Tour de France Femmes defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) lost more time on stage 5 of the race on Wednesday, and conceded that her hopes of winning the GC again this year are likely over.
The lumpy stage through the rolling hills of the Beaujolais vineyards contained almost 3,000m of climbing and was too much for the Frenchwoman.
Last year Ferrand-Prévot was imperious, putting minutes into her rivals and taking two stage wins on the huge Alpine climbs. This year, however, she has not been at her best, losing more than two minutes on Tuesday’s time trial and falling further out of contention on Wednesday’s relentlessly lumpy stage 5.
Latest Videos FromCyclingnews
The day was aggressive throughout, a large breakaway containing satellite riders for both the race leader Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and second-placed Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez).
It was the Dutch rider’s team who set a vicious speed on the day’s penultimate classified climb, the Col de Durbize. French champion Célia Gery upped the pace with 31km to go, before Vollering herself pushed on, leaving Ferrand-Prévot trailing off the back. As Vollering’s group crested the climb, one kilometre later, the former champion was well and truly gapped.
Eventually, Ferrand-Prévot linked up with another pre-race favourite, Anna van Der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), and the pair were joined by the EF Education-Oatly pair of Cédrine Kerbaol and her EF Education-Oatly teammate, Noemi Rüegg, the victim of a crash, for the ride to the line, eventually finishing 2.35 behind stage winner Vollering.
"I felt fine right up until that infamous penultimate climb, where things were going well, but then, on the tougher, steeper section, I got a bit stuck," Ferrand-Prevot said at the finish.
"I tried standing up on the pedals and everything, but I could see I wasn’t making any faster progress, so I said to myself: ‘Right, OK, just do what you can’ and that was it, I tried to give it my all right up to the finish. But I can’t say I felt bad or that I had a moment of weakness. I think they’re simply much stronger."
Both Ferrand-Prévot and Van der Breggen needed to stay with the other favourites on stage 5 to have any chance of winning the overall, after losing time on Tuesday's time trial. Ferrand-Prévot fared the worst against the clock, losing 2.13 to stage winner Reusser. Former time trial World Champion, Van Der Breggen finished Tuesday’s ITT 1.09 back, her team unable to explain her lack of form.
With four stages to go, including Friday’s mammoth climbing day to Mont Ventoux, the pair will need a miracle to even finish on the podium. While Van der Breggen isn't too far out of touch, Ferrand-Prévot dropped down to 17th overall, five minutes behind Reusser.
"I have to be honest, yes," Ferrand-Prévot said when asked if her GC defence was over. "I haven't seen the gap yet but I think it's over. We have to refocus, to change the plan maybe.
"I just fight, I didn't really look at the gap, I just fight to the end. There's nothing I can do more than pushing on the pedals as much as possible. I think I felt good, and on the climb I was still feeling good but I wasn't strong enough to follow.
"It’s true that a journalist said to me earlier: ‘Oh, but it was already clear yesterday in the time trial that you weren’t feeling well.’ I think the time trial was really a different kind of effort, but today, it’s true that you could say, well, they’re clearly a cut above, even on the climbs.
"So I’m not ashamed to say it, and that’s just how it is. You can’t always win, but at least you can give it a go, and I certainly tried."
Another yellow jersey may now be out of reach for Ferrand-Prévot, but a stage win, wherever it comes, could well save her Tour, she said. She's best-suited to Friday's race up Mont Ventoux – if she has the legs for it.
"Well, any stage at all, I’d say. Even if it’s the last one, I’ll take that too! We’ll take everything!"
Support our unrivalled coverage of the Tour de France Femmes and women's cycling by subscribing to Cyclingnews. In return, you get unlimited access to high-quality journalism, with breaking news, race analysis, and expert insight from inside the women's peloton. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.
