Tour de France Femmes stage 8 LIVE - Large break gets clear over first climb of the day

Split in the peloton as various riders are distanced with Kopecky, Marie Le Net (FDJ-Suez), Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) all dropped.

Mechanical

Ane Santesteban (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi)

The Spaniard had already been dropped. She decided to try to get her chain back on while riding but was unable to do so and has had to stop.

Squiban is looking like the next big superstar of cycling after her two stage wins in a row at this Tour. She is in the break again today...

>>> France's next Tour winner? Maëva Squiban leaves her teammates stunned with a second Tour de France Femmes stage victory in a row

Only Fisher-Black, Bunel, Vallieres and Muzic could follow that move by Chabbey to rejoin Squiban and Koch with more riders rejoining.

Chabbey is upping the pace in the chasing group to try and rejoin Squiban and Koch.

Claes has been dropped by Squiban and Koch at the front of the race.

Vos returns to the peloton and Visma-Lease a Bike immediately go to the front of the peloton with the former world champion leading the way.

70km to go

The leading trio have 12" on the chasing group, 2'27" on Le Mouel and Coston and 3'35" on the peloton. 15km to the intermediate sprint.

Attack in break

Franziska Koch (Picnic-PostNL)
Lotte Claes (Arkea-B&B Hotels)

Squiban also pings across the gap to joint them as they push on away from the rest of the break who look around at each other.

Canyon-SRAM-ZondaCrypto come to the front of the peloton with AG Insurance-Soudal and St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93.

The break are 2'01" ahead of Le Mouel and Coston then the peloton are at 3'42" with 73km to go and 18km to the intermediate sprint.

The peloton are now over 3'00" behind the peloton. The average speed in the first hour was 29.8kph, a slow one with the start being over the 13.2km long Col de Plainpalais.

The best placed in the GC is Evita Muzic in the break, she has a gap of 1'35" and is comfortably the virtual race leader.

Le Mouel and Coston are 1'55" behind the break with the peloton at 2'32". The mountains loom ahead. One is already done with the big one of the Col de la Madeleine still to come.

Le Court has just been back at the team car to talk tactics with DS Jolien D'Hoore.

80km to go

The breakaway have over two minutes as Coston attacks the peloton yet again. She is joined by Celia Le Mouel (Ceratizit).

News comes through to say that Kerbaol was not dropped. She had a bike change in the neutral and her transponder was on the bike that has gone onto the team car.

Back of the race, Susanne Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) is over 12 minutes behind the leaders.

The breakaway have extended their gap to 1'22" as the peloton has completely dropped off the pace.

30km to the intermediate sprint in Châteauneuf. They are currently on a 5km uncategorised climb with 40" between the break and the peloton led by Wiebes.

A fair amount of change in the QoM standings as Chabbey extended her lead in polka dots with Squiban also getting good points.

Kerbaol is now putting the peloton under a lot of pressure and going to the absolute limit of her bike's ability.

Ludwig has been caught by the peloton led by EF Education-Oatly with Henrietta Christie leading Cedrine Kerbaol who have caught up with the peloton again and gone straight to the front.

90km to go

The breakaway only has 20" on the chasing peloton. Ludwig has been dropped by the breakaway.

Sarah Gigante (AG Insuranc-Soudal) losing touch with the peloton thanks to the pace being set by Wiebes and Kopecky.

The break has 30" on the peloton.

Kerbaol is 27" off the back of the peloton. She will likely close the gap on the descent.

Wiebes and Kopecky go to the front of the peloton over the top of the climb for the descent.

QoM (Col de Plainpalais)

1. Elise Chabbey (SUI) FDJ-Suez 10pts
2. Maeva Squiban (FRA) UAE Team ADQ 8pts
3. Riejanne Markus (NED) Lidl-Trek 6pts
4. Mareille Meijering (NED) Movistar 4pts
5. Evita Muzic (FRA) FDJ-Suez 2pts
6. Yara Kastelijn (NED) Fenix-Deceuninck 1pt

Lorena Wiebes is still in the peloton. What an exceptional ride by the green jersey who has a big opportunity to take big points in the classification at the intermediate sprint should she stay in the group over the top of the Plainpalais.

With 1km to the top of the climb, the breakaway have just 20" gap on the breakaway.

Cedrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) is said to be over a minute down on the peloton as she has a terrible start to the day after jumping up to 7th in GC yesterday.

However, Chabbey is in the break as well so she won't close 10 points. It is likely that Squiban and Chabbey will go all out in the QoM sprint on the Col de Plainpalais.

If Squiban takes the 10 points in the QoM she will be just 2 points off the lead of Chabbey.

Squiban has already come across the 25" gap in no time at all. She is so so strong in the mountains.

Counter attack

Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ)

The winner of the last two stages, Squiban, flies out of the peloton and into the gap to close the break down.

100km to go

Just 3km to the top of the Col de Plainpalais as Koch ups the pace in the breakaway.

Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) has been dropped by the peloton with Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) able to follow the moves as Malcotti is dragged back by the peloton led by Julie van de Velde (AG Insurance-Soudal).

The counter move has caught the leaders with just Malcotti chasing in front of the peloton.

