3 hours ago
10
Key events
53km to go That’s the issue with relying on race radio. It said Vos and Von Berswordt were back in the pack, they’re not, but they are 90secs behind the breakaway.
55km to go Rant over. The breakaway has a lead of 2mins 40secs and growing. The intermedite sprint is coming up in six kilometres, then after that it’s basically all climbing to the finish.
58km to go TNT broadcast starts at 2.15pm BST, we get five minutes of buildup and then an ad break. We join the live pictures ten minutes later and having missed more than two hours of racing. Not good enough.
61km to go Vos has knocked it on the head and returned to the peloton, it looks like Von Berswordt has now given up the ghost too.
65km to go Sophie von Berswordt and Vos are 45secs behind the breakaway group. They might not crack this gap. How long do the pursue?
70km to go We may finally have a breakaway! A group to ten riders has gone up the road, with three more, including Marianne Vos, chasing them. None of the 13 are in GC contention and the gap is growing, currently it’s hovering around 35secs.
97km to go Nosková is one of four dropped riders a minute behind the peloton.
105km to go Three more points for Pieterse at the top of Col du Colombier. Sara Casasola (Fenix-Premier Tech) takes second and is up to third in the mountains standings.
“Good afternoon,” emails in David Alderton. “This Tour has been brilliant. Superb racing, wonderfully balanced, and a really entertaining route. I can’t enthuse enough about it!. There needs to be more TV coverage, and there’s some very strong advocates for that making robust cases.
“Today’s stage looks brutal, even before the final climb, and there could be a good chance for a successful break today. A decent headstart up the hill could be vital.
“A month ago I ran in a half marathon up Ventoux from Bedoin. It’s an absolutely unrelentingly gruelling experience. From the village to the forest, it’s very sunny, hot, and steep. Through the forest it’s shaded, hot and very steep. Once through the treeline, it slacked off slightly until the last kilometre which is best described as a really cruel joke as it ramps up again. The thought of racing for positions up it makes my blood run cold, especially after the lead into it the riders have.”
Agree wholeheartedly, David. The word is ASO are not providing pictures so even if TNT wanted to broadcast the early parts of the stage it couldn’t. This has to be addressed going forward. Every chance there’s an attack before we get any coverage today, which is a scandal.
114km to go Korevaar’s attack couldn’t hold. The peloton is back together as the road starts veering upward before we hit the category three climb up the Colombier.
122km to go We are seeing the first attacks of substance on the flat section to Col du Colombier. Jeanne Korevaar (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) has burst clear of the peloton and got herself a lead of about 15secs.
133km to go Puck Pieterse extends her lead in the polkadot jersey standings, taking the first five points on offer today. The Dutch rider is on 52 points, well clear of second-place Nikola Nosková who has 21 and didn’t add any on Col de la Grande Limite.
GC standings
A reminder of the yellow jersey standings ahead of today’s stage, the gap from Vollering to Reusser in the maillot jaune is just 12 seconds.
1 Marlen Reusser (Movistar) 19hrs 43mins 34secs
2 Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) +12secs
3 Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon/Sram) +1min 17secs
4 Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’Imad) +2min 28secs
5 Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon/Sram) +2min 40secs
140km to go The peloton is still all together at the foot of the first categorised climb. That will surely change as we start heading up the Col de la Grande Limite.
Kilometre zero
146.8km to go Race radio pipes up to tell me the peloton is officially racing and we’re on the road to Mont Ventoux. Sadly, the great Anna Van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) is a non-starter today, as are Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) and Mayenne-Monbana-My Pie’s Kiara Lylyk.
We're rolling out...
Next stop kilometre zero (in 11.4km).
We’re about ten minutes out from the neutralised start in La Voulte-sur-Rhône. I’ll be tracking the race for the first couple of hours before the TV coverage starts and providing key updates. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you with your thoughts on the race or anything else women’s cycling. The email link is at the top of the page.
Here’s the visualisation of today’s stage. Punishing from the start:
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Preamble
When the route planners drew up this year’s Tour de France Femmes they were probably hoping that the race’s first ever ascent of Mont Ventoux for the ‘queen stage’ would begin with this exact race scenario, where a group of general classification riders are chasing a time-trial specialist in the yellow jersey. They might have hoped defending champion and home favourite, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, was among those GC contenders, but you can’t have everything. What we do have is Demi Vollering breathing down the neck of GC leader Marlen Reusser and others needing to make back minutes on a climb that punishing as it is famous. We should see some furious attacking on the slopes.
Featuring Ventoux in this year’s Tour is another indicator of its growing stature. Women’s races have featured the climb before but this its first apeparance in the road book of what is quickly becoming the pinnacle of calendar. Sadly the wildfires have reduced the numbers of spectators allowed across the length of the route, but whoever crosses the line first will have a famous victory to add to their palmares.
The ascent up the ‘Bald Mountain’ comes after three categorised climbs earlier in the 146.6km route. In addition to the length and steepness of Ventoux, the exposure to the heat is another factor the riders will have to deal with. There is limited tree cover, so strategy and team support will be vital. All expect Vollering to claim the day, but the variables make it a fascinating prospect where no one can be sure of the outcome.
