Laurent Fignon<\/a> may be watching from heaven, nodding his head. He lost the 1989 Tour de France to American Greg LeMond, and there were rumours the French star sometimes counted to eight slowly. years later. (1 one thousand, 2 one thousand\u2026)<\/p>\n Anyway, back to the present, and the Tour de France Femmes<\/p>\n A not so nice day in Nice<\/p>\n The final stage takes the race back to Nice for a short, punchy 99-km finale that should have plenty of fireworks before the riders reach the Promenade des Anglais.<\/p>\n The route is familiar territory for fans of Paris-Nice, with the Col d\u2019\u00c8ze playing the starring role. Riders will tackle the climb three times from the Nice side, with each ascent measuring about 7.7 km at 5.9 per cent.<\/p>\n But the final loop is where things get serious.<\/p>\n The Col d\u2019\u00c8ze<\/p>\n Before taking on the Col d\u2019\u00c8ze from its other side, the riders face the brutally steep Chemin du Vinaigrier, where the road kicks up to 16 per cent.<\/p>\n The climb is six kilometres at an average of 7.6 per cent, making it shorter and steeper than the earlier ascents.<\/p>\n Then comes the descent into Nice.<\/p>\n For Vollering and Niewiadoma, the Col d\u2019\u00c8ze is where the Tour could be won or lost. With only eight seconds between them, there isn\u2019t much room for waiting around. Any rider with hopes of moving up the GC will have to be willing to take a chance.<\/p>\n And with the stage only 99 km long, expect the racing to be fast from the start.<\/p>\n The riders will finish on the Promenade des Anglais, where the Tour de France Femmes\u2019 final podium will be set up. After nine days of racing, we\u2019ll finally find out who gets to wear yellow in Nice.<\/p>\n Vollering took back the yellow jersey on Saturday with a brilliant move on the final kicker, holding off Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini to win by 17 seconds.<\/p>\n A proper battle to the end?<\/p>\n Niewiadoma took issue with a move by Vollering\u2019s French teammate C\u00e9lia Gery, saying she pushed her into the barriers and made her have to stop pedalling, but depending on the angle\u2013the street shots, versus the helicopter, it\u2019s hard to say.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost all respect for them\u201d Niewiadoma says after losing yellow<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Either way, the Pole was definitely hurting when she got popped on the climb and then didn\u2019t have much left in the tank to help her Italian partner in the chase. Niewiadoma did have an incredible ride the day before, winning Mont Ventoux, so maybe she was cooked? Either way, there\u2019s no room for error\u2013or fatigue\u2013in today\u2019s final stage.<\/p>\n
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