How the race finished
Demi Vollering (SD Worx Protime) won the final stage atop the Alpe d’Huez ahead of Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix Deceuninck). Evita Muzic (FDJ Suez) claimed third on the stage, but Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing), who came in with her, had done just enough to claim the overall victory by seconds. Vollering finished second overall, with Rooijakkers in third.
Full results are available below.
How it happened
Stage Eight, the final stage of the Tour de France Femmes 2024, offered up a parcours for the climbing specialists, setting up for an exciting finale to the GC with the stage finish atop the infamous Alpe d’Huez. While there were a couple of smaller climbs in the first half, the latter part of the stage was where the serious climbing lay, keeping the race open until the line.
Almost from the start, teams looked to get riders up the road in attacks. Amber Kraak (FDJ Suez) went from the line, along with polka dot jersey wearer Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance Soudal). Then a group of 17 riders, joined by a counter move of a further 6 riders, made a strong breakaway of 23 ahead of the bunch. This group included Ghekiere, Loes Adegeest (FDJ Suez), Marthe Truyen (Fenix Deceuninck), Camille Fahy and Célia le Mouel (St Michel Mavix Auber 93), Liane Lippert and Olivia Baril (Movistar), Lucina Brand (Lidl Trek), Erica Magnaldi and Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ), Mie Ottestad and Katrine Aalerud (Uno X Mobility), Silke Smulders (Liv AlUlA Jayco), Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ceratizit WNT Pro Cycling), Kristen Faulkner and Noemi Rüegg (EF Oatly Cannondale), Fem Van Empel and Reijanne Markus (Visma Lease a Bike), Franzisca Koch (dsm firmenich PostNL), and Mischa Bredewold, Blanka Vas, Christine Majerus, and Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx Protime).
As the front group hit the base of the col de Tamié (9.7km at 4%), their lead over the peloton grew steadily. At the top of the climb with 122 km to go, the gap sat at around 1:40. Carrying on from yesterday, Ghekiere crested the QOM point first, adding a further five points to her total. Puck Pieterse (Fenix Deceuninck) was now the only other with a mathematical chance of contesting the QOM jersey.
Best placed on GC in the front group was Ghekiere, 1:27 down on the overall race leader Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing). At 1:47 down Lippert was also well placed to take advantage if the break went deep into the stage. SD Worx Protime had managed to get four riders into the move, clearly intending to use them as satellite riders for Demi Vollering (SD Worx Protime) to launch her assault for the overall victory later in the stage.
Following the descent off the Col de Tamié, the race settled into a holding-pattern while the riders sped along the valley floor, towards the base of Col du Glandon. With 100km to go, the gap sat at 2:50. Wiebes picked up the maximum intermediate sprint points as they passed through Aiguebelle, although, provided she finishes the stage today, Marianne Vos (Visma Lease a Bike) was already assured of winning the Sprint classification.
With 71 km to go the break hit the lower slopes of the Col du Glandon (19.9km at 7.2%). The peloton had reduced the gap down to under two minutes, with Canyon//SRAM Racing, FDJ – SUEZ and Fenix-Deceuninck all actively working in the bunch. They appeared to be mindful of the dangers of letting any of the SD Worx Protime in the break establish any larger gap over the Col du Glandon.
With 67km to, Liv AlUla Jayco set about whittling down the peloton, with the bunch reduced to about 25 riders. FDJ Suez then took over, with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig setting the pace. With the peloton now only one minute behind. Lucinda Brand (Lidl Trek) attacked off the front of the breakaway, fracturing the group. Van Empel and Ghekiere were amongst those immediately dropped, leaving the remnants to bridge back up to Brand. Seven riders remained: Lippert, Brand, Magnaldi, Aalerud, Smulders, Arzuffi and Adegeest. Perhaps most significantly, none of the SD Worx Protime riders were left at the front of the race.
At 61km to go, Mavi Garcia (Liv AlUla Jayco) drifted off the front of the peloton on a flatter section of road mid-way up the climb. She soon bridged over to the stragglers dropped from the break, then set off again as the road tipped upwards. The peloton also caught the group that were dropped from the break, including two SD Worx Protime riders. Valentina Cavallar (Arkea B&B Hotels) attacked next from the peloton, catching a tiring Garcia and surging past. With 57 km to go and just under 6 km to the top of the climb, she was able to make contact with the break, and then, as the breakaway hit the steeper slopes and disintegrated, pushed on solo.
Niamh Fisher Black (SD Worx Protime) ramped up the pace on the front of the peloton. Juliette Labous (dsm firmenich PostNL) and Thalita de Jong (Lotto Dstny Ladies) were quickly dropped. Fisher Black’s pace saw the remaining breakaway riders caught, leaving only Cavallar out front.
With 54 km to go, on the steepest slopes, Vollering attacked. Niewiadoma couldn’t follow, and it was Pauliena Roijakkers, who came into the day two seconds ahead of Vollering on GC, who jumped onto Vollering’s wheel, as a gap opened up behind. The pair caught Cavallar quickly, and settled in at the lead of the race.
In pursuit, Niewiadoma seemed to be struggling, and Gaia Realini (Lidl Trek) attacked over the top of her to go after the leaders, but faded back to the group again. Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance Soudal) worked with Niewiadoma, alongside Evita Muzic (FDJ Suez) and Lucina Brand (Lidl Trek). With Pieterse not present in the front group, Ghekiere would win the polkadot jersey providing she finished the stage.
They continued to wind upward on damp roads shrouded in clouds. At the top, the three leaders were still all together, with 55 seconds lead over the yellow jersey. In poor visibility conditions Vollering immediately gapped the other two on the descent, leaving Rooijakkers and Cavallar struggling to rejoin on a small rise. Behind, Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit WNT Pro Cycling) used her descending prowess to link back up with the yellow jersey group. Niamh Fisher Black also rejoined the group and Brand set the pace to stop the gap going out any further.
At 28 km to go, Kerbaol and Niewiadoma got a gap over the rest of the chase group, catching Cavallar. The gap to the leaders had stretched ou to 1:15, around the point where Niewiadoma would lose yellow. Up front, Rooijakkers seemed unwilling to do turns with Vollering, perhaps already thinking about the overall victory.
On the run in to the Alpe d’Huez Kerbaol and Niewiadoma were caught by the chase group again, with the group, powered by Brand, riding strongly and bringing the gap to the 2 leaders down to 55 seconds.
With14km to go, the two leaders hit the bottom of Alpe d’Huez with a 44 second gap. Behind them, Brand swung off and Niewiadoma launched into her chase up the hill. Fisher-Black, Kerbaol and Cavallar were soon unable to follow, leaving Niewiadoma, Realini and Muzic to as the chase group. The gap to the leaders held steady around 45 seconds. At the front, Vollering continued to set the pace without any assistance from Rooijakkers.
By 10km to go the gap had edged out to 1:04. Behind, Niewiadoma began to get support, with Muzic contributing on the front. By 5km to go, the gap dropped back under one minute, and by 3km to go Niewiadoma had pulled it back down to 46 seconds. Muzic and Realini looked on the limit just trying to hold on, but Muzic had enough left to attack, which saw Realini dropped.
At 2.5km to go Rooijakkers attacked, but Vollering managed to follow, and then lift the pace again under the Flamme Rouge. Through the final corners Vollering kicked away, opening a gap to Rooijakkers and sealing the stage win. Behind, Niewiadoma continued to dig deep. Muzic came past in the closing metres to take third on the stage, but Niewiadoma had done enough to claim overall victory by mere seconds.
Stage Eight Results
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