Archiv der Kategorie: Tour de France

BORA – hansgrohe feiert 10 Jahre Tour de France mit speziellem Trikotdesign

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2014 trat zum ersten Mal ein Team von Ralph Denk beim größten Radrennen der Welt an. Unvergessliche Momente, Dramen und zahlreiche Erfolge; unzählige Geschichten, die von den Fahrern geschrieben wurden. Zehn Jahre Tour de France ist ein Grund zum Feiern. Und BORA – hansgrohe feiert mit einem speziellen Trikotdesign zur Tour de France 2023, das die Fahrer, die mit Ralph Denk Geschichte schrieben, in den Fokus rücken soll.


@Bora-hansgrohe

„Die Zeit vergeht unglaublich schnell und in diesem Jahr treten wir schon zum 10. Mal bei der Tour de France an. Die Geschichten, die wir über die Jahre geschrieben haben, bleiben aber unvergesslich. Beim ersten Antreten mit Leo König gleich auf Rang 7 der Gesamtwertung. Der erste Etappensieg durch Peter Sagan 2017. Kurz gefolgt vom Tiefpunkt, der Disqualifikation von Peter. Zwei Grüne Trikots. Der 4. Gesamtrang durch Emanuel Buchmann 2019. Die Liste ist lang und die Erinnerungen unglaublich schön. Mit diesem Trikot möchte ich mich bei all den Fahrern bedanken, die diese Geschichten mit uns geschrieben haben. Ohne sie wäre das alles nicht möglich gewesen. Mein Dank gilt aber auch der ASO. Sie haben uns als Zweitliga-Team dreimal in Folge eine Wildcard gegeben und somit maßgeblich zu unserer Entwicklung beigetragen. Genau wie unsere treuen Sponsoren, die uns auf diesem Weg begleitet haben. Ich hoffe natürlich, dass wir auch in diesem Jahr und in der Zukunft weiter für besondere Momente beim größten Radrennen der Welt sorgen können und dass wir die Fans mit unserer Leidenschaft begeistern.“ – Ralph Denk, Team Manager

Statt Giro feiert Felix Gall Osttiroler Tour de France-Premiere!

Tour de France, Vorschau, , , ,

Am Start der Tour de France zu stehen ist für jeden Radsportler ein Traum. Dieser erfüllt sich in diesem Jahr für Felix Gall von der World Tour-Mannschaft AG2R Citroën Team. Sein Team gibt heute das Lineup für den Giro d’Italia bekannt. Der Start in Italien war geplant, doch sein Team hat höhere Aufgaben für den Osttiroler vor.

Osttirol erstrahlte schon öfter in „Rosa“, als Etappenort für den Giro d’Italia etwa. Jetzt kommt „Gelb“ hinzu. Das ist Felix Gall zu verdanken, der heuer seine erste Tour de France bestreiten wird. Seit Februar dieses Jahres fährt der erste Junioren-Weltmeister Österreichs auf hohem Niveau in der Weltspitze mit und konnte schon zahlreiche Top-Ergebnisse einfahren. Zuletzt schaffte der Kletterspezialist bei der Tour of the Alps mit Rang zwei sein erstes Podium bei einem Profirennen. Am nächsten Tag auf der zweiten Etappe stürzte er kurz vor dem Ziel mit dem Sieg vor Augen. Die Schmerzen von den Verletzungen sind weg, jetzt hat er ein neues Saisonziel vor Augen: die Tour de France!

Im Vorjahr bestritt er mit dem Giro d’Italia seine erste Grand Tours, die er auf Rang 50 beendete. „Nach der Tour of the Alps bekam ich von meinem Team einen Anruf, dass ich nicht für den Giro sondern für die Tour de France vorgesehen bin. Eigentlich war ich nie ein Thema für die Tour, denn die Einsätze für die wichtigen Rennen werden immer im Winter geplant. Für mich ist das deshalb eine doppelte Ehre, dass ich die Frankreich-Rundfahrt fahren darf: Aufgrund meiner starken letzten Wochen habe ich mich empfohlen und das in einem französischen Team, für das die Tour de France natürlich das absolute Highlight des Jahres ist. Mein Trainer sagte zu mir, es sei schon sehr speziell, dass ich jetzt endlich für die Tour berücksichtigt werde.“

Erster Osttiroler bei der Tour de France
Felix Gall hat jetzt ein neues großes Saisonziel vor Augen: „Und dass ich der erste Osttiroler dort bin macht mich auch richtig stolz. Wir haben so viele tolle Sportler in einer relativ kleinen Region Österreichs. Aber wenn ich es von Nußdorf-Debant bis zum Start der Tour de France Anfang Juli schaffe ist das etwas ganz Besonderes.“

