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The anticipation was high as the route of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was announced back in October last year, with hopes that the course would provide a challenge that led to a worthy wearer of the yellow jersey on the long-awaited return of a women’s edition of the French Grand Tour. As the route from Paris to the Vosges mountains was revealed there was no question the feature that provided the crowning glory of the eight-stage race was the La Super Planche des Belles Filles.
It may not be a climb that resonates in Tour de France folklore quite as loudly as the Alpe d’Huez, Tourmalet or Ventoux but it has an exciting, if more recent, history nevertheless. Additionally, the terrain it presents to riders as they bring 1,029 kilometres of racing from Paris to the Vosges mountains to a close means Sunday should surely add another unforgettable chapter.
Anything could happen on La Super Planche des Belles Filles, the final seven kilometre test of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, which saves the hardest part for the dying stages with two brutal stings – gravel and gradient.
The “Super” part of the climb extends onto an unpaved surface and a brutally steep finishing ramp. It is a test that will leave no room for doubt that the rider who climbs onto that final podium at the top of the summit and into the yellow jersey will have earnt her prize and place in history.
Heading into the stage Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) is in prime position, after a long-range attack on stage 7, with Demi Vollering (SD Worx) going along for part of the ride. Van Vleuten is now in yellow with a 3:14 lead on Vollering and 4:33 on Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), though stage 8 will present every opportunity for GC challengers to exploit any weakness or mishap, with two categorised ascents to set the scene before the crowning climb.
Cyclingnews takes a closer look at the ascent which has the potential to flip the GC order right at the very last moment.
The history of the climb
Although not so well known, the tales of battles on the fabled slopes of the legendary mountains so many cycling fans know from the Tour de France also exist within the women’s peloton.
A women’s edition of the race ran from 1984 to 1989 alongside the men’s race, with the rider from United States Marianne Martin going down in the history books as the first winner after 1,059km across 18 stages, which took in the Alps and Pyrenees.
Then came the events that, although not officially a…
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