All eyes had been on yellow jersey wearer Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and race favourite Demi Vollering (SD Worx – Protime) as they ascended Le Grand-Bornand throughout the penultimate stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The stage featured a mountaintop end and loads of vertical metres in between however resulted in a stalemate among the many high contenders.
With 10 riders all inside 1:27 within the Basic Classification, the stage was poised for drama because the Tour reached the Alps. However between a breakout journey by stage winner Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance coverage—Soudal Workforce) and cautious driving by yellow jersey, the GC remained a lot the identical.
Vollering had ridden herself into the yellow after the Stage 3 time trial however slipped down the GC after an enormous crash in stage 5, when Niewiadoma seized the maillot jaune. Vollering entered the stage 1:19 down on the Polish rider, and lots of anticipated her to make use of the climb into Chinaillon to slim the hole.
Whereas she examined Niewiadoma with a couple of quick surges on the ultimate kilometres, the yellow jersey was fast to leap on her wheel. Vollering did handle to beat Niewiadoma to the road, gaining a couple of treasured bonus seconds and decreasing her deficit to 1:15 heading into the ultimate stage.
“I do not consider it was our accountability to shut the hole. We do not have the yellow jersey, in actual fact, we’re like ninth or tenth on the GC, so it is from our accountability,” commented Niamh Fisher, Vollering’s key domestique on the climbs.
“The plan was to see if Demi may make some distinction on the climb nevertheless it was a troublesome climb as a result of we’re speaking about slopes of 4 p.c so it is troublesome to get a niche.”
So now, it would all come all the way down to the Queen Stage, a monster mountain stage that can see the peloton sort out the Col du Glandon (19.7km at 7.2%) earlier than ending atop the long-lasting Alpe d’Huez (13.8km at 8.1%). Fisher admitted that maybe going into the final stage with a niche might be dangerous however expressed confidence within the staff’s means to reclaim the jersey.
“Tomorrow is a complete totally different taking part in floor,” she defined. “The Alpe d’Huez, and the Col du Glandon earlier than it, are so steep. I believe minutes will already be made on the Glandon. A minute-15 would not sound a lot to me if I take into consideration tomorrow.”
Because the second-best climber on the SD Worx-Protime staff, Fisher must keep on with Vollering for so long as she will and ship her to the bottom of the climbs if she will.
“It is a staff recreation, for positive,” Fisher mentioned. “[Canyon-SRAM) has a bunch of robust climbers to allow them to play some playing cards there. It is not going to be simple.”