Die nächsten Rennen
Harte Rennmonate mit einem neunten Platz beim Kletterklassiker Gran Premio Miguel Indurain, dem sechsten Gesamtplatz beim Faun-Ardèche Classic und Rang drei in der Nachwuchswertung bei Tirreno-Adriatico hat er hinter sich. Zudem sein starker Auftritt bei der WorldTour-Rundfahrt im Baskenland, wo er nach vier Top-Ten-Etappenplätzen und Rang zwei in der Nachwuchswertung den zehnten Gesamtplatz holte! „Ich bin nicht unglücklich, dass ich nach der Tour of the Alps etwas rausnehmen konnte und nicht gleich in den Vorbereitungsstress für den Giro d’Italia musste“, sagt der Osttiroler. Nach einer ruhigen Zeit folgt von 10. bis 28. Mai ein Höhentrainingslager auf der Sierra Nevada. Dann geht es am 30. Mai direkt weiter zur Mercan’Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes. „Danach habe ich die Österreichischen Meisterschaften in Waidhofen an der Ybbs geplant. Vor allem sollte mir die schwere Strecke liegen“, so Gall. Fix ist zuvor auf alle Fälle sein Start bei der Tour de Suisse.

Alles begann bei der Dolomitenradrundfahrt
Seine Radsportkarriere startete Felix Gall bei der Dolomitenradrundfahrt, dem ältesten Radmarathon Österreichs. „Im Jahr 2012 durfte er als Jugendlicher unter 16 Jahren mit Zustimmung seines Vaters starten. Zuvor bestritt er Schüler- und Jugendbewerbe im Triathlon. Mit einer Fabelzeit um die wildromantischen Lienzer Dolomiten brachte er damals viele Radexperten und mich natürlich auch zum Staunen. Die 35. Dolomitenradrundfahrt startet am 11. Juni 2023 in Lienz und man wird dabei mit Stolz auf das Osttiroler Radsporttalent verweisen“, freut sich auch TVB-Obmann und Organisator Franz Theurl über den neuen Osttiroler Radhelden.

Homepage: www.dolomitensport.at

———————————
Pressekontakt:
MR PR – Martin Roseneder
eMail: martin@mr-pr.at
Homepage: www.mr-pr.at

TOUR DE FRANCE 2023 : THE 22 TEAMS

Etappenrennen, Tour de France, Vorschau, ,

Key points:
 The peloton of the 110th edition of the Tour de France will include 22 teams at the start in the Basque country on 1st July 2023.
 18 UCI WorldTeams and 4 UCI ProTeams, with one unprecedented participation.
Details of the selection:

18 teams UCI WorldTeams:

• AG2R Citroën Team (Fra)
• Alpecin Deceuninck (Bel)
• Astana QazaQstan Team (Kaz)
• Bora-Hansgrohe (Deu)
• EF Education-Easypost (Usa)
• Groupama-FDJ (Fra)
• Ineos Grenadiers (Gbr)
• Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (Bel)
• Jumbo-Visma (Ned)
• Movistar Team (Esp)
• Soudal Quick-Step (Bel)
• Team Arkea-Samsic (Fra)
• Team Bahrain Victorious (Brn)
• Team Cofidis (Fra)
• Team DSM (Ned)
• Team Jayco AlUla (Aus)
• Trek-Segafredo (Usa)
• UAE Team Emirates (Uae)

4 teams UCI Proteams:

The two teams qualified by right:
• Lotto dstny (Bel)
• TotalEnergies (Fra)

The two teams invited by the organiser:
• Israel-Premier Tech (Isr)
• Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (Nor)

©A.S.O.

2024 GRAND DÉPART TdF: FIRST TIME’S A CHARM FOR ITALY

Etappenrennen, Tour de France, Vorschau, ,

Key points:
 Christian Prudhomme appeared on Rai’s TG Sport show to launch the official countdown to the Grand Départ of the 2024 Tour de France. The first start of the race from Italy will come 100 years after Ottavio Bottecchia first took the trophy to the other side of the Alps.
 The show will get on the road on 29 June with the opening stage from Florence to Rimini, on the shores of the Adriatic in Emilia-Romagna, followed by a romp from Cesenatico to Bologna and a cross-country trek to Piedmont, where the peloton will finish off its Italian job in Turin on 1 July.

The Tour de France weaves stories between nations. The chapter set to begin in 2024 with the first Italian Grand Départ is an addition written in golden letters to a long-running epic filled with heroics, twists of fate, auspicious race incidents and anecdotes etched in the minds of cycling lovers and fans of every generation. After all, the earliest pioneer, Maurice Garin, who hailed from the Aosta Valley, had only held a French passport for two years by the time he won the inaugural edition of the Tour in 1903. While the triumphant campaigns of extraordinary champions, ranging from Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi to Marco Pantani and Vincenzo Nibali, have marked the century between Ottavio Bottecchia’s maiden victory and the start of the Tour in Florence in June 2024, the Italians have been among the most creative riders in the peloton, always ready to put on a show on every terrain. Even though he never made a concerted effort to survive until the final showdown on the Champs-Élysées, Mario Cipollini became one of the most prolific stage winners of the 1990s, while Claudio Chiappucci claimed the polka-dot jersey twice (1991 and 1992). In more recent years, it was Fabio Aru who flew the flag for his country by winning on La Planche des Belles Filles in 2017 while clad in his national champion’s jersey.

