A Brutal Crash and a French Victory in the Tour de France Femmes

Blanka Vas survived a massive crash to win Stage 5, and France's Cédrine Kerbaol captured a rare win in Stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes.

Blanka Vas / Tour de France Femmes

Stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes blew up in a crash that significantly changed the dynamic of the race. The Tour de France Femmes’ return to the world stage in 2022 has highlighted women’s cycling, and this year’s Tour has supercharged the sport with exciting and competitive racing.

Demi Vollering, the defending race champion, entered Stage 5 sporting the Yellow Jersey, but was entangled in the crash and lost valuable time to the new Maillot Jaune Kasia Niewiadoma.

The 2024 Tour de France Femmes runs from August 12-18. The race began in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and will finish on the iconic Alpe D’Huez, France. The Alpe D’Huez represents the toughest final stage to the Tour de France Femmes in its three-year history.

Stage 5: Bastogne to Amnéville (93.2-miles) - Rolling terrain with five categorized climbs.

American Kristen Faulkner nearly repeated her Olympic success in Stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes while leading a blazing finish. Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) overtook Faulkner, and three others, in the final seconds to capture the stage in electrifying fashion. She narrowly beat Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), Liane Lippert (Movistar Team), and Faulkner (EF-Oatly-Cannondale) in the sprint of a group that survived a brutal crash just six kilometers from the finish line.

Faulkner initiated an explosive sprint in the final kilometer attempting to repeat Olympic glory, but Vas would not allow it.

The consequential pile-up engulfed the maillot jaune, Demi Vollering, who lost 1:47 and the GC lead to Niewiadoma – a devastating curse of bad luck. The stage belonged to a delighted Niewiadoma. 

“It’s crazy, I still can’t believe it. I really did not expect this today because I felt so bad during the race. Lorena Wiebes said to me, ‘believe in yourself’, and it helped me a lot. My radio was not working, so I did not know what happened at the back. Demi crashed, so we lost yellow, that’s a shame, and now I have mixed feelings,” said the stage winner.

In the last kilometre, Faulkner attacked to anticipate a sprint, almost a copy of the final in the Olympics – but this time, Vas quickly closed the gap.

“In the final, I was like, ‘I cannot let Faulkner go’, because I did the same mistake in the Olympics. I was suffering so much, but I knew if I survive this small climb, then maybe I can win. The Olympics gave me a lot of confidence because I was racing in the front, so I know if I have a good day, I can be in the front,” Vas said.

Stage 6: Remiremont to Morteau (99.4-miles) - The first major mountain stage with over 2,200 meters of climbing.

France prevailed in a historic Stage 6. For the first time since the Tour de France Femmes was revived in 2022, a French rider took a stage win. Cédrine Kerbaol, just 23 years-old, engineered an a solo attack 14.5 kilometers from the finish line to seal a stunning victory. Kasia Niewiadoma retained the yellow jersey, which she will take into the Tour’s final, mountainous weekend to conclude the prestigious race.

The penultimate Stage 7 awaits. The 103.4-mile (166.4 kilometers) stage gains close to 10,000 ft. of vertical, marking the first true test of climbing and the effects of altitude.

Tour Race Director, Marion Rouse, described Stage 7: “The longest stage of this 2024 edition will begin with a number of smallish hurdles, plus the long haul up the Col de la Croix de la Serra (12km at 5.1%), from the Saint-Claude side. It concludes with a new and steep finish at Chinaillon (7km, 5.1%), an authentic hamlet with traditional chalets on the flanks of the Col de la Colombière.”

And, it only gets tougher with Stage 8, when the tour concludes on the grueling slopes of Alpe d’Huez to conclude the Tour.

Cédrine Kerbaol - Stage 6 Winner / Tour de France Femmes