Reusser admits Tour de France Femmes descent scares could encourage Vollering: ‘I don’t want to motivate the others’

Marlen Reusser was relieved to have completed the sixth stage of the Tour de France Femmes. The Swiss Movistar rider certainly did not produce a flawless performance, appearing to struggle with control on several of the descents. Apart from one brief excursion onto the roadside verge, however, Reusser could look back on a successful day in the yellow jersey. Afterwards, she explained that everything had ultimately gone according to plan.

“It was as expected: a tricky stage,” she said in her post-race assessment. “There was a big fight to get into the breakaway, on an interesting course with some interesting descents. It was a difficult finale, so I am pleased with my team’s performance and that we managed to keep the yellow jersey.”

Retaining the race lead was not, in itself, a particularly major achievement for Reusser. “It would have been a bad sign if I had lost the yellow jersey today. Of course, that can always happen, but wearing yellow does not necessarily give me more confidence. It is simply a nice position to be in.”

Reusser did discover one significant disadvantage to wearing the yellow jersey: every move she made was placed under the microscope. It therefore did not go unnoticed that she failed to take the ideal line through several corners and even ended up on the verge after one fast bend.

“Sometimes I take corners in a way that is not entirely safe, but in the end everything went well,” she laughed. “I had it under control, although it could perhaps have looked a little more clinical, so to speak. Above all, I did not want to be too far back on the descents, because when the yellow jersey is not near the front, that usually gives the others more motivation to ride harder. I don’t want to motivate them, so mission accomplished.”

No major or extended descents are expected during stage 7, which finishes on Mont Ventoux. Nevertheless, Reusser’s general-classification rivals will have watched her performance closely—and will now also have taken note of the race leader’s comments about her descending.

“Twelve seconds—her advantage over Demi Vollering in the general classification, ed.—makes it interesting for everyone: for the public and for us,” Reusser said. “We will see tomorrow. It will be one of the most important stages. But we also saw big differences appear in the general classification on stage 5, and there are still stages in the final weekend that offer opportunities.”

Overall victory therefore remains far from secure, particularly if Vollering and the other contenders decide to push the pace on the descents during the closing stages around Nice. The riders will only climb Mont Ventoux rather than descend from its summit, and Reusser has already ridden the ascent once during a reconnaissance. “I think it is a beautiful climb, one that has suited me better than some other climbs in the past. But it will be brutal, one hundred percent.”