In 2024, the programme for the first three stages offers a majestic panorama of the Italian cities and countryside while opening the hostilities with an exceptional sporting challenge. After leaving the gorgeous Florence, the trek through Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna leading to the seaside finale in Rimini will pit the peloton against a total altitude gain of 3,700 metres from day one — fortune will really favour the bold. Along the way, the San Marino climb will add the microstate to the list of 14 countries that have hosted the Grande Boucle. The next day, starting from the station in Cesenatico, the final resting place of Marco Pantani, the riders will tuck into another hefty serving of climbs on the road to Bologna, where punchers have long traded blows on the ascent to San Luca in the Giro dell’Emilia-Romagna. It will then be time for the super-speedsters of the peloton to step on the gas pedal in Turin, the capital of Piedmont, which has also become a prestigious sprint finish from all the Giro d’Italia stage finishes it has hosted.

The first three stages of the 2024 Tour de France:

. Saturday, 29 June — Stage 1: Florence > Rimini, 205 km
. Sunday, 30 June — Stage 2: Cesenatico > Bologna, 200 km
. Monday, 1 July – Stage 3: Piacenza > Turin, 225 km

TOUR DE FRANCE 2023

Etappenrennen, Strassenrennen, Tour de France, Vorschau, ,

Key points:
 The Tour de France 2023 will hold its Grand Départ in the Basque Country, with a first stage in Bilbao on 1st July, and will finish in Paris on 23rd July, on completion of a 3,404-km route that will tackle the difficult slopes of the country’s five mountain ranges.
 The battle for the Yellow Jersey will witness a decisive and emotional episode on the Puy de Dôme, where a stage finish will be held 35 years after the victory of Denmark’s Johnny Weltz. The return to this legendary climb will be accompanied by the rise in importance of sites that will mark the Tours of the future, such as the Grand Colombier or the Col de la Loze.
 The sole time-trial on the Tour de France in 2023 will take place over 22 kilometres between Passy and the Combloux ski resort in Haute-Savoie. The sprinters will also have the opportunity to express themselves on finishes in Bordeaux, Limoges, Moulins, before the grand finale on the Champs-Elysées.

Bilbao on 1st July next year is where the Tour de France will celebrate its 120th anniversary. The Grand Départ in the Basque Country precisely offers the kind of scenery and roads that will pay tribute to the pioneers of 1903, because their successors, from the beginning of the race, will be plunged into a Pyrenean sequence with many twists in store, on both the Spanish and French sides of the border. The punchers will tuck into a menu of their favourite flavours on the roads of the Clasica San Sebastian (on stage 2), whilst the sprinters will have a free rein in Bayonne (on stage 3) as well as on the Nogaro circuit (on stage 4) and the climbers will already have to get to grips with the slopes on the stages finishing in Laruns (on stage 5) and on the Cambasque plateau near Cauterets (on stage 6). The rare starts of the Tour that take place in southern climes generally give rise to a dense programme, but this time the total of 30 climbs rated category 2 and above is chiefly due to the mountainous grand slam to be tackled this year, because each of France’s five mountain ranges will be visited by the pack.

In this collection of more or less demanding climbs, the one attracting most attention is likely to be the ascension of Puy de Dôme (on stage 9) whose roads will once again be open to the riders on the Tour (but not to their fans), 35 years after the last ascent to overlook Clermont-Ferrand. This reunion with the past, which brings back memories of the duel between Anquetil and Poulidor in 1964 or recalls the victory by Fausto Coppi in 1952 on the edition of the first high-altitude finishes, especially promises an initial and extremely tense battle between the pretenders for the title. The last four kilometres of tarmac before the finishing line, with an average gradient of almost 12%, could be the fuse that awakens the dormant volcano.

