Key events
2 km to go: The field being strung out, and Vos is left with a leadout rider to work off. Round that bridge on the corner we go, and this time, no crashes.
3km to go: A sprint looks likely, with Vos being led out, but that slope to come.
5km to go: The teams get in formatiom, Marianne Vos is lurking with some intent. Visma is her team and they look in control.
6km to go: A gang of four go away but are pulled back in. This is high speed, and high stakes.
7.5km to go: Franziska Koch goes away on a burst. Is this the solo run that takes the opening stage? It seems unlikely.
10km to go: Now, a speedy descent. During which news of Reusser’s withdrawal is shared. That’s very sad to hear. There’s a number of attempts to escape but the field comes back together for a reduced peloton.
13.5km to go: The same hill as before but with mountains points on offer, and Wiebes fancies another steal, just like on the sprint. Koch is involved again but it’s Elise Chabbey who takes the polka points ahead of Jansen and Smulders. She will wear the jersey on Sunday.
15km to go: The Cadoudal hill is the centrepiece of this circuit in Plumelec.
From wiki: “Georges Cadoudal (Breton: Jorj Kadoudal; January 1, 1771 – June 25, 1804), sometimes called simply Georges, was a Breton counter-revolutionary and leader of the Chouannerie during the French Revolution.”
“Cadoudal means in Breton language “warrior returning from the fight””
They get past the bridge that caused such woe on the first traverse.
20km to go: The lead is 17” to Francesca Barale, who escaped from that sprint. From the field, it seems the peloton has split into two secitions, 1’ 10” behind.
22km to go: So often, these opening days are a casualty list. Clara Koppenburg of Cofidis is one but Reusser is the story. A grim sight. How’s your luck?
27km to go: Marlen Reusser and Liane Lippert were involved in that crash, the two Movistar leaders. The Cadoudal is the hill they must deal with three times. The sprint isn’t well contested. Reusser, who is riding with illness, trails home and it would be a surprise to see her finish today. She’s had Long Covid and all types of problems and fought back to be here. Lorena Wiebes and Franziska Koch were the winners on the sprint, and take off, as is often the case at an intermediate sprint.
28.8km to go: Oh dear, a crash as they turn on to a bride. It’s a small pile-up. All get back up. But that will disrupt the climb up the hill for the first time for a sprint.
30km to go: Teams now operating in formation as the sprint comes, which is 27km to go. They enter the circuit they will go round three times.
35km to go: A crash at the back of the field, as narrow roads catch out the teams, one taking out the other. The speed is breakneck. Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), Clémence Latimier (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Karolina Perkitko (Winspace-Orange Seal), and Kiara Lynx (Winspace-Orange Seal) all went down, and bar a few running repairs, all are OK. They’re at 41km/h. Full gas, you might call it.
40km to go: The pack back together as they entered some woodland scenery.
45km to go: Rijnbeek’s adventures are over. Her advantage disappears completely, and the GC contenders’ teams lead the field, Visma to the fore. It’s 17km to the intermediate sprint.
49.5 km to go: And Rijnbeek takes the two mountain points on offer while back in the field there’s a couple of near-collisions. It’s a nervous peloton, and last year featured some heavy crashes.
55km to go: The gap is closing, and at 20 seconds, the peloton are within sight as the escapees split. Rijnbeek decides to leave behind Tomasi, and in chase of polka points on that cat.4 climb. She opens up a gap again, to 30 seconds or so.
60km to go: Two categorised climbs today – only Cat 4 and Cat 3 – today is about the speed but the legs will be tested there. Even on flat stages, this is where the splits come.
65km to go: It’s 30 seconds or so that the two leaders have on the field. The peloton sees many of the GC contenders in the vanguard. With plenty of roundabouts, there’s danger ahead.
70km to go: We leave Vannes behind and enter the countryside with a gap of 10 seconds to the peloton, Tomasi joined by Maud Rijnbeek.
Gary Naylor gets in touch, referencing today’s hommes stage but the point stands for les femmes, too, if you will forgive the Franglais.
“The Tour used to have long (250km+) stages that the riders voluntarily neutralised for the first 100km and it didn’t matter because the TV coverage only started at 3pm. But with cameras on from Flag to Fin, it wasn’t a good look, so the stages were shortened and the action was non-stop.
“Except human beings are not performing fleas. The effort catches up with them. So we’re back with voluntarily neutralised whole stages (more or less) and – wouldn’t you know it – it’s not a good look for TV. Three big mountain stages, three hilly stages, three rolling stages, a prologue, an ITT, a TTT and the rest for the sprinters and breakaways, please.”
Last year’s Femmes race was full of variety and intrigue. Let’s hope for more of the same. Gary’s right in that not every day can be Paris-Roubaix or L’Alpe D’Huez, even if we hope so. I’m looking forward to the worlds in Rwanda. Doing some research – OK, lazy internetting – it looks daunting. For both men and women.
Away we go in Vannes
77km to go: After that slight delay, the Breton roads beckon. Notable people from Vannes include Yann Kermogant, the taker of this penalty. The breakaways begin, and off goes Laura Tomasi, the Italian. Big crowds on the road.
Well, the big news is that there’s been a crash in the neutral start, riders smashing off the road furniture, bollards sending bikes all over the show. The race will wait for those who already need a new bike. Juliette Labous is among them and needs a new helmet. The 154 riders approach the start in Vannes, and the start will be standing one rather than a rolling one.
Jeremy Whittle previews the nine days ahead on the Tour de France Femmes.
The pair have other rivals, with Marlen Reusser, winner of the Tour of Switzerland and second in the Giro d’Italia, and Elisa Longo Borghini, winner of the women’s Giro, leading the way. Others capable of mounting a serious challenge include the Australian climber Sarah Gigante, France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, winner of the women’s Paris-Roubaix, and Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands, third in the women’s Vuelta and Vollering’s former sports director.
Australia has a real hope in Sarah Gigante.
Preamble
Last year’s race was an all-time classic, going to four seconds on Alpe D’Huez in moments of almost indescribable drama. This year’s model has a lot to live up to, but the main protagonists, as Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma do battle once more. There’s a host of other contenders, too. First up, a short, punchy stage set for a tea-time finish.
Let’s quote the excellent Rouleur Magazine’s short profile of the stage.
The 79km route is short but far from easy. After rolling north through lumpy terrain, the peloton tackles the Côte de Botségalo before entering a finishing circuit in Plumelec, where the Côte de Cadoudal awaits them not once, but three times. This 1.7 km climb, averaging 6.2% with a steep final pitch, will decide the stage – and the first yellow jersey. It’s a day for the puncheurs, not the sprinters, and fireworks are all but guaranteed on the final ascent.
