It wasn’t an ideal time trial for Pauline Ferrand-Prévot on Tuesday. Still, the defending Tour de France Femmes champ remained upbeat despite losing a substantial bit ground at the 21-km individual time trial in Dijon. She finished 34th in the contre le montre, 2:13 behind world TT champ Marlen Reusser.
Her Canadian teammate, Victoria’s Sarah Van Dam had a solid ride, finishing 26th. Oro-Medonte Ont.’s Isabella Holmgren of Lidl Trek was 31st and climbed the rankings. She now sits 12th and top Canuck at the TdFF.
PFP and her TdFF
The French rider conceded time to her GC rivals, but says the race is far from over.“I did my absolute best,” Ferrand-Prévot said. “We prepared in the best possible way, so that certainly wasn’t the issue.”
The Tour favourite said she and her team would review the results before turning their attention to the remaining stages.
“Tonight we’ll assess the time gaps at the hotel and make a plan for the coming days,” she said. “I still have a lot of confidence in the rest of the Tour and in my team.”
What’s next at the Tour de France Femmes
There are plenty of tough days ahead in which the multiple world champion could make up some time, and then some. On Friday, Stage 7 finishes for the first time for the women on the legendary Mont Ventoux. That brutal climb is 21.5 km with an average gradient of 7.5 per cent, but there are sections where it can be 10-12. The last kilometre is 10 per cent, but the final 6 km are totally exposed wind–or heat can make it even tougher.
Before they go up that doozy, there’s a few tricky stages on Wednesday and Thursday to tenderize the legs of the women’s field a bit more. Stage 5 is definitely quite lumpy, but Stage 6 has five categorized climbs, but no summit finish, unlike Friday’s race.