The first proper GC day of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes. The peloton will have 3 major climbs to crest but not quite a summit finish. A steady opening from Sélestat will see the riders to the base of the Petit Ballon. A tough test of 9.3km at 8.1%, will thin the peloton out without any hard attacks needed. Teams will set a pace up there to manage their efforts. It should be a GC day with a head-to-head between Van Vleuten and Vollering.
Based on the way Stage 4 at the Giro Donne played out, we could see an attack on the Col du Platzerwasel. A smallish peloton will shed further numbers on the 7.1km climb at 8.3% and potentially leave just the GC riders and a few of their helpers. The descent and next 40km will give dropped riders a chance to catch back up but the GC riders won’t be able to switch off.
A sprint at Oderen and then bonus seconds halfway up the Grand Ballon will be an extra reward for those riders still near the front. The Grand Ballon is a tough ask to finish the stage. 13.5km at 6.7% will be enough to gap all but the strongest riders but there is still 7km of gentle descent and flat to the finish line at Le Markstein. There we should see a sprint between any GC riders still together and it could be a Vollering vs Van Vleuten head-to-head.
The climbs were used in the 2014 men’s Tour de France across 2 stages. The first saw Tony Martin win with a break that took in Le Markstein and the Grand Ballon summit. The next day Vincenzo Nibali won on La Planche des Belles Filles which also took in the Petit Ballon and Col du Platzerwasel.
Tour de France Femmes 2022 Stage 7 Profile
Tour de France Femmes 2022 Stage 7 Climb Profiles
Tour de France Femmes 2022 Stage 7 Favourites
Demi Vollering
Marta Cavalli
Elisa Longo Borghini
Mavi Garcia
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig
Kasia Niewiadoma
Juliette Labous
Grace Brown
Evita Muzic
Kristen Faulkner
Lianne Lippert
Veronica Ewers
Krista Doebel-Hickok
Vittoria Guazzini
Liz Holden
Leah Thomas
