François Baroin likes when things are precise. So, this Wednesday, July 27, the mayor (Les Républicains) of Troyes took advantage of his visit during the start of the 4e stage of the Women’s Tour de France for a quick update: admittedly, the peloton covered the vineyards of the Marne the day before, between Reims and Epernay, but the prefecture of Aube is indeed the historic capital of Champagne. That is what is said.
Not sure, however, that the runners really had their minds in this battle of steeples in the Champagne region. All their attention was rather focused on the 126.8 kilometers to be covered, up to Bar-sur-Aube.
With a little apprehension: they were going to have to tame the “white paths”, four stony sectors through the vines, with a total distance of 12.5 km, and not experience any incident or accident. In this game it was the Swiss Marlen Reusser (SD Worx), who came out the best, winning the stage alone.
“It’s really special”said before the start Coralie Demay, the Breton from the St Michel-Auber 93 team, about these sectors reminiscent of those of the Italian event, the Strade Bianche.
“We recognized the route, but when there are six of us, we put a bit of a gap between us. There I also think there will be a lot of dust, I don’t know if we’ll see much. If ever there is a fall in front, braking will be complicated so I try not to think about it. I who am not very technical, I apprehend a little. »
The SD Worx team “intended to make the race difficult”
The 29-year-old runner knew it: she was going to have to “to be violent” if she wanted to be in on it. So she played her all out. Escaped at kilometer 44 with the French Laura Asencio (Ceratizit-WNT) and the Belgian Valerie Demey (Liv Racing Xstra), she will only be caught up in the white path of the Blu plateau, a good forty kilometers further.
It was in the heat, in the group led by the Dutch Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) – still yellow jersey at the end of the stage – that the Breton could see the winner of the day place her attack. Marlen Reusser managed to get out of the peloton on the flat shortly before the white road to Vitry, the last sector listed, some 20 kilometers from the line.
“The team wanted to make the race difficult and not just an easy finish.explained on arrival the interested party, European champion in the time trial. We had said that we would attack in turn and that one of us would succeed in isolating herself. I was lucky it was me. I am very grateful to my training and my teammates. »
On the paths of Aube, we were rather expecting another runner from her Dutch armada: Lotte Kopecky, winner of the Strade Bianche – an emblematic Italian race – at the start of the year. But this Wednesday, the 2021 Belgian champion only finished 6e.
“We are far from copy-pasting”
“The type of gravel and the bumps are very different, we are far from copying and pasting”yet warned Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope), 11e of the Italian event, 23e today. “There are paths, it gives the illusion that it’s the same, but it will be a completely different race”abounded her teammate, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, 5e in Siena, 19e in Bar-sur-Aube.
The hoarse voice of the Dane betrayed a night cut short by the celebrations of her victory in Epernay the day before. It is not excluded that the French formation will put the cover back tonight to celebrate the 2e place of Evita Muzic, output against in the final. “Of course it’s not a victory, but it’s still a podium in the Tour de France”, recognized the 23-year-old Frenchwoman. And to carry on, “we finally turned the page of our dark day” of Monday, marked by the terrible fall and abandonment of Marta Cavalli.
It is a priori Mavi Garcia who recovered the bad luck jersey of this Tour. Victim of several mechanical problems during this 4e stage, the leader of UAE Team ADQ then crashed into the front of her sporting director’s car. The Spanish champion crossed the line 3 min 11 sec from Marlen Reusser and fell back to 11e rank in the general classification, 2 min 26 sec behind Marianne Vos.
Tomorrow, the peloton will start the longest stage of this edition: 175.6 kilometers from Bar-le-Duc (Meuse) to Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (Vosges). Coralie Demay already has her mind elsewhere: “I have already done 160 terminals several times, but never 175. So this will be a first! But hey, even for big teams I think. It’s going to be difficult for everyone…”