The leading lights of the pack will be following in mythical footsteps on the Puy de Dôme, but will also be testing each other’s mettle on peaks that are set to play host to the fiercest contests of the future. For example, an emerging legend will have pride of place on Bastille Day, with the battle taking place on the Grand Colombier (on stage 13), where the finishing line will be set up for the second time in the race’s history. Following the summit of the Jura, the big shots will fight for supremacy on the Col de la Loze, just before soaring down to the high-altitude airstrip in Courchevel (on stage 17), to conclude a sequence in the Alps where the strongest riders will simply become untouchable. The Col de Joux Plane pass and its subsequent descent before Morzine (on stage 14), the climb up to Le Bettex the following day (on stage 15), as well as the Côte de Domancy slope which is on the programme for the sole time-trial of this edition (on stage 16), will in effect make and break the hierarchy between the handful of riders concerned by the Yellow Jersey. The temperament observed among the expected favourites on all the roads of the cycling world suggests that they will not miss any opportunity to go head-to-head. The same will again be true on the penultimate day of the race, where the relief of the stage through the Vosges Mountains to the ski resort of Le Markstein will include 3,500 metres of climbing over a distance of only 133 km, taking in the Col de la Grosse Pierre and the ascensions of the Petit Ballon and the Platzerwasel (on stage 20). The leader designated in Alsace will be honoured the following day on the Champs-Elysées, where the race will close with a sprint festival that will have also visited Bordeaux, Limoges, Moulins and Poligny, allowing prestigious victories to be enjoyed in all the classifications!

L’ÉTAPE DU TOUR DE FRANCE 2023 : DESTINATION MORZINE

The 31st edition of L’Étape du Tour de France will be held on Sunday, 9 July 2023 on the same routes as stage 14 of the Tour de France, stretching for 152 km from Annemasse to Morzine for a total altitude gain of 4,100 metres.

Five mountain passes will test the peloton on the roads to the finish line in Morzine: col de Saxel, col de Cou, col du Feu, col de la Ramaz and the hors catégorie col de Joux Plane.

@ASO

TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES AVEC ZWIFT 2023

Frauenradsport, Tour de France, Vorschau, ,

Key points:

• The route of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, whose second edition will take place from 23 to 30 July, has been presented at the Palais des Congrès in Paris by Marion Rousse.
• „Even higher“, says the event director, who detailed the programme of the eight stages, totalling a distance of 956 kilometres, and which will pose new difficulties to the champions.
• The handover concept with the Tour will continue, but this time the riders will meet in Clermont-Ferrand to start the exploration of the Massif Central range. At the end of the week, the Pyrenees will begin the weeding out process among the most efficient climbers: the finish line of the col du Tourmalet will be the goal of all the contenders for the Yellow Jersey. They will have to defend their ambitions again the following day in the final time trial in Pau.

A giant step forward each year. After the inaugural edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, which saw the peloton set off from the Champs-Élysées to complete its route over the hills of Eastern France, crossing the Ballon d’Alsace as the 1905 pioneers did. The race will now head for the Massif Central and then the Pyrenees to offer new challenges to the female riders. By gathering the peloton in Clermont-Ferrand, the link remains between the women’s race and the Tour’s history. They won’t climb the Puy de Dôme this time. But they will experience the roughness of the Auvergne geology from the very first days. Perhaps not so much on the first stage, which might not see the peloton dispersed; then in a more marked way on the road to Mauriac, where they will have to deal with a positive altitude change of 2,500 meters before fighting for the stage win.

The sprinters will most likely take centre stage in Montignac, where the Lascaux caves are situated. But they will probably be more in the wings on the longest stage of the week (177 km), where the Aveyron ascents will work in favour of the most resilient riders of a breakaway or the strongest punchers for the finish in Rodez. The thin air of the Pyrenees will begin to take its toll on the Albi and Blagnac stages, but it will be on the weekend that the Yellow Jersey candidates will battle for the first time in the high mountains. The legendary Col du Tourmalet, where the Tour riders had their first taste of altitude in 1910, at 2,115 metres, will again be the place to be. The finish line of stage seven has been set five metres lower, in a setting where only the best female climbers in the world can hope to win. Whoever manages to do so will probably be among the contenders for the final time trial, which will take place around Pau, but partly in the opposite direction, on the same course where Julian Alaphilippe defended his Yellow Jersey in 2019.

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift Etappe 8

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Frauenradsport, Strassenrennen, Tour de France, , , , , ,

Lure – La Super Planche des Belles Filles – 123 Km

1 [NED] van Vleuten Annemiek Movistar Team 03:37:23
2 [NED] Vollering Demi Team SD Worx + 30
3 [ITA] Persico Silvia Valcar-Travel & Service + 01:43
4 [POL] Niewiadoma Katarzyna CANYON//SRAM Racing + 01:52
5 [FRA] Labous Juliette Team DSM + 01:56
6 [ITA] Longo Borghini Elisa Trek-Segafredo + 02:01
7 [USA] Ewers Veronica EF Education-TIBCO-SVB + 02:13
8 [DEN] Ludwig Cecilie Uttrup FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope + 02:50
9 [ESP] Garcia Mavi UAE Team ADQ + 02:59
10 [GER] Lippert Liane Team DSM + 03:01

Endstand:

