Tour de France Femmes 2024 (August 12th-18th)

[Libertine Seguros]

It's complicated though because so many other riders were in a position to move up significantly in GC, Kasia was always going to find a group to help keep her in contact, Brands effort was all about getting into the top 10 which helped Kasia massively.

If SDWorx were functional as a "team" they'd have left a rider in that group spoiling turns to defend the breakaway.

Niamh Fisher-Black was there for a while, and she did try to disrupt cohesion in the valley, but as soon as Alpe d'Huez started, she exploded and had to just suffer her own way in.

 

[Unchained]

I have done my best to hype her up before this stage, but like most people, I didn't know who she was four months ago.

I only know 6-8 names and I am always pleasantly surprised by a great ride by a racer, I don't know. For many years I didn't enjoy women's bike racing because of lack of depth and racing quality. That has drastically, dramatically changed in just a few years. This TDF was something I didn't plan to watch, the efforts by multiple great athletes and the parity makes it fun. Not knowing who will win makes it more enjoyable for me. Impressive all around

 

[Mayomaniac]

An ex-rower who finished 2nd on the Col d'Aubisque in the Tour des Pyrénées a couple of months ago. It seems like she might be a bit like 2016-vintage Anna Kiesenhofer at the moment, lacking in pack skills or development in cycling from that perspective, but with all the physical tools necessary, so she comes to the fore on stages like this where it's far more mano a mano and far less about placement in the bunch and team tactics and so on.

Interesting, usually on the women's side (at least in Austria) it's more people crossing over from speedskating (they already do crazy amounts of riding during the summer) or SkiMo, or XC Skiing.

 

[jaylew]

What a fantastic race. Top 3 separated by 10'. I gave Kasia NO shot after getting dropped on Glandon. Even with her getting help and pulling it back to around 40' I figured she wouldn't even be close in the end considering how much she lost on Glandon. From what she said, it sounds like she just had a really bad moment there and started pounding the nutrition and was able to stabilize things a bit. I'm super happy for her.

Simple. She Lost by four seconds. She had her crash & was on her feet after 10 seconds. It took another 70 seconds before she started cycling again.

Agreed. As bad as some of the stuff SD Worx did was, If she shows any urgency whatsoever after t hat crash, she wins the Tour. Puck went down too and is up and running in no time. Sure, Demi was more hurt than Puck but she wasted a TON of time. All I could think about as I was watching was "what the f is she doing?"

 

[jaylew]

Greatest stage in women's cycling history, I think.

I still think the La Course 2018 Van der Breggen v Van Vleuten was better but that was one of the most dramatic races I've ever seen, men or women.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Meanwhile in the SDworx account with the same photo, they're absolutely getting owned in the comments 🤣

The Twitter one is similarly funny. My favourite one yet is, "sorry, what team was she riding for? I couldn't see it on the helicam, my view was obscured by the massive knife in her back"...

 

[jaylew]

Nice win for Demi, what was she supposed to do, thank the team and Lolrena after that tactical fail?
Also, who the f*** is Valentina Cavallar and since when can she climb like that?

I think they said coming in to the Tour she had a total of 12 race days ever under her belt.

 

[Izzyeviel]

I think they said coming in to the Tour she had a total of 12 race ever under her belt.

Yup. Olympic rower turned pro cyclist. Lost the QoM at Basque by 2 points to a certain Vollering

 

[awavey]

Niamh Fisher-Black was there for a while, and she did try to disrupt cohesion in the valley, but as soon as Alpe d'Huez started, she exploded and had to just suffer her own way in.

Yep & I'm maybe being harsh as Niamh did her best, and at one stage they had 4 up the road, but it's also like where were the rest of them then when it counted ?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I think they said coming in to the Tour she had a total of 12 race ever under her belt.

Yeah, she rode her first pro race at Itzulia in April, where she was already in the break on the first day and led the QOM until Vollering overtook her on the last day.

There's a great story about her being inspired to take the leap and switch to cycling, after she attended the last stage of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes and rode part of the stage behind the broom wagon.

With no race experience, it was however difficult for her to get a contract, but Arkéa was willing to give her a chance, and the rest is history.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yep & I'm maybe being harsh as Niamh did her best, and at one stage they had 4 up the road, but it's also like where were the rest of them then when it counted ?

47 Mischa Bredewold +32'32
51 Christine Majerus +34'19
56 Lorena Wiebes +36'20
76 Blanka Vas +38'43

Probably all hands on deck to keep Wiebes inside the time cut in case Vos missed it and they could get the green jersey. Gotta keep priorities in order. Lorena will get upset if others aren't at her service and ask for more money.

 

[Lequack]

Podium

 

[Samu Cuenca]

47 Mischa Bredewold +32'32
51 Christine Majerus +34'19
56 Lorena Wiebes +36'20
76 Blanka Vas +38'43

Probably all hands on deck to keep Wiebes inside the time cut in case Vos missed it and they could get the green jersey. Gotta keep priorities in order. Lorena will get upset if others aren't at her service and ask for more money.

