Tour de France Femmes 2025 (July 26th- August 3rd)

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Why is Marty surprised at Lucinda Brand doing so well on the climb. She's been 4th in the Giro and was top 10 last year. She's just a total diesel when it comes to climbing.

Ghekiere swings off and Gigante takes the pace, still 9km from the summit.
 
Fair play to Gigante for trying but this is looking a bit fruitless. Is she planning to just pull at the front VDB style?
I thought she might just go for a "ride tempo until everybody drops" technique but I think she's concluded that it's too soon for that to work, hence the trackstanding and them letting Lucinda Brand, who is over an hour down, go forth. However, NFB kinda needs her too.
 
I thought she might just go for a "ride tempo until everybody drops" technique but I think she's concluded that it's too soon for that to work, hence the trackstanding and them letting Lucinda Brand, who is over an hour down, go forth. However, NFB kinda needs her too.

It actually looked like a decent situation for NFB to attack herself, although it probably is better for her to have Brand with her until the bottom of the descent or longer if possible.
 
Rider in pink team jersey is having to come back from behind during a long solo over Joux Plane at the front, but sadly no equalities of Sastre, Cunego, Moreau or Pereiro
Now she's lost Vallières-Mill she's on her own, but she is a demon descender, so if she can stay at a reasonable distance she can at least catch some of the group ahead, especially as there are some suspect descenders in the group.

However, we're still 5,5km from the summit of the Joux-Plane (actually a bit more because that's from van der Breggen) so a lot that can be won and lost in that time if anything kicks off in the favourites group.
 
Surely Demi vollering has been saving all her energy for a big attack any minute now right ?
I do not believe she expects to get the 3 minutes on PFP. She needs around 40 seconds on Gigante. Downhill attack is much more fruitful for that. PFP hasn't been descending great so far, but I think Vollering's concern is Gigante and/or not losing out to Niewiadoma as she is a strong descender, and then it's "if I drop PFP and gain some opportunity against her, it's bonus".
 
I mean, maybe Demi can convince them to go so slow that 100 riders come back and PFP can be out of position, but otherwise I don‘t think she‘s struggling on the descents.
Doesn't mean we pretend it didn't happen. Is lightning likely to strike twice? No. But it doesn't mean that testing it out isn't a valid strategy.

Bearing in mind both Gigante and PFP are climbing better than her as evidenced yesterday, why is attacking uphill being treated as the required strategy demanded of her, and attacking downhill a strategy being treated as worthy of criticism?

As I said in the previous post, I think Demi does not expect to gain 3 minutes+ on PFP, and she is targeting gaining as against Gigante's weakness, and any opportunity that gives her against PFP is just an added bonus.
 
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