Key events
6km to go: Ferrand-Prévot catches Fisher-Black and Kastelijn and has 38secs on Gigante. Ferrand-Prévot looks so controlled and calm. According to the commentators on TNT Sport, the French rider has only won one stage race before and it was in 2014.
8km to go: Ferrand-Prévot has dropped Gigante. The French rider, who is also an Olympic mountain bike champion, is about 30secs behind Fisher-Black and Kastelijn. She has her eyes set on the stage win and the maillot jaune!
9km to go: It’s a 12% gradient for Fisher-Black and Kastelijn on the part of the climb they’re on. Gigante needs to shake off Ferrand-Prévot if she’s hoping to win the stage and take the yellow jersey.
10km to go: Ferrand-Prévot manages to get over to Gigante and Rooijakkers. But then the Dutch rider ends up distanced and ends up behind in the Niewiadoma-Phinney group. Vollering is about 35 secs behind Ferrand-Prevot and Gigante.
11km to go: The yellow jersey group catch up with Squiban and she slots in with the group. Le Court Pienaar has done her job setting up her teammate, so Gigante attacks. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck) is the only rider that can go with her.
13km to go: By the time the riders reach the top of the Col de la Madeleine, they will be at an altitude of almost 2,000m. Fisher-Black attacks from what was left of the breakaway and Kastelijn follows. They are about 2mins ahead of the yellow jersey group.
14km to go: Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx Protime) has been dropped on the climb. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Le Court Pienaar and Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) are being lead up the ascent by Chabbey.
15km to go: Sprinter Vos is dropping off the back of the peloton. Squiban is joined by Koch behind the breakaway as they slog away up the Col de la Madeleine (hors catégorie, 18.6 km at 8.1%). It’s the third-highest summit finish in the history of the Tour de France Femmes, according to the race centre.
16km to go: Well, I was just about to try to answer Simon’s question about Squiban, see below:
Hi Amy. Thanks for your coverage! What do you think the chances are that Squiban can win again?
But I’ve just seen on the TV coverage that the young UAE Team ADQ rider seems to have hung her head in defeat. I think she’s done, sadly. But it was a tough ask, this climb looks long, brutal and unrelenting.
18km to go: Dygert has done her job driving the peloton and peels off. Chabbey drops off the breakaway. Now, 11 riders make up the break and have 1min 45secs on the yellow jersey group. The 11 riders are: Muzic, Fisher-Black, Squiban, Ghekiere, Vallieres, Markus, Kastelijn, Edwards, Meijering, Koch and Bunel.
25km to go: White jersey wearer, Nienke Vinke (Picnic PostNL) has a flat tyre and is forced to stop. She sets off on her teammate Megan Jastrab’s bike. Below are the results from the last QOM climb:
Côte de Saint-Georges-d’Hurtières QOM climb result:
1. Chabbey, 5pts
2. Squiban, 3pts
3. Koch, 2pts
4. Kastelijn, 1pt
Chabbey is guaranteed to maintain the polka dot jersey as long as she finishes today stage. There are 16pts between her and second-placed Squiban, but only 15pts on offer at the top of the Col de la Madeleine.
31km to go: Danni Rowe has been running through the route profile of the Col de la Madeleine and it sounds very tough. She says there are some particularly steep sections, especially near the start. This climb has been used 27 times in the Tour de France apparently.
37km to go: Squiban doesn’t fight Chabbey for the maximum QOM points but still scoops up a few. Here are the full results from the intermediate sprint earlier:
Intermediate sprint result, Châteaufort:
1. Koch, 25pts
2. Squiban, 20pts
3. Chabbey, 17pts
4. Markus, 15pts
5. Edwards, 13pts
6. Vallieres, 11pts
7. Meijering, 10pts
8. Ghekiere, 9pts
9. Kastelijn, 8pts
10. Muzic, 7pts
11. Claes, 6 ts
12. Fisher-Black, 5pts
13. Bunel, 4pts
14. Santesteban, 3pts
15. Wiebes, 2pts
38km to go: The breakaway are almost at the summit from the top of the Côte de Saint-Georges-d’Hurtières, where there will be more QOM points on offer. Will Chabbey push and will Squiban fight?
If you have any thoughts, predictions or questions on today’s stage or the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in general, you can get in touch via email (linked above).
41km to go: Now it’s time for the category two 4.9 km Côte de Saint-Georges-d’Hurtières, with an average gradient of 5.9%. The breakaway, being lead by Chabbey, still have about 4mins on the peloton.
FDJ-Suez’s Muzic is the virtual yellow jersey at the moment – that means if the race finished right now or she ended this stage with the same gap on Le Court-Pienaar then she would be the maillot jaune.
