To summarize the eight days of racing on the 2023 Tour de France avec Zwift in a single phrase may very well be tried with ‘thrilling’. From the primary decisive breakaway by Lotte Kopecky to place her in yellow to the ultimate weekend on the profitable assault on Col du Tourmalet to maintain the maillot jaune with Workforce SD Worx by eventual champion Demi Vollering, it was a full week of motion with surprising story strains every day.
The punctuation mark of the Tour was made by the Dutch squad within the stage 8 time trial in Pau, as Vollering completed second and stood on the stage podium between her teammates Marlen Reusser and Lotte Kopecky. All eight days noticed the yellow jersey on the shoulders of simply two teammates, starting with Kopecky for six days after which transferring to Vollering for the ultimate two, and Kopecky taking the inexperienced jersey and second total. Workforce SD Worx gained 4 of the eight levels with 4 totally different riders.
Nonetheless, the race had a plethora of pivotal moments and an abundance of unpredictable outcomes, together with Vollering overcoming a 20-second time penalty, two race administrators being tossed from the race, in addition to each sprinter Charlotte Kool (Workforce dsm-firmenich) and defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) held winless.
Constructive tales included Niewiadoma’s robust efficiency to assert the mountains classification and a spot on the rostrum, ending simply 21 hundredths of a second behind Kopecky for third total. There was a distinct stage winner every day, with half of them scoring a first-time win on the world’s greatest stage.
And French followers proved they love Le Tour, be it the lads’s race or the ladies’s race. They have been rewarded with performances by French riders comparable to Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Human Powered Well being), who was the digital chief on stage 4, Juliette Labous (Workforce dsm-firmenich), who completed fifth total, and Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT), who gained the perfect younger riders jersey.
Cyclingnews Girls’s Editor Kirsten Frattini and contributor Lukas Knöfler have been on the bottom on the Tour de France Femmes and captured the highlights of the race.
SD Worx race by controversy, find yourself on high
Workforce SD Worx got here into the second version of the Tour de France Femmes with one aim – to win the yellow jersey. Nonetheless, their highway to get there was not as clean as many may need anticipated.
Off to a profitable begin, Lotte Kopecky, who stated she initially was added to the roster as a assist rider, made a late-race assault and held off a chasing peloton to win the opening stage in Clermont-Ferrand, taking the occasion’s first yellow jersey.
Minutes after crossing the end line, nevertheless, rival groups expressed disappointment within the SD Worx techniques, accusing their riders of blocking the chase behind Kopecky.
Members of the peloton additionally accused SD Worx of not taking on the chasing obligations whereas in yellow on stage 3, on a day that labored out fully in SD Worx’s favour, with Lorena Wiebes profitable the bunch dash into Montignac-Lascaux.
“If we weren’t the staff, however a distinct staff was profitable all the pieces, I’d be annoyed, too. That is, in fact, what is occurring to the opposite groups,” SD Worx Director Anna van der Breggen stated of the complaints made towards her riders within the open levels.
Then on stage 4 into Rodez, Vollering crossed the road in second place however thought she had gained. She raised her arms in a considerably hesitant victory salute, however officers quickly knowledgeable her that breakaway rider Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) had already gained the race over a minute earlier. The silver lining was that Demi Vollering had gained eight seconds on rival Van Vleuten.
Vollering’s job was made exponentially tougher given the controversial circumstances surrounding her staff after she was docked 20 seconds on stage 5 and her director Danny Stam was kicked off the Tour. Though Kopecky was nonetheless within the yellow jersey, the controversy and stress on the staff started to indicate within the temper exterior the staff bus.
Nonetheless, come stage 7, when Vollering crested the summit of the long-lasting Col du Tourmalet, all complaints and controversy seemed to be forgotten as she gained almost two minutes on her rivals and all however secured the yellow jersey forward of the ultimate day of racing.
The staff’s celebrations peaked when Marlen Reusser, Vollering and Koepcky went 1-2-3 within the closing time trial, and Vollering sealed the general victory on the Tour de France Femmes. In whole, the staff gained 4 levels and Kopecky gained the inexperienced factors jersey and completed second total.
“We bought a whole lot of shit about us, typically not appropriately, however typically appropriately. However I am very joyful that Demi has ‘put the dots on the i’. I am glad it is not concerning the 20 seconds,” Kopecky stated. (KF)
The defining second: La Géante Demi Vollering rising from the mist on the Tourmalet
The mountaintop end on the Col du Tourmalet, the primary Pyréenées climb ever included within the males’s Tour de France, was the most-anticipated stage of the race. And it held as much as expectations with a panache-powered solo assault from Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) on the descent from the Col d’Aspin earlier than Demi Vollering (Workforce SD Worx) destroyed her competitors on the Col du Tourmalet to take the stage and the yellow jersey.
