Stage 7 - Sélestat to Le Markstein Fellering - 127.1km - Saturday, July 30
The first mountain stage—and the Queen Stage—of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is finally here, and it's the penultimate stage in the race, so it's going to be a big day in the Vosges Mountains. With three major climbs—Petit Ballon, Col du Platzerwasel and Grand Ballon—this is the day that we'll see the climbers in the race truly shine.
The course runs 127 kilometers and roughly 30 of them take place on the climbs. Expect a lot of small breakaways and attacks in this stage, and a fantastic effort heading into the finish, which comes only a few kilometers after the final climb—with no chance to recover, since it's a slight uphill into the finish.
Riders to Watch
With big climbs coming up, Jumbo-Visma’s Marianne Vos’s 30-second advantage could be in jeopardy, so it will be interesting to see how she handles what will surely be a day of attacks launched up and over the climbs. Riders like Kristen Faulkner of Bike Exchange - Jayco, who won the Queen stage in the Giro Donne a couple of weeks ago (and who’s been working on her descending) will certainly be hoping for a stage win. And Movistar’s Van Vleuten is still in the top 10 in the GC and excels in the mountains—assuming she’s feeling better. DSM’s Juliette Labous will be fighting for a stage win and a bump in GC standings as well, but we’re really looking forward to seeing how SD Worx’ mountain tactics play out with Demi Vollering and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio so close in the overall standings.
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When to Watch
Do not miss a minute tomorrow, since coverage will begin right around when the climbing starts, and it's sure to be a must-watch.
The race will begin at 7:30AM EST and take roughly 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete. Stream it on the Peacock App starting at 9:20AM EST or watch the replay later. (Your NBC credentials should allow you to log in, or if you don't have cable, a month-long subscription to Peacock is reasonably cheap!) For those in Canada, FloBikes will be broadcasting the race.
Note: Each day, only two and a half hours of the race will be broadcast, hence the difference in the start time of the race and the start time of the broadcast.
If you're concerned about missing some pedaling time while you spectate the race, you can always hop on Zwift and ride sections of Zwift Island created to mimic parts of each stage—and join other Tour de France Femmes-obsessed fans while you ride!