Marc from Mauritius has been in touch again today. He emails to say that a vibrant poster of Kim Le Court-Pienaar has been circulating on the national flag. He says:
[It] was the best statement of the national passion she has created here on our small island. And the enthusiasm for cycling.
We hear the Alps will be tough for her today but she made us dream in the last days.
I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that she’s made it back safely to the peloton after her crash earlier. Here’s hoping she’s OK and not feeling too sore.
48km to go: Finally some flattish roads for the riders. Brief respite before they start climbing up the second category Côte de Saint-Georges-d’Hurtières (4.9km at 5.9%). Le Court-Pienaar is back with the peloton.
54km to go: In the breakaway, Koch is first into the intermediate sprint, followed by Squiban. Behind Vos and Wiebes battle up the climb of the sprint – it’s 1.4km at 7%. Not a fun sprint!
55km to go: Mariann Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) makes a move, alongside her teammates, to make the pace harder for Wiebes and AG Insurance-Soudal. Wiebes matches the pace and sits in about third place.
58km to go: Wiebes is absolutely pushing it as she zooms down this descent. Le Court-Pienaar is doing her best to get back to the peloton. She’s about 50secs behind. The breakaway group now consists of 13 riders, including Muzic, Fisher-Black, Squiban and Chabbey.
62km to go: It’s intense on this descent. From what Matt Stephens says on the back of the moto for TNT Sports, there are a lot of riders on the descent, the pace is fast and there is a slight air of chaos. He also said that the Canyon/Sram Zondacrypto team car crew told him they are concerned about the breakaway and want to control it but without using up too many resources.
Kim Le Court-Pienaar crashes!
The maillot jaune, Kim Le Court-Pienaar, has crashed on the descent. She goes off the side of the road, manages to slow down but looks as if she went over the handlebars. But she’s up and back on her bike.
68km to go: Chabbey ups the pace and Muzic follows. They, along with other riders, manage to catch Squiban and Koch but Claes drops behind. So, in total there are now 14 riders in the breakaway and they have almost 4mins on the peloton.
71km to go: Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ), Lotte Claes (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Franziska Koch (Picnic-PostNL) have managed to get away from the breakaway and created a 12sec gap. Chloe Dygert picks up the pace (Canyon/SRAM zondocrypto) on the front of the peloton.
78km to go: The peloton appear to have let the break go for now– the gap has grown to 2mins 40secs. Morgane Coston (Roland Le Dévoluy) and Célia Le Mouel (Ceratizit) are in pursuit but are 2mins behind the break.
84km to go: Kopecky is leading teammate Wiebes who’s aim will be to catch the breakaway so she can get maximum points at the intermediate sprint coming up in about 30km. If she manages that, it’ll strengthen her lead in the points classification and bring her a step closer to wearing the green jersey on tomorrow’s final podium.
90km to go: Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) leads the peloton on the descent. Here is a list of the 14 riders in the break: Muzic, Fisher-Black, Squiban, Ghekiere, Chabbey, Vallieres, Santesteban, Markus, Kastelijn, Claes, Edwards, Meijering, Koch and Bunel.
92km to go: The breakaway group have 35secs on the peloton. Here are the results from the first climb:
Col de Plainpalais QOM climb result:
1. Chabbey, 10pts
2. Squiban, 8pts
3. Markus, 6pts
4. Meijering, 4pts
5. Muzic, 2pts
6. Kastelijn, 1pt
98km to go: Chabbey sprints to reach the summit first and take maximum QOM points. Behind, AG Insurance-Soudal lead the peloton. Impressively, sprinter Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) is firmly in this first group of the peloton, unlike her rival for the green jersey, Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike).
99km to go: And of course, Squiban effortlessly gets across. The 15-rider break only have 18secs on the peloton now. Talking about her strength and energy, it reminds me of this video where her dad asks her if she’s slept. A classic parent question, even when your child has just won two Tour de France Femmes stages!
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100km to go: Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) is off! She’s attempting to bridge across to the breakaway. It would seem the French rider just does not tire.
101km to go: A group of 14 riders, including Chabbey and Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) have managed to get up the road away from the peloton. They have almost 30secs on the bunch.
103km to go: Our maillot jaune, Kim Le Court-Pienaar, wants to get away. She breaks away from the peloton for the second time, closing in on a counterattack by Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Chabbey. Ostolaza has been distanced by Markus at the front of the race. It’s been a lively start.
105km to go: Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) attacks with Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kutxa-Fundaction Euskadi), with about 8km to the summit of the Col du Plainpalais. The peloton is losing ground. There are a couple of groups of distanced riders, with Andersen 4mins back alongside Laboral Kutxa-Fundaction Euskadi’s Alba Teruel.
