2023-07-30 08:45:07
After the first at the top of the Tourmalet, the first on the time trial. Since the return of the Tour de France Women in 2022, the peloton will take part in a time trial this Sunday (from 2:30 p.m.) during the eighth and final stage of the event. The now 124 runners (against 154 at the start in Clermont-Ferrand) will compete over 22 km around Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). An overall flat route that should smile on a big roller, like Marlen Reusser (SD Worx), specialist in the discipline and double European champion in 2021 and 2022.
If she stunned the sixth stage of the Tour de France by winning almost two minutes ahead of her first pursuer, Demi Vollering must not make any mistakes this Sunday if she wants to avoid seeing her opponents return to the standings. general. But the wearer of the yellow jersey starts with a head start and a psychological advantage, in particular over the overall winner in 2022. During the Dutch championships in the discipline organized in June, Demi Vollering (second in the race) had ahead of Annemiek Van Vleuten by nearly 20 seconds.
Demi Vollering wearing the yellow jersey. AFP or licensors
We will also have to count on Lotte Kopecky, teammate of Demi Vollering in SD Worx and in yellow for six stages of this Tour de France Women. Sixth at the top of the Tourmalet at 3′32″ from the winner of the queen stage of this Tour, the Belgian “surprised” herself. “I am now 4th, but today (Editor’s note: Saturday) I had no pressure or expectations. I will leave tomorrow with the same mentality. The podium would be huge: I will have to do the time trial of my life,” she explains.
“The eyes are getting harder and harder to open every morning”
Rarely at the front since the start of this Tour de France, the French have one last card to play this Sunday. Expatriated in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques for a few months, Cédrine Kerbaol will evolve almost at home, almost guaranteed to win the classification of best young rider of the event. Above all, she will be much more serene than this Saturday on the starting line.
“Now, I no longer have the pressure I had last night, assures Cédrine Kerbaol at the top of the Tourmalet, relieved to have kept a two-minute lead over her most direct rival in the standings. I think I will be able to tackle this time trial rather calmly”. French champion of the discipline last June, the Finistère should even have the pleasure of wearing blue-white-red edging on her white and purple best youngster jersey.
His runner-up at the French Championship in Cassel, Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Human Powered Health), virtually yellow jersey this week, also ticked this stage. “The objective is really to set a good time on Sunday, confides the multiple French champion. But the fatigue is there, the energy is less and less present and the eyes are more and more difficult to open every morning! “. Finally, Juliette Labous (Team DSM), now 6th in the general classification, is eyeing the top 5, but she will have to gain nearly a minute to overtake her opponents.
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