'We have nothing to lose' – Down to four riders, aggressive racing saves UAE Team ADQ's Tour de France Femmes

Earlier this week, UAE Team ADQ's Tour de France Femmes campaign looked to have hit a roadblock after the illness and withdrawal of team leader and GC hope Elisa Longo Borghini. However, three days and countless attacks later, the four remaining riders – three of them race debutants – have turned the Tour around.

Lara Gillespie has been in the mix on the flat finishes, taking third in Poitiers, while Dominika Włodarczyk has been edging ever nearer the GC top 10. Meanwhile, on Thursday afternoon, Maëva Squiban and Brodie Chapman went on the attack for the third time in five days.

Breton racer Squiban had previously attacked in front of home crowds on stage 2, winning that day's combativity award, while Chapman took the prize on stage 5 to Guéret.

Squiban told Cyclingnews at the time that the stage, beginning in her hometown of Brest, was "one of the best moments of my life on the bike." She didn't win that stage, with her move caught 12km from Quimper, but her aggressive riding paid off on the road to Ambert.

Sensing a lull in the peloton following the descent of the Col du Béal, the 23-year-old seized the initiative and jumped clear, 32km from the finish. For Squiban, it was a case of 'why not try?'

"We are all more or less free," she told Cyclingnews in the post-race press conference. "I just decided to attack here. I don't know why, I just had good legs. "We say 'Why not?' We have nothing to lose. We have to try."

"I could see from yesterday that the bonus sprint was important for the leaders, so I told myself that if I take a little head start before then, it could be interesting. In the end, I managed to continue, but it wasn't necessarily the plan."

Following the high emotions of racing so close to home during the Tour's Grand Départ, Squiban forced herself to keep it together as she raced to glory in the Massif Central, even passing her father and former coach on the road to the finish. She later said, "I really wanted to stay focussed on my effort and not think about that because you can get caught up in emotions and doing anything and everything."

Squiban and the eight other Breton riders at this Tour de France Femmes have certainly had their ups and downs so far, following a raucous reception at their home Grand Départ. Cédrine Kerbaol is racing in the top 10, leading EF Education-Oatly's GC charge while, by contrast, late call-up Marie-Morgane Le Deunff missed the time cut on stage 2.

Both Squiban and Aude Biannic have lost their team leaders, meanwhile, and for UAE Team ADQ, the solo victory is a race-saving triumph.

For Squiban, who two months ago was in a neck brace and thanking her helmet for saving her life after being hit by a car, it's a career-defining win.

"I was already really happy to climb onto the podium for the combative prize in Brittany," she told Cyclingnews. "It was a special moment for me because it was on my training roads, and I had all my family there. But, of course, today is really a special, special moment, even if we are not in Brittany. It's just like a dream.

"It's definitely the greatest victory of my career. As for what it will change, I don't want to say much. I'll always remain the same, but I think maybe they'll let me go a little less now," she said.

"I wasn't allowed out much before. I think now I'll have a few more people watching me, but I can say that I've won a stage of the Tour de France in my life, and that alone is truly incredible."

'We never lost hope, we never lost motivation'

As Squiban completed her stunning solo ride, UAE Team ADQ's car made its way through the narrow backstreets of Guerét towards the team bus, horn blaring in celebration. Immediately upon stopping, team directeur sportif Cherie Pridham stepped out, quick to hug every team member in the vicinity.

Earlier this week, Pridham told Cyclingnews that the team has "had to be a bit creative" this week, having lost Longo Borghini and two other riders as illness struck, adding, "The girls are motivated and they're sticking to the game plan. We're going for stages."

In turn, the four remaining riders have been among the most aggressive in the race, with the UAE Team ADQ jersey perhaps the most frequent to hit the front on the attack. Pridham's faith in her riders and the plan has certainly paid off.

"We knew that if we found the right moment, we had a nice little plan, and I'm delighted for the whole team. It's just incredible. You know we will certainly celebrate tonight," Pridham said, amidst the celebrations around the team bus.

"I think when you have some bad luck with illness in the team, you have to find a way to motivate the riders. But we never lost hope, we never lost motivation here."

She went on to praise the spirit of her riders during what has been a challenging week, while she credited Squiban and the team around her for battling through adversity to get back to racing last month and into a second career Tour start.

"You can see by the spirit of the girls that when you lose a leader like Elisa Longo Borghini, it opens the door for our support riders also, but it just shows the quality across the team and the belief that we have for stages.

"[Maëva] has had some bad luck. Yes, you're right. We were a little bit uncertain maybe four or five weeks ago, but she worked hard with the coaches and the team in the background, and it's just a credit to the whole team that we are able to come here and fight.

"You have to dream big, and Maëva has now just made history for herself, and it's really deserved. I'm so proud of the team and of Maëva."

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