Favorites for stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes 2024 | Can Vollering challenge Niewiadoma for the yellow jersey, or will it all come down to Alpe d'Huez?

Get ready to climb, and how! After a challenging route with barely a flat moment, we’ll end the day with the Grand Bornand. On paper, it’s 7 kilometers at 5.1 percent, not too tough, so maybe some strong riders can survive here, but they’ll likely be dropped on the final day.

Climbs
57.8 km: Col de la Croix de la Serra (12.0 km at 5.1%)
88.0 km: Côte de Bois d'Arlod (2.4 km at 4.6%)
111.0 km: Côte de Cercier (4.0 km at 4.9%)
156.0 km: Col de Saint-Jean-de-Sixt (5.4 km at 5.1%)
166.4 km: Grand Bornand (7.0 km at 5.1%)  

Times
Start: 10:50 AM
Finish: around 3:45 PM

The stage could be absolutely spectacular, but the weather might not be. According to most forecasts, it’s going to be rough around the Annecy area, where the Grand Bornand is located. The chance of rain is constantly between thirty and seventy percent on Saturday, during the longest stage of the race. Good luck, ladies!

As you know, Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) still has some ground to make up on the overall leader, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing), after Thursday's stage. The Dutch rider is currently 1 minute and 19 seconds behind her Polish rival after stage six. With two mountain stages remaining to close that gap, Vollering would be wise to start her comeback as soon as possible, provided she feels strong enough! On Friday, the rider from South Holland looked quite powerful, but so did Niewiadoma.

We’re also keeping an eye on Puck Pieterse. The rider from Amersfoort lost her polka dot jersey to Justine Ghekiere on Friday, but she’s still sitting in a solid fourth place in the overall standings (and leads the youth classification). With the podium within reach, the all-rounder will undoubtedly push herself to the limit. On Friday, Cédrine Kerbaol (CERATIZIT WNT) took the stage win, moving up to second place in the GC. The home rider is an excellent climber, so she’s definitely one to watch on Saturday!

Speaking of home riders, Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich PostNL) also deserves attention, as she currently holds fifth place in the overall standings. On Friday, she showed her strength with several sharp accelerations, which bodes well for the following day!

Lastly, we shouldn’t overlook a few other riders who could surprise us in one way or another. We’re talking about Liane Lippert (Movistar), Gaia Realini, Shirin van Anrooij (both Lidl-Trek), and Evita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ).

Top favorite: Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime)
Outsiders: Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck)
Long shots: Cedrine Kerbaol (CERATIZIT WNT), Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Liane Lippert (Movistar), Gaia Realini and Shirin van Anrooij (both Lidl-Trek)