1 [NED] van Vleuten Annemiek Movistar Team 26:55:44
2 [NED] Vollering Demi Team SD Worx + 03:48
3 [POL] Niewiadoma Katarzyna CANYON//SRAM Racing + 06:35
4 [FRA] Labous Juliette Team DSM + 07:28
5 1 [ITA] Persico Silvia Valcar-Travel & Service + 08:00
6 1 [ITA] Longo Borghini Elisa Trek-Segafredo + 08:26
7 2 [DEN] Ludwig Cecilie Uttrup FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope + 08:59
8 [FRA] Muzic Evita FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope + 13:54
9 2 [USA] Ewers Veronica EF Education-TIBCO-SVB + 15:05
10 1 [ESP] Garcia Mavi UAE Team ADQ +

Van Vleuten flies to glory

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) is the best climber and the first winner of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The Dutch star claimed her second victory in two days, on Sunday, as she tamed the gruelling ascent to La Super Planche des Belles Filles to secure the overall victory. Again, Demi Vollering (SD Worx) was runner-up at the summit to also secure the 2nd place in the overall standings and the polka-dot jersey as Queen of the Mountains. Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram) rounds up the GC podium of this first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift after 8 days of intense racing since the start in Paris.
The final showdown starts with fast battles as early as the 109-woman peloton (without Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and Anna Henderson) start from Lure. The peloton cover almost 40km in the first hour and no break manages to get away.

Garcia and Chabbey on the move
New attacks fly on the first ascent of the day, the cat-2 Côte d’Esmoulières (summit at km 52.5) but Demi Vollering (SD Worx) brings the main GC riders back to the front as she sprints for the QOM points to strengthen her stranglehold on the polka-dot jersey.
After the summit, 10 attackers manage to open a gap, including two members of the GC top-10, Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ, 9th +12’06’’) and Elise Chabbey (Canyon//Sram Racing, 10th +12’24’’). They are joined by Leah Thomas (Trek-Segafredo), Paula Patiño (Movistar), Grace Brown (FDJ Suez Futuroscope), Riejanne Markus (Jumbo-Visma), Liane Lippert (Team DSM), Pauliena Rooijakkers (Canyon//Sram), Yara Kastelijn (Plantur Pura) and Coralie Demay (St Michel Auber 93).

Van Vleuten’s struggle
While the break establishes itself at the front, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) sustains mechanical issues that force her to change her bike on three occasions, after she already did so in the neutral zone at the beginning of the stage.
First, she takes her teammate Arlenis Sierra’s bike and returns to the bunch at km 69. But SD Worx up the ante and create splits. Sheyla Gutierrez and Aude Biannic try to pace Van Vleuten back, until she takes matters in her own hands towards the cat-1 ascent up Ballon d’Alsace (km84.6). She bridges the gap on the first slopes… and stops two more times on the ascent to change bike.

A tight battle with the break
Demi Vollering (SD Worx), 2nd in the overall standings (+3’14’’), attacks three times on the ascent and also maintains pressure on the way down, but Van Vleuten reacts every time. Mavi Garcia is the first rider at the summit with a gap of 1’10’’ to the GC group.
On the valley towards the final ascent of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, La Super Planche des Belles Filles (7km, 8.7%), Trek-Segafredo and Canyon//Sram Racing work together to move closer to the attackers.

Van Vleuten asserts her authority
Pauliena Rooijakkers attacks at the bottom of the ascent, Mavi Garcia follows her move. But the GC contenders only trail by 20’’.
Van Vleuten attacks 6km away from the summit. She catches and drops the last attackers with 5.5km to go. Again, Vollering is the strongest rider in pursuit. But she can’t match Van Vleuten’s pace, as the Dutch climber flies to her second stage victory and the overall win in the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
A.S.O./Fabien Boukla

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift Etappe 7

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Frauenradsport, Strassenrennen, Tour de France, , , ,

Sélestat – Le Markstein – 127 Km

1 VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek NED MOVISTAR TEAM WOMEN 03:47:02
2 VOLLERING Demi NED TEAM SD WORX 03:26
3 LUDWIG Cecilie DEN FDJ SUEZ FUTUROSCOPE 05:16
4 LABOUS Juliette FRA TEAM DSM 05:18
5 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna POL CANYON // SRAM RACING 05:18
6 PERSICO Silvia ITA VALCAR – TRAVEL & SERVICE 06:56
7 LONGO BORGHINI Elisa ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 06:56
8 ŽIGART Urška SLO TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE-JAYCO 07:23
9 MUZIC Evita FRA FDJ SUEZ FUTUROSCOPE 08:27
10 ROOIJAKKERS Pauliena NED CANYON // SRAM RACING 10:10
11 EWERS Veronica USA EF EDUCATION-TIBCO-SVB 10:39
12 MARKUS Riejanne NED TEAM JUMBO VISMA 10:39
13 GARCIA CAÑELLAS Margarita Victo ESP UAE TEAM ADQ 10:41
14 KASTELIJN Yara NED PLANTUR-PURA 10:41
15 CHABBEY Elise SUI CANYON // SRAM RACING 11:05

