Demi Vollering dropped from the provisional podium at Tour de France Femmes thanks to bonification seconds Katarzyna Niewiadoma gained today, but that doesn’t have to bother the FDJ – Suez leader. The most important news is that after her crash on stage 3, she is fully capable of riding with the best also on long climbs and therefore her GC bid is still alive.
The victory on stage 6 went to Maeva Squiban whose brave attack was rewarded with the biggest victory of her career. Further behind, FDJ were also able to play their game as Vollering’s teammate Juliette Labous secured a second place on the day with a late attack.
Vollering explained to media afterwards that the attacks of Labous and Elise Chabbey were a part of team strategy for today: “The plan was that we wanted her, or other riders of ours, to be ahead. That way, we could put the pressure on other teams to chase.”
In addition, Chabbey extended her lead in the mountain classification. Vollering called it a “perfect” scenario. “At the top, I knew other GC riders could respond to Evita Muzic or Juliette, and if not, they could stay ahead. That’s what happened now, so we have a very nice second place for Juliette.”
“All in all, it was a really good day for us, I think,” concluded Vollering, who saw other teams having to do the work.
“Elise got ahead and we didn’t have to do anything, while AG Insurance – Soudal lost almost all their women,” she said, referring to the team of yellow jersey Kimberly Le Court-Pienaar. The overall leader still gained eight seconds as she won the sprint for third place behind Labous (and thanks to bonus sprints), but Vollering can be satisfied with the vulnerabilities of the team of her rival that she saw today.