- Despite starting the day over a minute and a half behind.
- Marianne Vos, Movistar rider van Vleuten, 39, went alone.
- 62 kilometres remaining in the demanding 127.5-kilometer.
Annemiek van Vleuten, a seasoned Dutch rider, won the penultimate stage of the women’s Tour de France by herself after a devastating effort.
In the Alps. She now wears the yellow shirt.
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez) won the sprint for third, trailing Demi Vollering (SD Worx) by 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
When the race concludes with Sunday’s stage eight on the Super Planche des Belles Filles, Van Vleuten will be in the lead by 3 minutes, 9 seconds over Vollering.
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The rider of Team Jumbo-Visma, Vos, who had been wearing the yellow jersey since the day’s opening stages after collecting two victories and five podium finishes, was unable to maintain his lead and was still racing when van Vleuten took the top spot.
Having won two stages, Lorena Wiebes had a rough day as well. On Friday, she took a hard fall and quit the seventh stage early.
Albert Timmer, director of Team DSM, said, “It doesn’t make sense to try to come back. She was far behind and in pain.
To get her back up only to get dropped again… It was easier for her to just roll in.”
