Bike racing — men’s or women’s — comes with plenty of sass off the bike, especially when the riders get fatigued. We saw that in the Tour de France Fellas (ASO, message me — catchy name, right?) and in the Femmes.
Anyway, Demi Vollering says FDJ–Suez executed their strategy flawlessly during Stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes, forcing rival AG Insurance–Soudal to expend all their domestiques.
“Our plan was to send riders up the road early to put pressure on the other teams,” Vollering told reporters after the stage. “That worked perfectly — we could conserve energy while AG Insurance lost all their support riders.”
Elise Chabbey and Amber Kraak featured in the breakaway, allowing FDJ–Suez to control the race without chasing. On the penultimate climb, Vollering said AG Insurance had to put Sarah Gigante on the front, exactly as FDJ–Suez intended. “But they couldn’t keep the pace high enough to hold back UAE’s Maeva Squiban, so eventually we took over the tempo.”
Squiban pulled off a stunning 32-km solo victory, taking the win.
Later, Juliette Labous attacked from the leading group. “If the other GC contenders responded, we could make a move. If not, Labous might stay away. It was a smart gamble, and she secured a strong second place,” Vollering said.
FDJ–Suez directeur sportif Lars Boom added that the real test is still ahead. “The steep Alpine climbs everyone fears are coming next. Today showed how hard it already is, but we kept fresh while others burned out. That sets us up well for the weekend’s decisive stages.”
Anyway, tomorrow is another brutal stage. You can watch it on FloBikes. But if you’re busy at work, just click back at Canadian Cycling Magazine and a report and photos. The next few days are legit going to be pretty great! Allez les femmes!