Tour de France Femmes: Van Vleuten in yellow jersey after solo victory
DPA
· 30.07.2022
62 kilometre long solo
The 39-year-old Dutchwoman won the seventh and penultimate stage after a 62-kilometre solo ride with a lead of 3:26 minutes on the Grand Ballon ahead of compatriot Demi Vollering and is now in first place after the triumph at the Giro d'Italia before the double.
Van Vleuten replaced Marianne Vos at the top of the overall standings and is now 3:14 minutes ahead of Vollering. This means that the overall victory on the final stage to La Super Planche des Belles Filles should be hard to take from the three-time road world champion.
Van Vleuten speaks out
"It's been a rollercoaster ride after being ill. It's unbelievable. My mentality is to attack. I had to make up some time. I just survived for six days. The stage was perfect for me," said van Vleuten, who had complained of stomach problems in the early days.
Van Vleuten attacked on the Col du Platzerwasel, the penultimate climb, and shook off Vollering in the process. The exceptional rider then extended her lead further and further. Only Vollering kept the gap within limits, behind her there were already large time gaps. Vos lost more than a quarter of an hour and Katarzyna Niewiadoma from Poland, who came third overall, also lost more than five minutes.
Final at the Super Planche des Belles Filles
The women's tour, which has been revitalised this year, ends on Sunday with the tough final climb in Planche des Belles Filles. Lennard Kämna missed out on the stage win there in the men's tour by 100 metres when he was caught by the top stars Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard shortly before the finish line.
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