Gesamt:

1 VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek NED MOVISTAR TEAM WOMEN 23:18:31
2 VOLLERING Demi NED TEAM SD WORX 03:14
3 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna POL CANYON // SRAM RACING 04:33
4 LABOUS Juliette FRA TEAM DSM 05:22
5 LUDWIG Cecilie DEN FDJ SUEZ FUTUROSCOPE 05:59
6 PERSICO Silvia ITA VALCAR – TRAVEL & SERVICE 06:11
7 LONGO BORGHINI Elisa ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 06:15
8 MUZIC Evita FRA FDJ SUEZ FUTUROSCOPE 10:13
9 GARCIA CAÑELLAS Margarita Victo ESP UAE TEAM ADQ 12:06
10 CHABBEY Elise SUI CANYON // SRAM RACING 12:24

Van Vleuten in her own world

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) delivered a fantastic one-woman show on Saturday, as stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift took the riders into the Vosges mountains. There were three cat-1 ascents to overcome on the way to the finish at Le Markstein, and the Dutch climber went on the move as early as she hit the first slopes up Petit Ballon. She then dropped Vollering on the following climb, Col du Platzerwasel, to go solo 62km away from the finish. She capped off her dominant ride with another strong ascent, on Grand Ballon, to open major gaps and take the Maillot Jaune. She will have to defend it on the way to La Super Planche des Belles Filles, where the winner of the Tour will be crowned on Sunday.
The “queen stage” of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift brings awe and motivation in the peloton. With many attacks and counter-attacks, the peloton fly towards the first ascent of the day, the cat-1 Petit Ballon. 33 attackers, including the World champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo), open a gap of 50’’ just before the ascent. But Movistar have other ideas for the day…

Movistar launch Van Vleuten
The attackers are caught as soon as they hit the first slopes up Petit Ballon (9.3km at 8.1%, summit at km 48.6). Only a dozen of riders remain at the front of the race, the yellow jersey Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) is not part of them… And Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) already attacks.
Demi Vollering (SD Worx) follows Van Vleuten while Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) sets off in pursuit. Behind them, a group of chasers emerge with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Grace Brown, Evita Muzic (FDJ Suez Futuroscope), Juliette Labous (Team DSM), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram) and Silvia Persico (Valcar-Travel & Service). At the summit, Longo Borghini trails by 1’25’’, the chase group by 2’30’’ and Vos by 7’45’’.

Van Vleuten opens up impressive gaps
Van Vleuten sets a strong pace on the following ascent, the cat-1 Col du Platzerwasel (7.1km at 8.3%, km 65.8). The Dutch star drops her younger compatriot inside the last kilometre of ascent and goes solo 62km away from the finish. As she returns to the valley leading to the final climb of the day, Van Vleuten has a gap of 1’25’’ to her first chaser, 5’20’’ to Longo Borghini and 6’20’’ to the chase group.
At the bottom of the final climb, the gap to Vollering is up to 2’20’’. She keeps losing ground on the final ascent, while the battle for the third position unfolds behind her. Persico is dropped from the chase group with 15km to go, and Longo Borghini is caught just after.

Vollering holds on behind Van Vleuten
While Van Vleuten keeps pushing her lead at the front, Niewiadoma ups the pace with 12km to go. Only Labous and Ludwig can follow her; Longo Borghini and Persico (who had briefly returned to the group) are dropped with Zigart.
Van Vleuten summits the final climb with a gap of 3’30’’ to Vollering and swiftly covers the final 7.2km to take the stage win and the Maillot Jaune. With a gap of 5’16’’, Ludwig sprints to the 3rd place ahead of Labous and Niewiadoma, who takes the 3rd place overall.

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift Etappe 6

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Frauenradsport, Tour de France, , , ,

Saint-Dié-Des-Vosges – Rosheim – 128 Km

1 VOS Marianne NED TEAM JUMBO VISMA 03:09:26
2 BASTIANELLI Marta ITA UAE TEAM ADQ 00:00
3 KOPECKY Lotte BEL TEAM SD WORX 00:00
4 BALSAMO Elisa ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:00
5 PERSICO Silvia ITA VALCAR – TRAVEL & SERVICE 00:00
6 CONFALONIERI Maria Giulia ITA CERATIZIT – WNT PRO CYCLING TEAM 00:00
7 GUAZZINI Vittoria ITA FDJ SUEZ FUTUROSCOPE 00:00
8 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna POL CANYON // SRAM RACING 00:00
9 BARBIERI Rachele ITA LIV RACING XSTRA 00:00
10 LONGO BORGHINI Elisa ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:00