Counter attack

Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal)
Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez)
Magdeleine Vallieres (EF Education-Oatly)
Ane Santesteban (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi)
Lotte Claes (Arkea-B&B Hotels)
Franziska Koch (Picnic-PostNL)
Hannah Ludwig (Cofidis)

They are being chased down by Barbara Malcotti (Human Powered Health) at 10" and 20" back to the peloton.

Counter atttack

Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek)
Mareille Meijering (Movistar)
Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck)

They join Chabbey, Bunel and Ostolaza as Smulder is going backwards.

Counter attack

Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez)
Silke Smulders (Liv-AlUla-Jayco)

They catch Ostolaza who has been dropped by Markus. AG Insurance-Soudal aren't keen on letting any FDJ-Suez rider go.

Counter attack

Silke Smulders (Liv-AlUla-Jayco)
Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal)

The yellow jersey is causing carnage in the peloton who swiftly drag them as well as Chabbey and Bunel back into the bunch again.

Counter attack

Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez)

They get a good gap but there are more moves behind.

Ilse Pluimers (AG Insurance-Soudal) has also lost touch and is one less rider for Le Court.

Attack

Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek)
Usoa Ostolaza (Labora Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi)

They have the biggest gap so far today with 10" on the peloton. Liv-AlUla-Jayco lead the peloton. Le Court, Chabbey and Vinke have followed almost every move so far.

The rider in 17th overall, Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels) loses touch with the peloton in a large group of riders.

Attack

A rider from Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi. Quickly followed Coston, Chabbey, Ryo and a few Cofidis riders and the move is shut down.

The weather is clearing after the rain at the start. Multiple groups of riders are losing touch with the peloton including the first AG Insurance-Soudal rider, Gladys Verhulst-Wild.

Attack

Titia Ryo (Arkea-B&B Hotels)
Morgane Coston (Roland-Le Devoluy)

They are quickly closed down again.

Morgane Coston (Roland-Le Devoluy) leads the peloton as she tries to force a break. Polka dot, white and yellow jerseys all up towards the front of the peloton.

Attack

Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal)

The yellow jersey goes and joins a large breakaway off the front as she throws down the gauntlet to challenge her GC rivals. The peloton are flying across the gap in a panic.

Multiple attacks going off the front of the peloton as several are also being dropped.

There are 129 riders at the start after one Ceratizit rider didn't start today.

Attack

Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez)
Nienke Vinke (Picnic-PostNL)

The polka dot and white jerseys launching as Markus is caught. Yellow jersey of Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) very close to the front as that move is stopped.

Attack

Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek)

The talented Dutch rider launches but she is being chased by the peloton led by Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck).

They have already started the Col de Plainpalais. 13.2km of climbing with an average gradient of 6.3%.

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) leads the peloton but quickly there are moves from Winspace-Orange-Seal. Nothing going just yet.

111.9km to go

The racing begins now that Niawiadoma-Phinney is back in the peloton again.

Mechanical

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM-ZondaCrypto)

The defending champion requires some mechanical assistance and it has delayed the start of the stage.

Just 2km to the official start.

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Just over 10 minutes until the official start is scheduled to be given.

The temperature is 23°c in the start town but on the top of the Col de la Madeleine it is just 7°c. However, it is currently dry up at the top.

The riders have a neutral zone of 4.8km as the rain falls in Chambéry.

Neutral start

The riders have started the neutralised start for stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes 2025.

The riders are about to start the neutralised zone.

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) attracts huge crowds wherever she goes at the Tour de France Femmes.

Today has all the potential to be a hattrick of wins for French star Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ). The rider from the region of Brittany has burst into the limelight with two stage wins back-to-back. Can she do it again today?

The Col de Plainpalais coming from the start could be a perfect for her and other breakaway riders to get away.

Nienke Vinke (Picnic-PostNL) has her first day in the white best young riders jersey today after taking it from rival Julie Bego (Cofidis) and she took back the 22" deficit and put 21" into the French rider.

Just over 15 minutes until the neutral start in Chambéry.

The weather is a cooler 23°c in Chambéry today with a touch of rain in the air. A stark contrast to the high 20s into 30s seen yesterday.

And onto today's stage, the big mountain stage of this race with the summit finish on the Col de la Madeleine. Here is our stage 8 preview...

>>> Tour de France Femmes 2025 stage 8 preview – Col de la Madeleine 'out of my comfort zone, but it's out of everyone's comfort zone'

Before launching into the stage today, lets take a look back at the action yesterday with our stage 7 analysis...

>>> Tour de France Femmes GC analysis – 'Poker face' on Col du Granier as top contenders wait for decisive day in the Alps

Stage 8 marks the queen stage of this year's Tour de France Femmes, as it is the only mountaintop finish of the race. Who will emerge victorious on the Col de Madeleine?

Here's a look at the profile for today's stage, taking the riders from the yesterday's finishing town of Chambéry to the top of the Col de la Madeleine (18.6km at 8.1%), where the race will reach 2000m above sea level.

The riders will be climbing right from the start, with the Col de Plainpalais (13.2km at 6.3%) coming in the first few kilometres of the stage, whilst the only other categorised climb comes in the form of the Côte de Saint-Georges-d’Hurtières (4.8km at 5.9%) with around 43km to go.

They will also have to contend with the uncategorised Col du Frêne, which comes just before the intermediate sprint in Châteauneuf at the midpoint of the stage.

Bonjour and welcome to our live updates of the eighth stage of the Tour de France Femmes 2025.