The individual time trial is done and dusted, so now, the Tour de France Femmes heads into a tough day at the office on Wednesday.

The 140-km route from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais has eight categorized climbs in it, with around 2,900 metres of elevation. It’s going to be a race that offers few chances to recover. There are still tougher days to come, but Stage 5 will definitely be a doozy for the women’s peloton.

Stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes

The climbing starts almost immediately with the Côte de Cenves, a long nine-kilometre ascent averaging 4.4 per cent. From there, the riders will tackle a series of rolling roads and short but taxing climbs through the vineyards of the Beaujolais region, including the Col de la Croix de l’Orme, Col de Fontmartin and Col de Gerbet.

Although the middle section briefly relaxes, the race ramps up again in the final 35 km. The Col de Durbize softens the legs before the decisive climb of Mont Brouilly, a punchy 3.2-km ascent averaging 7.3 per cent. With its summit only 11.5 km from the finish, the climb is the ideal launch pad for attacks before a fast run into Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

PFP to make a move?

The stage could have a major impact on the overall standings. New race leader Marlen Reusser will be looking to defend yellow after her time trial victory. Climbers including Demi Vollering and Katarzyna Niewiadoma will definitely be in the mix. Puck Pieterse and Kim Le Court can also make back the time they lost in the TT.

But what about defending champ Pauline Ferrand-Prévot? She did not have a particularly great time trial, losing over two minutes. Maybe Stage 5 is Day 1 of her ClawBack Journey™? Lidl-Trek’s Isabella Holmgren had a solid TT and now sits 12th overall, and she’s proven she fits in with the world’s best climbers. Visma-Lease a Bike’s Sarah Van Dam has also shown she has some climbing legs at the recent Tour de Suisse. The same goes for Nadia Gontova–who showed off her spiffy new national TT skinsuit on Tuesday.

It’s supposed to be pretty hot, too. So those climbs will be even tougher. Flobikes.com begins its broadcast at 9:45 a.m. EDT, and be sure to check back on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report.

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