Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) is the incumbent in yellow, but she is realistic about her chances of maintaining her hold on the overall lead in the two upcoming mountain days. A performance of the calibre to win isn’t beyond her historically, she’s won the Giro Donne overall on three occasions, each of those editions that included the very long climbs that the Italian race is known for.
Vos isn’t quite up to those mountain-conquering feats in recent years and she rejected it out of hand when asked how confident she was and hanging on to the yellow jersey.
“Not,” laughed Vos. “It’s going to very hard, of course it’s nice to be in yellow. The lead-up to this final weekend has been stages that suit me.
“We’ve worked hard to those stages and it’s worked really well. Of course, tomorrow, different riders will be up front. We’ll do what we can, but it’s a different kind of race.”
“It’s an amazing week so far, I can’t say elsewise. Two stage victories and going into the final weekend with yellow, it has been great."
With the stage win, Vos now has a sizeable advantage in the battle for the green sprinter’s jersey, and while it’s still mathematically possible, it’s going to be very unlikely that pure sprinter Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) can make up the 76 point necessary to topple Vos.
“It’s not sure,” said Vos, “but with today’s points it’s nice to go into the final weekend with this advantage.”
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) sits equal second overall, 30 seconds behind Vos, but her recent climbing performances see her top of the general classification candidates. Stage 7 to Le Markstein, and in particular the ascent of the Col du Petit Ballon are the key points for Niewiadoma in what shapes as a very hard route.
“It will be interesting to see how riders will switch from this very aggressive and intense style of racing into a longer effort race,” said Niewiadoma. “We have reconned the stage (Stage 7), I think the first climb is one of the hardest.
“I’d like to finish the top of that climb with the front group and then maybe do something on the descent so that I have a little gap, that would be the ideal scenario for me. Then just try to hang on for dear life!”
Niewiadoma recognised rival Annemiek van Vleuten’s dominance at the top level of cycling in the climbs, but questioned whether she has the current form to win.
“Of course, Annemiek, she’s the biggest threat I would say as we all know what a good climber she is,” said Niewiadoma. “She hasn’t been very visible so far, so I’m keen to see how she’ll go tomorrow.”
“Of course, also SD-Worx, with Demi (Vollering) and Ashley (Moolman-Pasio), and individuals like Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) and Cecilie (Uttrup Ludwig, FDJ Suez Futuroscope)."
Van Vleuten herself looked back in good spirits post Stage 6, after struggling through the earlier stages of the race, being dropped on a few occasions and suffering through a stomach bug that saw her require a mid-race nature break during Stage 2.
“Good, said van Vleuten, smiling. “That second day, I think that I’ve never had such a shitty day on the bike. I was super sick.
“The third day I was pretty well recovered but then you pay the price for being totally empty when you can’t eat anything. I was quite lucky with those easier days so I could get a full recovery and then go full gas tomorrow.”
Van Vleuten has done the full reconnaissance of the remaining two stages, even battling her own team management to ensure that they got a full look at tomorrow’s potentially decisive course.
“At first my DS didn’t want to do the first one,” said van Vleuten, “but I said yes because it’s a crucial day, perhaps even more crucial than the last one. It’s super hard but I love it.
“3,000 metres of elevation in 120 kilometres, so it’s quite solid. I think it’s a good balance in this Tour, and after surviving all these stages, I’m happy to see how the legs are tomorrow.”
Van Vleuten wasn’t quite able to follow a few of the late surges during the early days, and now sits eighth overall on the general classification, a minute and 28 seconds behind Vos, and also conceding nearly a minute to major rivals Niewiadoma and Longo Borghini. The Dutch rider said she needs to find a moment to attack and take back time.
“If there’s a moment tomorrow I will go for it as I’m a bit behind in the GC,” said van Vleuten. “It’s not ideal, but it’s not a disaster hopefully if I’m good. For sure I need to attack… somewhere.”
The Tour de France Femmes continues with the first of two big mountain stages to finish the race, with the 13-kilometre climb of the Grand Ballon summiting with just seven kilometres remaining in the stage. Watch from 11.20pm AEST on the SBS SKODA Tour Tracker or from 11.25pm AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand.
