Everything is summed up in ten kilometers, the last of the stage between Clermont-Ferrand and Mauriac, after the previous 142 only served to appreciate the taste of the castle builders of the Cantal, with slender round towers, or the mahogany-red Salers cows with lyre-shaped horns, which graze in the green meadows while the cyclists circulate in a peloton, with occasional short-distance skirmishes. A couple of falls, one of them by Annemiek Van Vleuten, without consequences, had been the only incidents.
Only when Kastelijn, Van Agt and Koster reached a significant difference and the clouds that had threatened hours before began to pour down rain, the stage was unblocked due to falls on the asphalt that suddenly turned into a skating rink. Confalonieri, who was thrown onto the sidewalk, opened the list of incidents on a wide street with no apparent danger, but when shortly after it was one of the breakaways, Yara Kastelijn, who had to release her foot from the pedal, at a roundabout in Ally, downhill and before a curve, the runners understood that things were getting very complicated.
⏪ A german win in Mauriac after a torrential rain made the final tricky. Relive the final KM ⤵️
⏪ An Alleman victory over Mauriac after a torrent rain that gave the piegeux finale. Revive the best kilometer ⤵️#TDFF2023 #WatchTheFemmes @Gozwift pic.twitter.com/8nCuGzRLQb
— Le Tour de France Femmes with Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 24, 2023
When the Dutchwoman tried to connect with her head again, a few kilometers from the finish line, it was Van Agt who slid on the road and collided with the metal guardrail. There she ended her escape and her Tour, because the Jumbo cyclist had to be evacuated to the hospital. Everything, in the middle of the chaos with the very dangerous ground and the bikes mingling among the riders who descended towards the last height, that of Trebiac, where Kastelijn and Koster were neutralized by a small group that grew larger when Van Vleuten took the lead to quell any attempted rebellion. Movistar had its own plan, as had SD Worx the day before. It consisted of putting the arrival on a plate for the German champion, Liane Lippert, who on arrival at the sprint overtook Kopecky, winner in the first stage, and who retains the lead, to give the Spanish team their first win.
Stage Classification:
General ranking:
Position | runner | Equipment | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | L. KOPECKY | TEAM SD WORX | 7:17:36 |
2 | L. LIPPERT | MOVISTAR TEAM WOMEN | +49s |
3 | A. MOOLMAN PASIO | AG INSURANCE – SOUDAL QUICK-STEP TEAM | +59s |
4 | Mr. Vollering | TEAM SD WORX | +59s |
5 | C.LUDWIG | +59s |
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Source: EL PAIS