2024 Tour de France Femmes Stage 7 Results & Recap
Stage 7 of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Ghekiere wins penultimate stage
QOM leader Justine Ghekiere won the first Alps stage after attacking from the breakaway with 13 kilometres to go. She soloed to victory ahead of Maëva Squiban before Demi Vollering outsprinted Kasia Niewiadoma for third place.
“I really have no words, I think I’m dreaming! It’s crazy, I really want to thank my team today," Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) said. "The whole team was really at the front at the beginning to protect me and get me into the breakaway. Especially a really, really big thanks to Julie [Van de Velde], she rode a really strong race. She did everything for me to get me in position to start this climb and to save as much energy as possible. This victory is also really thanks to Julie. When I took the last [Mountain] points, I was really dead, and I thought, ‘I’ll just go at my own pace’. I was able to stay away at the front, and I couldn’t believe it. It will be a big present to ride a bike with polka dots, and I’m really looking forward to riding the last stage of this Tour in this jersey. With the win already, it is just brilliant.”
Peloton was still bunched on the Col de la Croix de la Serra. Puck Pieterse outsprinted Queen of the Mountains Justine Ghekiere at the summit.
Ghekiere took precautions for the next climb, and she escaped on the approach to the Côte de Bois d’Arlod with Julie Van de Velde, Marianne Vos, Sara Martín, Sarah Roy, and Ruth Edwards. She claimed all QOM points at the top, which she repeated at the Côte de Cercier. By then, the peloton was over 5 minutes adrift.
Ghekiere attacked from the lead group with 3 kilometres to go on the first of two climbs to the line. She reached the summit 2.30 minutes ahead of the peloton.
She consolidated on the Montée du Chinaillon to solo to the best win in her career.
"Definitely, it was a very good day for us. We rode a perfect race," race leader Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) said. "I was getting a lot of support from my team, which allowed me to save energy for the final. Of course, it was super long and very challenging from the start, so I'm very happy with how the legs felt in the final, and yes, we didn’t lose anything; we're still up there. 24 hours to go! [Did she attack to try and drop Demi Vollering or to gain some time over the other riders?] Both to be honest. Tomorrow is going to be a very important day in my career and in my team’s existence. We're ready for it and we're happy to still be in yellow. I think everyone is very motivated. We're here to pursue our dreams."\n
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