You can't blame Wiebes for Reusser's or Shackley's misfortunes. They needed one stronger climber, but they forgot to sign the right Belgian Lotte

 

[Libertine Seguros]

You can't blame Wiebes for Reusser's or Shackley's misfortunes. They needed one stronger climber, but they forgot to sign the right Belgian Lotte

Though obviously Reusser or a healthy Shackley would have balanced out the team and made it a moot point, Fisher-Black would have been more than enough if only they had a strong rouleuse and sprinter type that excels in short bursts that could have dropped back when misfortune struck on stage 5.

 

[ppanther92]

Nice win for Demi, what was she supposed to do, thank the team and Lolrena after that tactical fail?
Also, who the f*** is Valentina Cavallar and since when can she climb like that?

Qualified for the 2020 Olympics in rowing. Transitioned to cycling in 2023, pro since this year. She showed in minor races that she climbs really well, still loses a lot of time on flat stages or downhills

 

[ontheroad]

That was gripping sport, it is my highlight of the cycling season (men or women) and I don’t watch women’s racing regularly but I was rooting for Kasia today. She is a very stylish rider but too often has been the bridesmaid so to see her actually lift the biggest prize of all was fantastic.

 

[ppanther92]

including fan favorite Kasia it makes the results unacceptable

Wait. what was she supposed to do?

Consequences for Wiebes and SD in charge for sure but you can't expect competitors to somehwo wait and lose time tehmselves in a hectic final.

 

[awavey]

Agreed. As bad as some of the stuff SD Worx did was, If she shows any urgency whatsoever after t hat crash, she wins the Tour. Puck went down too and is up and running in no time. Sure, Demi was more hurt than Puck but she wasted a TON of time. All I could think about as I was watching was "what the f is she doing?"

and in the same crash Pfeiffer fractures bones in her neck and hand, I wouldnt be remotely surprised if we hear Demi actually fractured some bones too, but they kept it quiet because she could ride through the pain and the prize was too big to give up. her hug with Niamh at todays finish she winces alot at the end, thats more than road rash.

and if Wiebes stops and then goes all in to lead Demi back to the pack, she easily makes up 5 secs and more. Thats where the race is lost, not the reaction to the crash.

oh and btw the footage shows Team SD Worx didnt even give her a push just watch the footage from Lanterne Rouge

View: https://youtu.be/IIKnBxSYmfA?feature=shared&t=253

 

[ppanther92]

Consequences for Wiebes and SD in charge for sure but you can't expect competitors to somehwo wait and lose time tehmselves in a hectic final.

But Wiebes and SD should simply be asked a straightforwad question by journalists - "Was an 8th place in that sprint finish worth losing the Tour?" If they say yes, or de give some *** answer - Vollering should leave. If they say no - they should face consequences.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

But Wiebes and SD should simply be asked a straightforwad question by journalists - "Was an 8th place in that sprint finish worth losing the Tour?" If they say yes, or de give some *** answer - Vollering should leave. If they say no - they should face consequences.

For Lorena Wiebes, the only thing that she probably regrets is if the prize money for coming 8th on a stage is less than the difference between her share of the kitty money from the team's GC positions if Demi comes 1st or 2nd.

 

[awavey]

so Team SD Worx go for the "Demi Vollering falls just short of Tour victory despite win on Alpe d'Huez" line...

unbelievable, at least Demis comments tell where she thinks she lost the race

Team SD Worx - Protime on Instagram: "Demi Vollering falls just short of Tour victory despite win on Alpe d'Huez With an attack of no less than 54 kilometres from the top of the Col du Glandon, Demi Vollering managed to win the heroic stage to l'Alp

1,411 likes, 35 comments - teamsdworxprotime on August 18, 2024: "Demi Vollering falls just short of Tour victory despite win on Alpe d'Huez With an attack of no less than 54 kilometres from the top of the Col du Glandon, Demi Vollering managed to win the heroic stage to l'Alpe d'Huez, but on...

www.instagram.com

 

[Didinho]

Podium

Puck stole a red boll from Ghekiere.

 

[Pantani_lives]

What a dramatic stage! Vollering might have won if she had waited until the foot of l'Alpe d'Huez, but we'll never know. Niewiadoma used the valley to recover a little and showed a lot of fighting spirit on the final climb. The commentators wrote her off when she was 1'10" behind. After all the places of honor in the past this is the year when her dreams come true.

LeMond is no longer the Tour winner with the smallest gap. Zenon Jaskula is no longer the most successful Polish rider in the Tour.

 

[Didinho]

Mieke Dockx tested positive on COVID today so that explains the struggle every day + the crash.

 

[Izzyeviel]

Puck stole a red boll from Ghekiere.

you should've seen her immediately after stage 5 - there was more red on her than on her jersey. She was like Mr Blobby, but with blood instead of the yellow dots.