Stage 6: Opportunity Knocks

After yesterday's brutal mountain stage - and with Mont Ventoux still to come tomorrow - today sat in an interesting place in the Tour.

It was another long, demanding day in the saddle, with more than 150kms of racing and almost 2,700 metres of climbing. While the climbs weren't quite as steep or as decisive as Stage 5, they came one after another, making it another day of attrition where the race slowly wore riders down.

That made today's stage a fascinating tactical battle. Some teams were already thinking about tomorrow, while others recognised an opportunity to race aggressively before the Queen Stage.

An early breakaway formed with Loes Adegeest, Nikola Nosková and Katrine Aalerud, but the peloton never allowed them much freedom and the move was eventually brought back.

The race really came alive on the final major climb of the day.

One of the biggest surprises was seeing World Champion Magdeleine Vallières driving the pace for EF Education-Oatly. It was a clear sign of intent. With Cédrine Kerbaol looking to move up the general classification, EF wanted to make the race as selective as possible and create an opportunity for their leader to attack.

The pace immediately put several riders under pressure. Anna van der Breggen was distanced once again, while Kim Le Court briefly lost contact after suffering a mechanical at an unfortunate moment. Thanks to a huge effort from teammates Justine Ghekiere and Lore De Schepper, Kim was able to fight her way back before the race reached its decisive moments.

What happened next was one of the smartest moves of the day.

On the long descent that followed, local rider Célia Gery used her knowledge of the roads to attack through the more technical lower section. Cédrine Kerbaol immediately recognised the opportunity and bridged across, joined by Elisa Longo Borghini, Liane Lippert, Puck Pieterse and Sarah Van Dam.

Suddenly, six incredibly strong riders were clear.

What I found particularly interesting was the reaction behind.

It wasn't surprising to see that neither Marlen Reusser nor Demi Vollering seemed overly concerned by the move. Both race leaders had teammates represented in the front group, giving them every reason to let the break fight for the stage while conserving valuable energy ahead of tomorrow's summit finish on Mont Ventoux.

Behind, it was actually Canyon//SRAM who quietly kept the move under control, with Antonia Niedermaier doing much of the work on the front. With Kasia sitting third overall, Canyon//SRAM were keen to keep the gap within reach without committing too much energy on the eve of the Queen Stage.

The gap never grew much beyond 40 to 50 seconds, meaning the race remained finely balanced all the way into the finale.

Then came one of my favourite tactical moments of the day.

With around 15kms remaining, Riejanne Markus attacked from the chasing group.

It was a brilliantly timed move.

Rather than waiting for someone else to chase, she recognised there was still enough road left to bridge to the leaders.

Kim Le Court reacted immediately.

After already having to chase back following her mechanical, many riders would have hesitated but Kim didn't.

She later admitted that having her teammates work so hard to bring her back gave her enormous motivation. It's something we've seen from Kim throughout her career. She seems to thrive when she's on the back foot.

Perhaps that's the mountain biker in her.

Winning races like the Cape Epic teaches you to stay calm, trust your own pacing and never give up when things go wrong. That resilience was on full display today.

Kim and Riejanne bridged across, making it eight riders at the front.

From there, the attacks started.

Kim herself launched a solo move, forcing Elisa Longo Borghini to chase her down. It was another indication of just how motivated Elisa was after losing time earlier in the Tour. Every second mattered, and she wasn't prepared to let a dangerous move slip away.

As the kilometres ticked down, the cooperation in the lead group inevitably became more hesitant.

Everyone wanted the stage.

With just over a kilometre remaining, Riejanne Markus launched a long attack. It was really her only chance of winning the stage and exactly the move you would expect from such a strong time triallist.

Ironically, it set the finale up perfectly for Kim.

Kim launched her sprint from a long way out, committing fully to her effort. For a moment, it looked as though Puck Pieterse and even Célia Gery after such an aggressive ride, might come back. But Kim never faded.

She held her speed all the way to the line to take a brilliant and thoroughly deserved stage victory.

It's a result that doesn't surprise me at all.

Kim is one of the smartest racers in the peloton. She reads situations exceptionally well, backs herself when opportunities appear and, perhaps more than anything, seems to grow stronger when adversity strikes. Today's victory was the perfect example of that.

One rider who also deserves enormous recognition is Célia Gery.

Yesterday she emptied herself working for Demi Vollering before setting up the decisive attack that won the stage. Twenty-four hours later, she was back on the attack again, this time on home roads, helping shape the finale before still finishing fifth on the stage.

For a first-year Elite rider, that's an exceptional level of consistency and another reminder of just how bright her future is.

One thing that also stood out to me was that, for the first time in this Tour, Demi Vollering looked a little more isolated.

Yesterday, FDJ-SUEZ were the dominant force in the race, controlling almost every aspect of the stage.

Today was different.

Whether it was simply the accumulated fatigue from yesterday's huge effort or a conscious decision to save riders for Mont Ventoux, Demi didn't have the same depth of support around her. We even saw her trying to close moves herself late in the stage, something we rarely saw yesterday when her teammates were able to do so much of the work.

After the finish, Demi explained that she simply wanted to keep the gap under control, but it was one of the few moments in this Tour where FDJ-SUEZ looked even slightly vulnerable.

Whether that was by design, we'll probably find out tomorrow.

Because now everything points towards Mont Ventoux.

The Queen Stage.
The stage every GC rider has been thinking about since the route was announced.

After six days of racing, tomorrow there will be nowhere left to hide.

Tomorrow, the Tour de France Femmes will be won...or perhaps, lost.

— Ashleigh

The Fastest Riders Don't Always Go Hardest

Watch the best climbers closely. They rarely attack from the very bottom of every climb. Instead, they ride at a sustainable effort, waiting for the perfect moment to accelerate.

Knowing when not to go full gas is often what allows them to make the winning move later.

Takeaway: Pace first. Attack with purpose.