On a very wet day in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the AG Insurance – Soudal Quick-Step team navigated the treacherous conditions extremely well. The team protected leader Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, who got another great finish and sprinted to fourth in the second stage into Mauriac.
Romy Kasper was an important rider during the stage. With her many years of experience, the German rider knew exactly what to do to keep Ashleigh safe. “It’s always nervous when, after sunny and dry conditions, it suddenly turns to rain. I don’t mind the rain at all and don’t complain. When Jolien told us on the radio there were clouds coming in, I moved up to Ashleigh. Towards that descent to the final climb, she was positioned perfectly to stay at the front. Bringing my leader to the front is something I have done often and I think I did it well today,” Romy said with a smile.
Ashleigh was, as always, very gracious with her praise for the team. She moves up to third in the general classification and keeps the green jersey for another day.
“All my teammates did an incredible job. The first part of the stage was pretty hard, but everyone fought to be there,” Ashleigh said. “Once again Julia and Romy were the perfect bodyguards doing an exceptional job. It was a technical descent to that final climb, but I even got a gap there. On the climb I felt good, but when Marlen Reusser was there, I knew she would bring everything back so I decided to go for the sprint. I didn’t have the perfect position going into the sprint but I am happy with fourth. We move up step by step.”
Mireia Benito has returned home to take some rest after her concussion. She is in good spirits and cheering on the team from the couch!
