Tour de France Femmes stage five underway from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais

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Updates as the riders head for the formidable Ventoux Stage six report | Follow us on Instagram | Mail Tom When the route planners drew up this year’s Tour de France Femmes they were probably hoping that the race’s first ever ascent of Mont Ventoux for the ‘queen stage’ would begin with this exact race scenario, where a group of general classification riders are chasing a time-trial specialist in the yellow jersey. They might have hoped defending champion and home favourite, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, was among those GC contenders, but you can’t have everything. What we do have is Demi Vollering breathing down the neck of GC leader Marlen Reusser and others needing to make back minutes on a climb that punishing as it is famous. We should see some furious attacking on the slopes. Featuring Ventoux in this year’s Tour is another indicator of its growing stature. Women’s races have featured the climb before but this its first apeparance in the road book of what is quickly becoming the pinnacle of calendar. Sadly the wildfires have reduced the numbers of spectators allowed across the length of the route, but whoever crosses the line first will have a famous victory to add to their palmares. Continue reading...

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Updates from 12:45 BST/13:45 CET Riders face checks for aerodynamic chest padding Email Luke | Sign up for The Recap Stage five is classified as hilly, and you can say that again. There are eight categorised ascents and lots of uncategorised ones on what promises to be a draining 140km journey from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais. With 2,900m climbing in total, it’s not the most punishing day on paper, but there is potential for this to be a horribly demanding stage for all concerned. Some will fancy their chances in a breakaway but the GC teams will naturally be looking to control: if an overall contender such as Demi Vollering is feeling good, she might try and attack on the final couple of climbs. Continue reading...

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Updates from the hilly 153.4km stage of the Tour Stage five report | Follow us on Instagram | Mail Luke Mont Ventoux looms ever closer – one of the hardest climbs in cycling will be tackled by the peloton on Friday – but today’s 153km trip from Montbrison to Tournon-sur-Rhône is much more than a transitional stage en route to the Giant of Provence. Six categorised climbs await – 2,600m of vertical ascent – as the race winds its way through some stunning (if parched and wildfire-threatened) French countryside, finishing on the banks of the Rhône river in the Ardéche department. Continue reading...