally – it would not be enough for her to retain the jersey though, after a full day of effort from Justine Ghekiere.
Over the top of the climb, Kerbaol kicked away, with Rooijakkers following. Though Labous tried to attack on the descent, Kerbaol’s move was timed to perfection, and she moved clear of Rooijakkers on the descent with a stunning display of downhill prowess, opening a half a minute lead. Meanwhile Vos powered her way back onto the bunch, a hugely impressive performance that would enable her to be in the mix for points at the finish, ahead of her green jersey rivals.
Kerbaol continued to extend her lead, in what was an incredibly assured performance; the type of bold and well-executed ride that speaks to a rider confident in her own abilities and convinced of her place at the very top of the sport – where she has proven she absolutely belongs.
Kerbaol, or 'Kerboom' according to her teammates, secured the stage victory, becoming the first French woman to achieve the feat in 22 attempts, and at just 23, cements herself as a major GC hope not just for this edition of the race, for which she now must be considered a very real threat to the likes of Niewiadoma and Vollering, but for many years to come.
Vos came through in second, her hard work vindicated, as she claimed the green jersey. Niewiadoma retained yellow, and Puck Pieterse will revert to the white jersey tomorrow, with Justine Ghekiere taking control of the polka dots.
PREVIEW: Stage 7 – Saturday 17 August – Champangole – Le Grand-Bornand (166.4km, Mountain)
The longest stage of this year’s race and the toughest so far in terms of climbing, where stages 5 and 6 drew out the best of this year’s GC riders, stage 7 will really prove who is up to the task of contending for the maillot jaune. Gaps will open up on the 12km long Col de la Croix de la Serra, the first category 1 rated climb of the race so far, and the group will likely reduce to a small bunch of GC riders. From there, four more categorised climbs will test the legs of the riders including a double category 2 test and summit finish, the Montée du Chinaillon. By the end of this stage, we will have a clear picture of who will be strong enough to win this race, and who may not have the legs after all.
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