Tour De France Femmes: Squiban Sends Home Support Wild With Another Stage Win

Riding a activity of location support, French rider Maëva Squiban shocked nan peloton for nan 2nd successive time pinch a perfectly-timed solo attack, surging up Col du Granier and descending down to nan decorativeness statement to return shape seven.

Squiban’s feat is each nan much remarkable, fixed her team, UAE Team ADQ, only person 3 riders near successful nan race, having had 4 withdrawals. After her victory, Squiban said to reporters, describing nan shape arsenic “incredible” and that she was “proud of what we did today”.

After Annemiek van Vleuten, Charlotte Kool and Lorena Wiebes, Squiban becomes nan 4th rider to triumph 2 consecutive Tour de France Femmes stages aft her occurrence connected shape six which she succeeded connected a 32km breakaway done nan wood climbs of nan Livradois-Forez nationalist parkland to Ambert.

It was again different French one-two arsenic Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) hit Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health) for 2nd place, whilst Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl–Trek) and Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) completed nan apical five.

Kim Le Court, wearing nan yellowish jersey, was dropped by Squiban and nan remainder of her wide classification rivals up nan last climb but constricted her losses pinch a beardown descent. In nan GC standings, nan Mauritian has a 26-second lead complete second-placed Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, while defending champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma is simply a further 4 seconds backmost successful third.

Kim Le Court breathes a sigh of alleviation aft recovering to clasp nan yellowish jersey. Photograph: Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images

“I wasn’t emotion truthful bully since nan commencement of nan shape – it’s been a fewer days [that] I’ve been going done immoderate stuff,” said Le Court aft redeeming nan yellowish jersey. “My assemblage conscionable unopen disconnected but I ne'er gave up. I had to do nan champion descent of my life. With my squad moving truthful difficult this week, it’s really, really difficult to springiness up. I don’t want to disappoint them and nan group who’ve travel out.”

Saturday is nan queen stage, and different mountainous thrust will play a immense portion successful deciding this year’s winner, arsenic nan riders navigate nan 111.9km travel from Chambéry to Saint François Longchamp – Col de la Madeleine.