The climate with low-hanging clouds and intensely restricted visibility on the ultimate climb solely served to extend the momentousness of the stage. When Vollering emerged from the mist and pushed by the final hairpins on the ultimate kilometre, her mouth vast open as she was gasping for air at over 2000 metres of altitude. She appeared like Le Géant (The Big), the well-known statue of a climbing bike owner that’s put in on the high of the Col du Tourmalet – she was La Géante. This picture has already turn out to be a part of the legend that surrounds the Tour de France and will probably be talked about for many years to return. (LK)
Race jury cracks down
After every of the eight levels of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the official race communique included lengthy lists of staff employees and riders who had violated the principles of the race. Fines have been handed out for riders’ carelessly disposing of waste or administrators maneuvering incorrectly among the many caravan.
In different extra extreme incidents, the race jury held a strict stance on laws surrounding drafting and riders’ security that noticed time penalties and even disqualifications at this Tour de France Femmes.
An incident on stage 4 into Rodez noticed two motorbikes attempt to cross the day’s breakaway on slender roads. The primary handed Kathrin Hammes (EF Training-TIBCO-SVB), however the second clipped her handlebars with its massive inflexible plastic panniers.
The CPA Girls initially urged that the moto driver and photographer be faraway from the race after anger and important feedback swept throughout social media. Nonetheless, a few of the riders within the breakaway defended and forgave the photographer’s bike; they obtained a 200 CHF positive as a substitute.
Probably the most dramatic incident throughout the eight days of racing occurred on stage 5 when the race jury handed Demi Vollering (SD Worx) a 20-second time penalty for drafting again into the caravan after a flat tire. The next day, the race jury notified the staff’s director Danny Stam {that a} choice had been made to take away him from the race for harmful driving and inappropriate feedback he made towards the commissaires panel.
The race jury additionally disqualified Lotta Henttala for holding onto the staff automotive throughout stage 6 into Blagnac. AG Insurance coverage-Soudal-QuickStep’s director sportif Servais Knaven, who was driving the staff automobile then, was additionally excluded from the race. The staff later admitted that Henttala held onto a water bottle for 10 seconds, which they regretted, however denied that she held on to the staff automotive.
Stam argued that most of these violations occur each day on the males’s Tour de France and largely go unnoticed by the race jury. Nonetheless, simply because it occurs on a regular basis in males’s racing would not make it proper, and the race jury on the girls’s Tour de France confirmed they have been critical concerning the race guidelines. (KF)
‘Play the sport, but additionally play the poker’
At this Tour de France Femmes, some moments illustrated why persistence and with the ability to ‘play the sport of poker’ may result in a profitable consequence.
Workforce dsm-firmenich was one of many groups that missed out on a victory at this Tour de France Femmes. Their sprinter Charlotte Kool got here shut with a 3rd place on stage 1 into Clermont-Ferrand and was second on stage 6 into Albi, however she had ready all season for a victory.
She and her staff will probably mirror upon her seventh place on stage 3 into Montignac-Lascaux probably the most after this race. There may also be some studying classes on navigating a race towards a robust staff like SD Worx, together with their former rider and world’s greatest sprinter Lorena Wiebes.
SD Worx and Wiebes used their inside information to outfox Workforce dsm-firmenich and gambled on the probability that they might chase lone attacker Julie van de Velde (Fenix-Deceuninck).
In a masterful sport of poker, SD Worx let Workforce dsm-firmenich burn their matches within the chase, solely coming by to shut the hole fully within the final moments of the race, with Wiebes profitable the bunch dash.
“Generally, you must gamble. We additionally discovered ourselves on this state of affairs many instances the place we needed to lead the chase. It is a part of the sport,” Wiebes stated.
Movistar’s Annemiek van Vleuten later praised SD Worx for his or her success within the Tour de France Femmes’ opening levels however stated she hoped to see extra groups lively and reacting to the dominant Dutch staff throughout the eight-day race. However she additionally famous the significance of holding again and permitting the staff to do the work.
“Ultimately, it all the time surprises me that some groups are going to assist SD Worx for the victory. It is occurring throughout the races, however it makes you suppose, ‘play the sport, but additionally play the poker.’
“SD Worx are good at poker, and I’ve to shout out to them as a result of they’re good on the poker sport. It might be time for the opposite groups to play the poker. It will be extra sensible.” (KF)
Annemiek van Vleuten gracious in defeat
Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) went into the season with an formidable aim of profitable all three grand excursions. Whereas she succeeded at La Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d’Italia Donne, she was upset to have completed simply off the rostrum in fourth place on the Tour de France Femmes.
Regardless of feeling disillusioned in her personal efficiency, of which she stated she felt unwell with abdomen issues within the decisive closing two levels, Van Vleuten was gracious in her defeat, congratulating and praising Demi Vollering and SD Worx on their total success.
“Demi Vollering was tremendous good, the entire [SD Worx] staff, they did tremendous properly. She is a younger rider, and it isn’t straightforward to have a lot stress in your shoulders. I can even really feel the stress. I am 40, and I can even really feel the stress, and I am a bit extra used to it,” Van Vleuten stated.
“She will take care of the stress, and it is not straightforward within the Tour de France; there’s a whole lot of pressure, so shout out to her that she will be able to deal with it already at such a younger age. She had an incredible efficiency.”
