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110km to go: The flag has dropped and racing is under way on this Tour\u2019s queen stage! Let\u2019s see what the riders have in store for us.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney has a mechanical. The defending champion stops to change her front wheel 1km from the end of the neutralised sector.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Today\u2019s rollout has begun<\/p>\n Stage eight of the Tour de France Femmes 2025 is under way. The peloton have rolled out from Chamb\u00e9ry. There\u2019s a 4.8km neutralised section before the racing begins.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n For the second day in the row, Ma\u00ebva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) is on the front page of L\u2019\u00c9quipe:<\/p>\n Allow Instagram content?<\/p>\n This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n She also delightedly shared a congratulatory message from the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on social media. In it, he said:<\/p>\n Deux victoires cons\u00e9cutives sur le Tour de France pour Ma\u00ebva Squiban ! Bravo pour cette performance exceptionnelle qui fait rayonner le cyclisme fran\u00e7ais. Le pays est derri\u00e8re vous !<\/p>\n According to a quick Google Translate, this means:<\/p>\n Two consecutive Tour de France victories for Ma\u00ebva Squiban! Congratulations on this exceptional performance that shines a spotlight on French cycling. The country is behind you!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n And who\u2019s wearing which jersey:<\/p>\n Yellow jersey: Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), 22hrs 28mins 31secs<\/p>\n Green jersey: Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), 208pts<\/p>\n Polka dot jersey: Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez), 29pts<\/p>\n White jersey: Nienke Vinke (Picnic-PostNL), 22hrs 37mins 46secs<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a reminder of the top ten on GC after stage seven:<\/p>\n Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), 22hrs 28mins 31secs<\/p>\n Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot (Visma-Lease a Bike), +26secs<\/p>\n Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon\/SRAM), +30secs<\/p>\n Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), +31secs<\/p>\n Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx Protime), +35secs<\/p>\n Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck), +1min 4secs<\/p>\n C\u00e9drine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly), +1min 9secs<\/p>\n Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), +1min 14secs<\/p>\n \u00c9vita Muzic (FDJ-Suez), +1min 35secs<\/p>\n Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez), +1min 35secs<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here is the route profile of stage eight of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift:<\/p>\n Allow Instagram content?<\/p>\n This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Stage eight: Chamb\u00e9ry to Saint Fran\u00e7ois Longchamp \u2013 Col de la Madeleine, 112km<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at today\u2019s stage, Saturday 2 August: Chamb\u00e9ry to Saint Fran\u00e7ois Longchamp \u2013 Col de la Madeleine, 111.9km, with the race director of the Tour de France Femmes<\/a>, Marion Rousse:<\/p>\n There\u2019ll be no respite on what\u2019s the queen stage of the 2025 edition. It will head into the Bauges massif straight away, with the first major difficulty coming on the way out of Chamb\u00e9ry in the form of the Col de Plainpalais (13.2km at 6.3%). After crossing the less demanding Col du Fr\u00eane, the race will reach the Maurienne and tackle the toughest flank of the Madeleine. Extending to 18.6km, with regular changes in gradient (averaging 8.1%) and a rough surface, this climb will provide plenty of opportunities to create gaps.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Stage eight of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is the queen\u2019s stage \u2013 regarded as the most challenging mountain stage of a multi-day race. It often featurs the highest climbs and most significant elevation gain. Today, the peloton will ride 111.9km from Chamb\u00e9ry to Saint Fran\u00e7ois Longchamp \u2013 Col de la Madeleine, taking in more than 3,500 meters of climbing, making it a brutal day out. The first ascent of the day will come at 13km, with the category one Col de Plainpalais (13.2km at 6.3%). The sharp C\u00f4te de Saint-Georges-d\u2019Hurti\u00e8res comes duing the second half of racing, and then it\u2019s all go towards the finish at the summit of the imposing Col de la Madeleine (18.6 km at 8.1%, rising to over 2,000m above sea level).<\/p>\n It\u2019s the penultimate day of the Tour, so any GC contenders who want to make their mark will surely have plans for this decisive stage. While Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) hung on to the yellow jersey yesterday after being dropped on the final climb, she\u2019ll face stiff competition from Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon\/SRAM), Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx Protime) who are all biting at her heels (none are further than 35secs behind the maillot jaune). Le Court Pienaar\u2019s teammate and powerful climber Sarah Gigante might fancy the stage win and the Mauritian rider spoke effusively yesterday about her colleague\u2019s strength coming into this mountain stage.<\/p>\n Ma\u00ebva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) made it two victories in a row yesterday, so I\u2019m excited to see what she\u2019s got in store today. Shirin van Anrooij and Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez), Silke Smulders and Mavi Garc\u00eda (Liv Alula Jayco) are worth keeping an eye on in terms of a potential breakaway.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s action will kick off at 1.45pm CET\/12.45pm BST. Here is Jeremy Whittle<\/a>\u2019s stage seven race report from Chamb\u00e9ry:<\/p>\n