Zigart loses leader’s jersey by inches to Chabbey after thrilling finale, as Vas wins Romandie’s final stage

After Friday's debacle, in which five teams were disqualified for refusing to wear GPS trackers, the race continued as usual on Saturday. The stripped-down queen stage was won by Elise Chabbey (FDJ-SUEZ), but the leader's jersey went to Urska Zigart (AG Insurance - Soudal), who had performed better in the prologue.

However, the difference between the two was minimal: only 8 seconds separated them, and Yara Kastelijn was also very close behind. The hilly final stage around Aigle was therefore set to be a thrilling battle. But before the fight for the overall classification could begin, a large breakaway group pulled away. It included Nina Buijsman (FDJ-SUEZ), Evy Kuipers (Fenix-Deceuninck), Laura Stigger (SD Worx-Protime), Asleigh Moolman (AG Insurance - Soudal), and more.

There were 13 riders in the lead. Claire Steels (Movistar) had a mission: she won the mountain points and was now level with mountain leader Zigart. But as the final approached, it seemed that the breakaway riders' adventure would not last much longer. Margot Vanpachtenbeke (VolkerWessels) had a clumsy fall in the leading group, but she was able to rejoin the pack. However, when the breakaway riders started the penultimate climb, the gap was only 40 seconds.

There, the gap decreased, and the leading group was reduced to a small group of ten. In the peloton, things remained calm: Chabbey chose to wait for the final climb towards Antagnes. On the flat section leading up to that climb, the remaining breakaway group was almost caught by the remaining peloton, where UAE Team ADQ had taken control. On the early slopes of that final climb, the breakaway was caught, after which it was up to the big names.

Erica Magnaldi (UAE) took a gap, and Zigart was missing from the second group. But Chabbey kept her legs still, allowing the leader to return. Magnaldi was also caught, leaving it up to Paula Blasi. The winner of the prologue couldn't get away, but the Slovenian leader was struggling. At that point, Chabbey pulled away: only Blasi could follow.

At the top, the gap was small, but Zigart lost more and more ground. She received support from Kastelijn in the chase, while Magnaldi worked hard to keep up. It became two against two, until the chasing group grew larger. Things were looking up for the yellow jersey wearer until she took a corner too fast and lost contact. With the help of teammate Mireia Benito, she managed to rejoin the chasing group, but she had to close the gap if she wanted to stay in the lead.

Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) had meanwhile swooped down the descent like a hawk and joined the two leaders. This disrupted the cooperation somewhat, allowing the pursuers to close in. 15, 10, 7 seconds... In the final meters of the climb, it was nail-biting tension. They stayed ahead: Vas won, ahead of Blasi and Chabbey. In the end, the Swiss rider had enough left to take the yellow jersey from Zigart, who finished 11 seconds behind.