Australia’s Sarah Gigante was forced to settle for sixth place in the women’s Tour de France as Pauline Ferrand-Prevot claimed victory for the hosts. Starting the day second in the GC, Gigante (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) lost ground on the Joux-Plane descent and finally finished the stage seventh.
“It was two hours of pain, heartbreak and hope all in one,” she said at the finish.
Ferrand-Prevot’s victory was never in doubt and she launched an attack to clinch the final stage and increase her overnight lead.
The 33-year-old had put herself largely in control by winning Saturday’s eighth and penultimate stage with an audacious solo breakaway on the last climb. That gave her an overnight lead of 2:37 seconds over Gigante and 3:18 over Demi Vollering.
Sunday’s ninth stage from Praz-sur-Arly to Chatel was a 124km trek featuring three big mountain climbs. But Ferrand-Prevot did not face any big attacks and instead launched one of her own with 6km left.
The crowds cheered her all the way to the finish line and, moments later, the tears flowed as she lay on her back, exhausted but elated. Vollering was 20 seconds behind in second place and Kasia Niewiadoma followed in third place as they sprinted to the line.
Earlier, Ferrand-Prevot was with Gigante, 24, and a few others when they tackled the mammoth climb up Col de Joux Plane – an 11.6km grind with a gradient of 8.5%.
Gigante is known to have trouble descending at speed and was dropped on the long downhill. She could not make up the time, especially with no teammates to help her, and lost her podium spot, finishing sixth overall, six minutes and 40 seconds behind the winner.
“It was a super hard day, I was already feeling not so strong physically going up the Joux Plane,” she said at the finish. “I was hoping to get away and have a head start before the downhill, but I was pretty much getting dropped by the top. And then of course the descent was just so hard. It was a long day out.”
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The other Australians to complete the Tour de France Femmes were Neve Bradbury (71st), Lauretta Hanson (75th), Ruby Roseman-Gannon (78th) and Emily Watts (114th).
Having won Olympic gold in mountain biking and conquered the cobblestones of the Paris-Roubaix classic, Ferrand-Prevot added another line to her glittering CV with a Tour victory.
