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Key occasions
98km to go: Coston is caught and Uno-X Mobility’s Linda Zanetti shoots off. She’s managed to open up a spot of 15secs.
108km to go: Inexperienced jersey chief Lorena Wiebes has a go at getting away, and heading in direction of the intermediate dash with out the remainder of the peloton, however is caught shortly with three different riders that had gone along with her.
Not lengthy after, French champion Marie Le Internet (FDJ-Suez) is one in all 10 riders who assault. Once more no luck. Morgane Coston (Roland Le Dévoluy) goes solo and manages a slender hole of 10secs on the bunch.
Biking Weekly have an awesome piece asking the Tour de France Femmes questions all of us marvel about however don’t wish to ask – or because the publication places it ‘dumb questions’, though I don’t suppose they’re. It is a nice instance: columnist Marley Blonsky requested Veronica Ewers, a professional bike owner for EF Training-Oatly, how riders pee throughout the race. Ewers defined:
I personally am afraid of going pee throughout a race as a result of, for us ladies, it’s just a little bit harder … We’ve got to type of absolutely unclothe to go to the toilet, which takes a bit extra time.
If I wanted to pee, I’d say it within the radio to my staff: ‘Hey, I have to pee. Does anybody else have to?’. As a result of it’s higher to cease with different folks to be able to work collectively to get again to the peloton.
In longer races, often you’ll hear anyone within the peloton yell ‘pee cease’, after which half the bunch stops for a pee. That’s typically the way it goes. We’ve got to be sure that we’re out of cities a great quantity to do this, only for public decency, which I can undoubtedly perceive.
155km to go: Regardless of a flurry of early assaults, the 133 riders are collectively and heading out of Clermont-Ferrand on flat roads. At 30km in, there will likely be an intermediate dash with factors on supply for the inexperienced jersey classification.
Should you’re into the Tour de France Femmes fantasty staff picks, you is perhaps to know that probably the most chosen riders for at the moment’s stage win are Demi Vollering, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Katarzyna Niewiadoma.
The racing has begun!
122km to go: And we’re off! The riders set off because the race flag is dropped and the assaults come quickly.
Valentina Cavallar and Mie Bjørndal Ottestad withdraw from the race
Arkéa-B&B Accommodations have introduced that their rider Valentina Cavallar won’t begin stage six of the Tour de France Femmes resulting from sickness. Moreover, Uno X-Mobility stated Mie Bjørndal Ottestad wouldn’t be beginning at the moment. That signifies that Uno X-Mobility now solely have three riders left within the race: Susanne Andersen, Linda Zanetti and Teuntje Beekhuis.
At present’s rollout has begun
Stage six of the Tour de France Femmes 2025 is below manner. The peloton have rolled out from Clermont-Ferrand. There’s a 9.7 km neutralised part earlier than the racing begins.
Right here is the route profile of stage six:
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Martin Pegan
Sarah Gigante has an infectious vitality that shines by whether or not she is saluting after blowing away her rivals on the hardest of mountain phases, or celebrating each day as a lot as her successes on social media. The Australian bike owner even retains her smile beaming whereas reflecting on a current well being concern that threatened to deliver her promising profession to a standstill. However hidden simply beneath the floor is a killer intuition to “make others damage”, in addition to a steely dedication to beat challenges on and off the bike which have helped elevate Gigante into the biking type of her life.
The 24-year-old continues to be coming to phrases with the fun and satisfaction taken from ending on the rostrum on the Giro d’Italia Donne when she was third general behind winner Elisa Longo Borghini. Gigante completed 1min 11sec behind the Italian dwelling favorite and defending champion, with Switzerland’s Marien Reusser in between, however claimed a pair of spectacular stage wins when soloing away on mountain-top finishes and cemented her place as the most effective climber within the race with the Queen of the Mountains jersey.
In case you missed this yesterday, right here is Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) engaged on her spectacular soccer expertise earlier than stage 5:
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And who’s sporting which jersey:
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Yellow jersey – Kim Le Court docket Pienaar (AG Insurance coverage-Soudal), 15hrs 7mins 14secs
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Inexperienced jersey – Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), 208pts
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Polka dot jersey – Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez), 11pts
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White jersey – Julie Bego (Cofidis), 15hrs 9mins 24secs
Right here’s a reminder of the high ten on GC after stage 5:
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Kim Le Court docket Pienaar (AG Insurance coverage-Soudal), 15hrs 7mins 14secs
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Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), +18secs
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Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), +23secs
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Katarzyna Niewiadoma Phinney (Canyon/SRAM), +24secs
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Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx Protime), +27secs
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Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), +37secs
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Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck), +45secs
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Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance coverage-Soudal), +55secs
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Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), +1min 4secs
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Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Training-Oatly), +1min 16secs
Stage six: Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert, 124km
Right here’s a have a look at at the moment’s stage, Thursday 31 July: Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert, 123.7km, with the race director of the Tour de France Femmes, Marion Rousse:
The stage, which begins within the large Place de Jaude within the coronary heart of Clermont-Ferrand, will likely be run solely within the division of Puy-de-Dôme. Starting on pretty flat roads, it’ll head to Courpière, the place issues will get severe. The ascent of the Col du Béal (10.2km at 5.6%) will likely be shortly adopted by these of the Col de Chansert (6.3km at 5.5%) and the Côte de Valcivieres. Working by a wild panorama of volcanic rock, there will likely be no respite in any respect on the highway to Ambert.
Preamble
The mountains are calling. At present’s 123.7km stage will take the riders in direction of the terrain of the Central Massif, with 4 categorised climbs and about 2,350m of ascent on the menu. There are two class three climbs, one class two and one class one, all inside a 60km stretch earlier than a end in Ambert.
Whereas the stage will begin on quick, flat roads out of Clermont-Ferrand, the peloton might want to discover their climbing legs pronto. That is one in all three mountain phases of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift this 12 months, with the opposite two developing this weekend.
So, who will likely be victorious at the moment? The GC contenders will certainly need a piece of the motion. Winner of yesterday’s stage and within the yellow jersey, Kim Le Court docket Pienaar (AG Insurance coverage-Soudal) is trying sturdy, however Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck) are additionally ones to control. As is defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto), who excels on this type of parcours. Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) received’t wish to miss out both.
As at all times, I’d love to listen to your ideas on at the moment’s stage and the Tour de France Femmes on the whole. You’ll be able to drop me an e mail through the hyperlink on the high of the web page.
Earlier than at the moment’s stage begins at 2pm CET/1pm BST, right here’s a abstract of yesterday’s motion: