Leaving Albi and heading for Blagnac, the peloton of the Tour de France Women with Zwift set off on this 6th stage at a particularly high pace, dictated by attempts to form a breakaway.
In the first third of the race, a trio of cyclists including Agnieszka Skalniak-Sojka (Canyon//Sram), Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT) and Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) managed to break away from a peloton determined not to let them slip away.
As they approached the last climb on the list, the Côte de la Gayre, the FDJ-SUEZ team confirmed its aggressive and vengeful attitude, with Loes Adegeest, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Jade Wiel and Grace Brown all trying their luck, but without success.
With a 10 second lead under the red flemme, Emma Norsgaard resisted the return of the peloton to offer Denmark its 2nd victory in the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift after Cecilie’s victory in Epernay last year. Vittoria Guazzini, perfectly placed in the final, confirmed her return to form by taking 9th place on the stage.
Our Danish leader, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, remains in 11th place overall and will tackle the Aspin and Tourmalet queen stage less than a minute behind the 2022 winner, Annemiek van Vleuten. Loes Adegeest fell at kilometre 21 and finished the stage on time.
© Thibaut Mongis