Lately, I’ve been freelancing for some other media outlets and haven’t had time to add much content to Velo Weekly. So, better late than never, here are a few shots from Tour de France Femmes …
Team PicNic Post NL warm up for stage 1 – a short, but fast, 78.8 leg through the hills of Bretagne won by Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike).
As the start of stage 2, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) turned her back on the media, but didn’t do so with her admiring fans. For many riders, stage 2 was a telling stage of where their form was – or was not.
Cool and collected as always, stage 3, as well as 4, belonged to Lorena Wiebes and her SD Worx-Protime team.
At the start of stage 4, many wondered if GC contender Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) would be able to continue after crashing hard in stage 3. The team bus logo said it all: “Tomorrow is decided today.”
Vollering made it through stage 4 with the help of her FDJ-SUEZ teammates, but it will forever remain uncertain how much her crash in stage 3 affected her final GC performance.
Stage 5: Kim LeCourt’s (AG Ins.- Soudal) surprised many with her determination and ability to hold the yellow jersey for 4 days.
Stage 6: A penny for your thoughts. Like many other teams, sport directors Ina-Yoko Teutenberg and Jeroen Blijlevens were very likely in a what-do-we-do-now position as expectations for their riders changed with the circumstances.
Stage 7: Team presentations are standard routines that most of the media skip. But one couldn’t help but notice the backdrop on this day that suggested riders would need more than good legs to get through the stage. In the end, only 20 riders finished within a minute of the winner, Maeva Squiban (UAE-Team ADQ).
Stage 8: Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) gave absolutely everything on the Col de la Madeleine, but still finished 3:03″ behind winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Leas a Bike) who turned in a phenomenal performance.
Stage 9: The fans who turned out for the grand finale were not disappointed by Pauline Ferrand-Prévot who took the stage victory and overall GC.
Stage 9: Unfortunately for some to win, some have to lose. Such was the case for Sarah Gigante (AG Ins./Soudal) who tumbled from 2nd to 6th on GC after this final stage.
Stage 9: Last year’s winner, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto) was more than happy to take the final spot on the podium. She’s the only rider, along with Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ), who has made the podium in every TdFF edition.
