Key events
70km to go: We leave Vannes behind and enter the countryside with a gap of 10 seconds to the peloton, Tomasi joined by Maud Rijnbeek.
Gary Naylor gets in touch, referencing today’s hommes stage but the point stands for les femmes, too, if you will forgive the Franglais.
“The Tour used to have long (250km+) stages that the riders voluntarily neutralised for the first 100km and it didn’t matter because the TV coverage only started at 3pm. But with cameras on from Flag to Fin, it wasn’t a good look, so the stages were shortened and the action was non-stop.
“Except human beings are not performing fleas. The effort catches up with them. So we’re back with voluntarily neutralised whole stages (more or less) and – wouldn’t you know it – it’s not a good look for TV. Three big mountain stages, three hilly stages, three rolling stages, a prologue, an ITT, a TTT and the rest for the sprinters and breakaways, please.”
Last year’s Femmes race was full of variety and intrigue. Let’s hope for more of the same. Gary’s right in that not every day can be Paris-Roubaix or L’Alpe D’Huez, even if we hope so. I’m looking forward to the worlds in Rwanda. Doing some research – OK, lazy internetting – it looks daunting. For both men and women.
Away we go in Vannes
77km to go: After that slight delay, the Breton roads beckon. Notable people from Vannes include Yann Kermogant, the taker of this penalty. The breakaways begin, and off goes Laura Tomasi, the Italian. Big crowds on the road.
Well, the big news is that there’s been a crash in the neutral start, riders smashing off the road furniture, bollards sending bikes all over the show. The race will wait for those who already need a new bike. Juliette Labous is among them and needs a new helmet. The 154 riders approach the start in Vannes, and the start will be standing one rather than a rolling one.
Jeremy Whittle previews the nine days ahead on the Tour de France Femmes.
The pair have other rivals, with Marlen Reusser, winner of the Tour of Switzerland and second in the Giro d’Italia, and Elisa Longo Borghini, winner of the women’s Giro, leading the way. Others capable of mounting a serious challenge include the Australian climber Sarah Gigante, France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, winner of the women’s Paris-Roubaix, and Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands, third in the women’s Vuelta and Vollering’s former sports director.
Australia has a real hope in Sarah Gigante.
Preamble
Last year’s race was an all-time classic, going to four seconds on Alpe D’Huez in moments of almost indescribable drama. This year’s model has a lot to live up to, but the main protagonists, as Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma do battle once more. There’s a host of other contenders, too. First up, a short, punchy stage set for a tea-time finish.
Let’s quote the excellent Rouleur Magazine’s short profile of the stage.
The 79km route is short but far from easy. After rolling north through lumpy terrain, the peloton tackles the Côte de Botségalo before entering a finishing circuit in Plumelec, where the Côte de Cadoudal awaits them not once, but three times. This 1.7 km climb, averaging 6.2% with a steep final pitch, will decide the stage – and the first yellow jersey. It’s a day for the puncheurs, not the sprinters, and fireworks are all but guaranteed on the final ascent.