Gesamt:

1 VOS Marianne NED TEAM JUMBO VISMA 19:30:14
2 PERSICO Silvia ITA VALCAR – TRAVEL & SERVICE 00:30
3 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna POL CANYON // SRAM RACING 00:30
4 LONGO BORGHINI Elisa ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:35
5 MOOLMAN-PASIO Ashleigh RSA TEAM SD WORX 01:05
6 VOLLERING Demi NED TEAM SD WORX 01:11
7 LABOUS Juliette FRA TEAM DSM 01:19
8 VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek NED MOVISTAR TEAM WOMEN 01:28
9 LUDWIG Cecilie DEN FDJ SUEZ FUTUROSCOPE 02:02
10 CHABBEY Elise SUI CANYON // SRAM RACING 02:34

Vos asserts her authority

Another intense day of racing, and another victory for Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) on the roads of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift! The Dutch icon dominated the sprint in Rosheim after the rolling course of the day and many attacks had reduced the bunch to some 50 riders. This time, she outsprinted Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), able to make it to the stage podium despite being involved in the crash that took Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) out of the battle for the stage win. Vos’ results since the start of the Tour are impressive: 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 3rd and 1st again.
Many riders have identified stage 6 as the last opportunity for long range attacks ahead of the final week-end over the Vosges summits… And it naturally leads to an intense battle from the start of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, with 129.2km to cover on a rolling course towards Rosheim.

Longo Borghini’s early chase
Maaike Boogaard (UAE Team ADQ) opens a small gap on the first ascent of the day, the cat-4 Col d’Urbeis (summit at km 19.2) but she’s reeled in at the summit, where Femke Gerritse (Parkhotel Valkenburg) takes 1 QOM point to defend her polka-dot jersey.
Action also unfolds at the back, with Elisa Longo Borghini suffering a mechanical on the following downhill. Trek-Segafredo call three teammates back to help her return to the bunch at km 37.

An impressive breakaway
Attacks keep flying and a strong break eventually gets away at km 47 with 14 riders: Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek-Segafredo), Sheyla Gutierrez (Movistar), Christine Majerus (SD Worx), Marie Le Net (FDJ Suez Futuroscope), Anna Henderson (Jumbo-Visma), Franziska Koch (Team DSM), Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon//Sram), Ruby Roseman-Gannon (BikeExchange-Jayco), Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT), Laura Smulders (Liv Racing Xstra), Katrin Hammes (EF Education-Tibco-SVB), Jesse Vandenbulcke (Le Col-Wahoo), Joscelin Lowden (Uno-X) and Tamara Dronova (Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad).
Lowden is the strongest on the cat-4 Côte de Klingenthal (km 59.7) and the cat-3 Côte de Grendelbruch (km 67.7) to claim 5 QOM points. In the bunch, UAE Team ADQ and Valcar-Travel & Service control the gap around 2 minutes.

Wiebes and Kopecky go down
The gap is down to 1 minute when Cordon-Ragot attacks inside the last 30km. Vandenbulcke also has a go and Hammes powers to the line of the bonus point (km 101.5). Grace Brown (FDJ Suez Futuroscope) sets a strong pace in the bunch and they only trail by 30’’ into the last 25km.
Henderson attacks on the way down and the breakaway explodes. Meanwhile, Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), two of the stage favourites, suffer a crash. They get back up but lose time and the pace in the bunch drops down.

Vos is unstoppable
The attackers get back together for the last 20km, except for Koch. Team DSM set a strong pace in the bunch, despite Wiebes’ crash. Henderson attacks again and a leading trio emerges for the last 15km with Le Net and Lowden. Kopecky returns to the bunch and Audrey Cordon Ragot drops back to help the chase in the peloton, trailing by 45’’.
Le Net goes solo on the final ascent of the day, with 10km to go. Over the top, she has a lead of 24’’ to the bunch, led by Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) after an unsuccessful attack by Liane Lippert (Team DSM).
Le Net is eventually caught with 5km to go. Jumbo-Visma and Trek-Segafredo set the sprint in the fast run-in to Rosheim. And Vos powers to victory, again.

