12.28pm BST
In his race report yesterday, Jeremy Whittle provided this handy summary of stage six’s impact on the GC ranking:
Kim Le Court was as good as her word at the bonus sprints and made every second count. The Mauritian took another four seconds, just ahead of the defending champion, Kasia Niewiadoma, to extend her overall lead. “The goal was to control the race, and then see if the legs were there,” she said. “After that, it was to take the remaining bonus seconds, as there was already a rider up ahead.”
“We tried to close the gap to Squiban to try and get the stage, but it wasn’t going to happen so tried to get a bit more time at the finish. I couldn’t wish for it to be better, apart from maybe winning the stage.”
The 29-year-old leads by 26 seconds from Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and by 30 seconds from Niewiadoma, who leap-frogged the pre-race favourite, Demi Vollering, into third place.
The first mountain stage included 2,475m of altitude gain over four categorised climbs, including the first category Col du Beal, and provoked significant time gaps. Marianne Vos tumbled down the yellow jersey rankings, dropping from sixth to 29th.
12.23pm BST
And who’s wearing which jersey:
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Yellow jersey: Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), 18hrs 29mins 5secs
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Green jersey: Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), 208pts
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Polka dot jersey: Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez), 29pts
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White jersey: Julie Bego (Cofidis), 18hrs 36mins 24secs
12.20pm BST
Here’s a reminder of the top ten on GC after stage six:
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Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), 18hrs 29mins 5secs
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Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), +26secs
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Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon/SRAM), +30secs
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Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), +31secs
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Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx Protime), +35secs
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Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck), +53secs
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Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), +1min 3secs
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Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), +1min 4secs
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Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly), +1min 24secs
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Évita Muzic (FDJ-Suez), +1min 24secs
12.14pm BST
Here is the route profile of stage seven of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift:
12.08pm BST
Stage seven: Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambéry, 160km
Here’s a look at today’s stage, Friday 1 August: Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambéry, 159.7km, with the race director of the Tour de France Femmes, Marion Rousse:
From the magnificent monastery at Brou, the race will start on flat roads on the edge of the Dombes and the Ain plain. The riders will skim past the Glandieu waterfall before finding their pace checked by the Saint-Franc climb. After passing through Les Échelles and the Guiers Vif gorges, they will head for the Col du Granier (8.9km at 5.4%). The dive into the finish, located in front of the Chambéry Savoie Stadium, is likely to be fast and technical.
12.00pm BST
Preamble
After yesterday’s mountain stage, there’s a hilly parcours for the riders today, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be an easy day for them. The fatigue is building and there are two more mountain days before the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift culminates in Châtel this Sunday. Stage seven also brings us the first day in the Alps of this year’s Tour de France Femmes.
Today’s stage will take the peloton over almost 160km of roads, with three categorised climbs loaded into the second half. After reaching the summit of the final climb, the Col du Granier (8.9km averaging 5.4%), those battling for the stage win will swoop down a fast and technical descent into Chambéry. GC contenders will want to position themselves well to either gain time or not lose it. Those that are particularly adept at descending, such as Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon/SRAM), may well also have their eye on the stage win. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) are also riders that relish a fast, technical mountain descent. But don’t take your eyes off the maillot jaune, Kim Le Court Pienaar, who is looking particularly strong, not to mention her closely placed competitors, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez).
The rollout will begin at 1.30pm CET/12.30pm BST, so stick with us for live updates of the racing.
If you want to catch up on yesterday’s lively stage and Maëva Squiban’s (UAE Team ADQ) perfect attack, here is Jeremy Whittle’s report from Ambert:
Updated at 12.03pm BST