106km to go: The start, heading upwards towards a category first climb, has caused early fractures in the peloton. Two groups who fell behind have now merged into one consisting of 16 riders. The GC contenders are all in the peloton and it seems to be mainly Uno X Mobility’s Susanne Andersen who is struggling with the pace.
Dilyxine Miermont withdraws from the race
French rider Dilyxine Miermont for Ceratizit did not start stage eight so has withdrawn from the race. There are now 129 riders in the Tour peloton.
108km to go: Elise Chabbey (Lidl-Trek) is on the attack. The number of riders already dropped on this immediate uphill grows to seven and includes Uno X Mobility’s Susanne Andersen, Fenix-Deceuninck’s Flora Perkins and Winspace Orange Seal’s Fiona Mangan.
109km to go: The peloton are riding on the slopes leading to the category one Col de Plainpalais (13.2 km at 6.3%). Already, four riders have been dropped and are 42secs behind.
The racing has begun!
110km to go: The flag has dropped and racing is under way on this Tour’s queen stage! Let’s see what the riders have in store for us.
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney has a mechanical. The defending champion stops to change her front wheel 1km from the end of the neutralised sector.
Today’s rollout has begun
Stage eight of the Tour de France Femmes 2025 is under way. The peloton have rolled out from Chambéry. There’s a 4.8km neutralised section before the racing begins.
For the second day in the row, Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) is on the front page of L’Équipe:
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She also delightedly shared a congratulatory message from the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on social media. In it, he said:
Deux victoires consécutives sur le Tour de France pour Maëva Squiban ! Bravo pour cette performance exceptionnelle qui fait rayonner le cyclisme français. Le pays est derrière vous !
According to a quick Google Translate, this means:
Two consecutive Tour de France victories for Maëva Squiban! Congratulations on this exceptional performance that shines a spotlight on French cycling. The country is behind you!
And who’s wearing which jersey:
Yellow jersey: Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), 22hrs 28mins 31secs
Green jersey: Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), 208pts
Polka dot jersey: Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez), 29pts
White jersey: Nienke Vinke (Picnic-PostNL), 22hrs 37mins 46secs
Here’s a reminder of the top ten on GC after stage seven:
Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), 22hrs 28mins 31secs
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), +26secs
Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon/SRAM), +30secs
Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), +31secs
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx Protime), +35secs
Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck), +1min 4secs
Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly), +1min 9secs
Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), +1min 14secs
Évita Muzic (FDJ-Suez), +1min 35secs
Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez), +1min 35secs
Here is the route profile of stage eight of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift:
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Stage eight: Chambéry to Saint François Longchamp – Col de la Madeleine, 112km
Here’s a look at today’s stage, Saturday 2 August: Chambéry to Saint François Longchamp – Col de la Madeleine, 111.9km, with the race director of the Tour de France Femmes, Marion Rousse:
There’ll be no respite on what’s the queen stage of the 2025 edition. It will head into the Bauges massif straight away, with the first major difficulty coming on the way out of Chambéry in the form of the Col de Plainpalais (13.2km at 6.3%). After crossing the less demanding Col du Frêne, the race will reach the Maurienne and tackle the toughest flank of the Madeleine. Extending to 18.6km, with regular changes in gradient (averaging 8.1%) and a rough surface, this climb will provide plenty of opportunities to create gaps.
Preamble
Stage eight of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is the queen’s stage – regarded as the most challenging mountain stage of a multi-day race. It often featurs the highest climbs and most significant elevation gain. Today, the peloton will ride 111.9km from Chambéry to Saint François Longchamp – Col de la Madeleine, taking in more than 3,500 meters of climbing, making it a brutal day out. The first ascent of the day will come at 13km, with the category one Col de Plainpalais (13.2km at 6.3%). The sharp Côte de Saint-Georges-d’Hurtières comes duing the second half of racing, and then it’s all go towards the finish at the summit of the imposing Col de la Madeleine (18.6 km at 8.1%, rising to over 2,000m above sea level).
It’s the penultimate day of the Tour, so any GC contenders who want to make their mark will surely have plans for this decisive stage. While Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) hung on to the yellow jersey yesterday after being dropped on the final climb, she’ll face stiff competition from Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon/SRAM), Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx Protime) who are all biting at her heels (none are further than 35secs behind the maillot jaune). Le Court Pienaar’s teammate and powerful climber Sarah Gigante might fancy the stage win and the Mauritian rider spoke effusively yesterday about her colleague’s strength coming into this mountain stage.
Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) made it two victories in a row yesterday, so I’m excited to see what she’s got in store today. Shirin van Anrooij and Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez), Silke Smulders and Mavi García (Liv Alula Jayco) are worth keeping an eye on in terms of a potential breakaway.
Today’s action will kick off at 1.45pm CET/12.45pm BST. Here is Jeremy Whittle’s stage seven race report from Chambéry:
