Peloton leaves the chasing to Vollering’s team, strong Squiban takes full advantage of that in Tour de France Femmes

After four days in the (mid)west of France, the peloton encountered more hilly terrain on Wednesday. The stage to Guéret turned into a surprisingly exciting finale, with significant differences emerging in the GC. Kimberley Le Court (AG Insurance - Soudal) won and took the yellow jersey from Marianne Vos, but on Thursday, she would have her work cut out defending her position.

The sixth stage of the Tour was the first real mountain stage. In the Auvergne, the riders had to survive several tough climbs on the way to Ambert. The mountains acted as a red rag to the breakaway riders, as there was once again a fierce battle for the breakaway. After about 20 kilometers, mountain jersey wearer Elise Chabbey (FDJ-SUEZ) managed to catch up with Linda Zanetti (Uno-X Mobility), but that was not all. From the background, 18 riders joined them.

There was a strong Dutch representation: Mischa Bredewold, Femke Gerritse (SD Worx-Protime), Yara Kasteleijn (Fenix-Deceuninck), Amber Kraak (FDJ-SUEZ), Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco), Laura Molenaar (VolkerWessels), and Ilse Pluimers (AG Insurance - Soudal) were there, as were foreign stars such as Liane Lippert (Movistar), Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL), and Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ).

Chabbey was just over a minute behind Le Court's yellow jersey, so the breakaway riders were unable to gain any ground. The leading group powered on, which also thinned it out considerably. Even before the real mountains loomed, there were still a dozen riders ahead. They started the unofficial start of the Col du Béal, the longest and most challenging climb of the day, with a lead of one minute.

That lead increased as Kraak did some serious work for the opportunistic Chabbey. But before the steepest sections of the Béal, AG Insurance - Soudal ensured that the 12 riders in front had less than a minute's lead. It also meant that the door was open at the back of the pack: the peloton crept closer to the front and jettisoned unnecessary excess weight. The top of the Béal was 45 kilometers from the finish, but would we see any action yet?

The peloton kept their legs still on the biggest climb of the day. The breakaway group had been reduced to seven women. Smulders and Chabbey fought, as they often have done in this Tour, a fierce battle for the mountain points, but it was such an exciting battle that it was unclear for a long time who had come out on top. In the end, the Swiss queen of the mountains was declared the winner, extending her lead.

So it was quiet on the climb, but on the tricky descent, the peloton was split in two. White jersey wearer Julie Bégo (Cofidis) dropped back, but the rest of the women in the GC were still there. On the Col du Chansert, the first attacks came: Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) broke away and was joined by Ricarda Bauernfeind (CANYON//SRAM). They caught Chabbey, the last rider in the breakaway. But the adventure of the two was short-lived.

Maeva Squiban managed to break away. The French rider from UAE Team ADQ took advantage of a delay in the peloton and quickly built up a lead of one and a half minutes heading into the final obstacle of the day. FDJ-Suez sensed danger and sent Chabbey and Juliette Labous to the front of the group of favorites.

Squiban's lead over the group of favorites, consisting of 25 riders, remained unchanged. At the top of the climb, there were still a few bonus points up for grabs, which went to Le Court and Niewiadoma. After that, however, the race immediately slowed down again, which was obviously to the advantage of the solo leader.

Labous took some of the bonus points for Vollering, while third place went to Le Court.