Van Vleuten additionally praised her teammates – Liane Lippert and Emma Norsgaard – for his or her two stage wins on the Tour, calling them memorable moments. “I believe we achieved a whole lot of stunning reminiscences,” she stated of the staff on the Tour de France Femmes, and her final three seasons at Movistar.
Van Vleuten will subsequent compete on the World Championships in Glasgow, the place she strains up because the defending champion however revealed that she won’t be the Dutch staff chief. She’s going to as a substitute work for Vollering and Lorena Wiebes of their pursuit of the highway race world title.
Van Vleuten is ready to retire on the finish of this season after a glowing 16-year profession in professional biking. (KF)
French riders excel
The French riders could not have been the principle characters because the race performed out on the most important stage of ladies’s biking, however they took on essential supporting roles with out which the 2023 Tour de France Femmes wouldn’t have been the identical.
Marie-Morgane Le Deunff (Arkéa Professional Biking Workforce) was the primary rider to assault within the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, and the French riders stored on attacking to hitch breakaways. Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Human Powered Well being) was one in every of them and was within the maillot jaune digital for a lot of stage 4 when a 14-rider breakaway was given an enormous benefit on the longest-ever stage in Girls’s WorldTour biking.
Ultimately, Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) dropped Cordon-Ragot to briefly take the digital lead herself and win the stage, however the Frenchwoman was joyful together with her efficiency after a loopy yr. After profitable the French championships in June, Cordon-Ragot suffered a stroke in late 2022, the staff she had signed with for 2023 collapsed in December, and when Zaaf Biking Workforce, the staff she signed for within the final minute, turned out to not have funds to pay their riders, she moved to her present staff in April.
“Once we had ten minutes, I actually thought of it. However I knew I must drop or comply with Kastelijn. She went for the stage win, however I gave all of it I had, and I’ve no regrets. I’m all the time bouncing again from large difficulties, however that’s what I do and can proceed to do. There are individuals who have it means worse than me, there’s a conflict in Ukraine, they’re struggling rather more than I’m,” Cordon-Ragot put issues into perspective the day after she made each French biking fan dream.
Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT) took the white jersey of the perfect U23 rider on stage 1 and defended all of it the best way to Pau, changing into the primary French rider to win a classification jersey within the resurrected girls’s Tour. And final however in no way least, Juliette Labous (Workforce dsm-firmenich) completed fifth total after being runner-up on the Giro d’Italia Donne, confirming as soon as extra that she is France’s large stage race hope. (LK)
A well-designed parcours
Clermont-Ferrand was pleased with internet hosting not one, however each Excursions de France in 2023, with banners within the metropolis asserting “2 Excursions selon rien” (2 Excursions or nothing). The parcours from town within the Massif Central to Pau crossed various terrain and was designed very properly, not giving anyone kind of rider a giant benefit over one other and favouring full riders for the final classification whereas additionally providing alternatives for 3 breakaway victories. And regardless of the massive time gaps on stage 7 to the Tourmalet, the ending ITT in Pau nonetheless performed a job as Lotte Kopecky moved from fourth to second total after dropping the maillot jaune to her teammate Demi Vollering the day earlier than.
Within the 2022 version, the race visited the Vosges and the Jura. In 2023, it got here to the Massif Central and the Pyrénées, with the queen stage ending on the Col du Tourmalet. The logical subsequent step can be the Alps, extra particularly the Savoie, Haute-Savoie, and Isère départements. The 2024 version options the race’s first international Grand Départ in Rotterdam, and the southern Alps would merely be too distant for the race to achieve with out exorbitant transfers. La Tremendous Planche des Belles Filles in 2022 and the Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet in 2023 recommend that the ASO is eager to incorporate at the least one very well-known climbs yearly, so the race would possibly come to Alpe d’Huez subsequent yr. The success of the ending ITT may even imply a closing ITT up the well-known hairpins just like the one within the males’s Tour de France in 2004.
Different Alpine climbs just like the Col de Galibier (ideally from the Valloire facet with the Col de Télégraphe as an ‘appetiser’) or Col de la Madeleine, the Mont Ventoux within the Provence, a return to the Pyrénées, however climbing the Port de Balès or different extra easterly cols, and perhaps even a end on the Puy de Dôme could also be sooner or later for the Tour de France Femmes. (LK)
To the French public, it is merely the Tour de France
Everybody we spoke to throughout these 9 days in France referred to the race as merely “the Tour de France”. No distinction was made between the lads’s and girls’s race, whether or not it was the indicators outlining parking restrictions within the begin and end cities, the postman in Maurillac who was overjoyed to have the race come to his hometown, or the riders themselves. A motorbike race is a motorcycle race is a motorcycle race, and the Tour is the Tour is the Tour.
The roadside crowds waved to each automotive that got here by on the race route and cheered on each rider with the identical enthusiasm, and youngsters like Antoine on stage 6 had a good higher probability to fulfill their stars up shut and private than they might on the males’s Tour. All this exhibits that the argument that ladies’s biking isn’t as enticing as males’s races merely doesn’t maintain up: In case you construct it, they are going to come. (LK)