The Tour de France Femmes continues Tuesday with its most straightforward day yet — a 128-km run from Saumur to Poitiers designed for the sprinters. With no major climbs on tap, the stage should favour the fastest women in the peloton, though a short 600-m rise at 4 per cent just before the final three km could give punchier riders a window to disrupt the lead-out trains.
After a dominant display on Monday, Lorena Wiebes will be the clear favourite. The European champion powered to her first stage win of this year’s race and showed no signs of rust in reeling in Marianne Vos — who now wears yellow thanks to bonus seconds.
All eyes will also be on Demi Vollering after her late crash in Stage 3. Her ability to bounce back could shape the GC picture in the days ahead. Her team said that, “Examinations conducted by the team doctor revealed that Demi Vollering suffered multiple bruises. In the evening, Demi underwent an initial evaluation for a suspected concussion.”
The statement went on to say that the team’s medical staff, Vollering and the FDJ-SUEZ management jointly decided not to go to hospital in the evening, given the lack of urgency related to her medical condition.
‘New examinations with a second concussion protocol will be undertaken tomorrow morning in order to rule out any suspicion. These results will allow Demi and the team to confirm whether or not she will be on the start line tomorrow, for stage 4 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift,” it read.
Alison Jackson (EF Education – Oatly) rode well on Monday, animating the early break and finishing in the mix in the finale. Sarah Van Dam (CERATIZIT) has another good shot for a top-10 or better in the sprint today as well.
The fastwomen should enjoy Tuesday’s stage – as soon, the Tour de France Femmes will spend the next five days with all kinds of climbs.
You can watch the action on Flobikes.com. Afterwards, check back on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report.
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