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift Etappe 4

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Frauenradsport, Tour de France, , , , , ,

Troyes – Bar-Sur-Aube – 127 Km

1 REUSSER Marlen SUI TEAM SD WORX 03:16:30
2 MUZIC Evita FRA FDJ SUEZ FUTUROSCOPE 01:24
3 AMIALIUSIK Alena BLR CANYON // SRAM RACING 01:24
4 EWERS Veronica USA EF EDUCATION-TIBCO-SVB 01:24
5 VOS Marianne NED TEAM JUMBO VISMA 01:40
6 KOPECKY Lotte BEL TEAM SD WORX 01:40
7 PERSICO Silvia ITA VALCAR – TRAVEL & SERVICE 01:40
8 ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby AUS TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE-JAYCO 01:40
9 LONGO BORGHINI Elisa ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 01:40
10 VOLLERING Demi NED TEAM SD WORX 01:40
11 LACH Marta POL CERATIZIT – WNT PRO CYCLING TEAM 01:40
12 LIPPERT Liane GER TEAM DSM 01:40
13 VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek NED MOVISTAR TEAM WOMEN 01:40
14 LABOUS Juliette FRA TEAM DSM 01:40

Gesamt:

1 VOS Marianne NED TEAM JUMBO VISMA 11:48:46
2 PERSICO Silvia ITA VALCAR – TRAVEL & SERVICE 00:16
3 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna POL CANYON // SRAM RACING 00:16
4 LONGO BORGHINI Elisa ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:21
5 MOOLMAN-PASIO Ashleigh RSA TEAM SD WORX 00:51
6 VOLLERING Demi NED TEAM SD WORX 00:57
7 LABOUS Juliette FRA TEAM DSM 01:05
8 VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek NED MOVISTAR TEAM WOMEN 01:14
9 LUDWIG Cecilie DEN FDJ SUEZ FUTUROSCOPE 01:48
10 CHABBEY Elise SUI CANYON // SRAM RACING 02:20
11 GARCIA CAÑELLAS Margarita Victo ESP UAE TEAM ADQ 02:26
12 MUZIC Evita FRA FDJ SUEZ FUTUROSCOPE 02:47
13 LIPPERT Liane GER TEAM DSM 02:55
14 EWERS Veronica USA EF EDUCATION-TIBCO-SVB 02:55
15 ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby AUS TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE-JAYCO 03:11

Reusser means power
The European time-trial champion Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) made the most of her skills to take a spectacular solo victory in Bar-sur-Aube, at the end of stage 4 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The Swiss powerhouse attacked with 23km to go, ahead of the final gravel section of the day, and eventually triumphed in Bar-sur-Aube with a gap of 1’24’’ on Evita Muzic. Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) resisted the many attacks launched by her rivals and eventually dominated them in the final sprint while Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ) lost almost 2 minutes as she suffered mechanical incidents and a crash. Vos will wear the Maillot Jaune for a third day on stage 5, as the peloton take on the longest stage of the Tour (175.6km towards Saint-Dié-des-Vosges).

As always since the start of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the battle for the breakaway is an intense one from the start. It takes many attacks, counter-attacks and follow up moves for a breakaway to establish on the way to Bar-sur-Aube, to be reached after 126.8km.

First attacks
The World champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) tries to get away with a 23-rider group but Movistar control that move. 42.5km are covered in the first hour before a group of three riders manage to make the break: Laura Asencio (Ceratizit-WNT), Valérie Demey (Liv Racing Xstra) and Coralie Demay (St-Michel Auber 93).
They open a gap of up to 2’40’’ en route to the first categorised ascent of the day, the cat-3 Côte de Celles-sur-Ource (summit at km 68.1), to be immediately followed by the first “white road”, the Chemin blanc de Celles (2,300m). The intensity increases in the bunch with many teams battling for the front positions and the gap quickly drops down.

First white roads
Demey can’t keep up with the pace set by Asencio and Demay while a race of attrition begins in the bunch. Canyon//Sram, SD Worx, Trek-Segafredo and Jumbo-Visma are the most involved teams to set the pace behind the attackers.
Demay goes solo at the front on the 2nd ascent of the day, the cat-3 Côte du Val des Clos (km 77.3). Around 50 riders remain in the front bunch when they eventually catch Demay at km 90, on the penultimate and longest white road of the day, Chemin blanc du plateau de Blu (4,400m).
On the gravel, Kasia Niewiadoma (3rd on GC, Canyon//Sram), Mavi Garcia (6th, UAE Team ADQ) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (10th, FDJ Suez Futuroscope) all suffer mechanicals. They manage to get back to the front bunch on the cat-4 Côte de Maître Jean (km 98.6).

The key attack
Marlen Reusser attacks with 23km to go and quickly opens a gap. She has a lead of 25’’ as she enters the final 20km and faces the last gravel section of the day. Niewiadoma tries to attack several times, Vos also moves, Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) has a late puncture, but the GC contenders stay together except for Garcia, who sustains another mechanical and eventually crashes inside the last 15km.
Alena Amialiusik (Canyon//Sram), Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope) and Veronica Ewers (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) successively set off in pursuit and get together on the Côte des Bergères, the penultimate ascent of the day. But Reusser is too far away and she forges on on the last climb of the day, Côte du Val Perdu, to power to victory.
@ASO