Demi Vollering made a good impression on Friday in the first mountain stage of the Tour de France Femmes. The Dutch rider rode alertly at the front, without being able to drop her competitors. The Frenchwoman Maëva Squiban won a stage for the second day in a row.
Just before the top of the last climb of the day, Vollering tried to drop her competitors with a burst of speed, but she didn’t get away. In the descent to the finish in Chambéry, the favorites kept each other in check.
For Squiban, it was a day to remember. She won again in the Tour, after also being the best after a solo on Thursday. On the way to her second stage victory, she defeated the Dutch riders Marielle Meijering and Shirin van Anrooij.
Finally, the first mountain stage
After six days for the sprinters and the punchers in the Tour, it was finally the turn of the climbers in the Tour on Friday. The long-awaited duel between Vollering, her great rival Niewiadoma, and yellow jersey wearer Kimberley Le Court seemed finally to be about to break loose.
Immediately from the start in Bourg-en-Bresse, a leading group of no less than seventeen riders broke away, and it included some big names. Among others, world champion Lotte Kopecky, Shirin van Anrooij, and cyclocross champion Lucinda Brand rode at the front.
Vollering and yellow jersey wearer Le Court were not too worried about the leading group, because the Dutch rider Eline Jansen was the best-placed rider with a gap of almost six minutes. As a result, the leaders were able to take a lead of more than four minutes.
On the Col du Granier, the last climb of the day, the fireworks ignited in the leading group. Meijering, the best Dutch climber in the leading group, was unable to follow the Frenchwoman Squiban. Van Anrooij also had to drop back.
Vollering tries it with an acceleration
In the peloton, there was a long wait for spectacle. 3 kilometers before the top of the Col du Granier, there was finally movement: yellow jersey wearer Le Court had to drop back after a burst of speed by Pauliena Rooijakkers.
This meant that the yellow jersey was up for grabs, which led to an interesting battle in the group of favorites. Vollering tried to surprise her opponents with a burst of speed just before the top, but she didn’t get away.
Vollering also took the lead in the descent to the finish in Chambéry, without being able to make the difference.
The Frenchwoman Squiban had flown in the descent and went without problems to her second stage win in a row. The group of favorites came too late to sprint for the bonus seconds. Among the title favorites, it was an armed peace, before the big day in the Alps.