Maeva Squiban has done it again. In Stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes, finishing in Chambéry, the young French rider launched another bold attack right from the start and dropped all her rivals in the final, securing her second consecutive stage victory and writing a new page in the history books for UAE Team ADQ and the Tour de France Femmes.
The 23-year-old from Brest is now the first French rider to win two stages in the new era of the women’s Tour de France.
Another strong performance came from Dominika Wlodarczyk, who finished 5th once again and moved up one spot in the general classification. She is now 11th overall, 1:56 behind the yellow jersey, still held by Kimberley Le Court – Pienaar (AG Insurance – Soudal Team).
The 159.7 km stage from Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambéry featured the first real climbs of this year’s Tour. Squiban attacked immediately, joining a large and competitive breakaway group, made up of strong riders but who were not a threat in the GC.
Despite her incredible solo win the day before in Ambert, she showed no signs of fatigue. On the toughest part of the Col du Granier (a second-category KOM), she reeled in the two leaders, dropped them, and steadily increased her lead – even as the yellow jersey group brought back all the other breakaway companions.
Descending at full speed, Squiban held her advantage and, just like the day before, crossed the finish line in front of ecstatic crowds, celebrating her unforgettable victory in Chambéry.
At the finish, still in disbelief, she shared her emotions: “I still can’t believe what I’ve done. I’m speechless. I attacked almost jokingly from kilometre zero, then we formed a really strong breakaway group and gained up to four minutes. I knew I had a chance to try something on the final climb, and I went for it at the right moment. Winning two Tour de France stages is just incredible. I don’t know how I did it, but I gave everything I had today.
The ‘W’ celebration? I’m not really sure what it means – I saw my teammate Elisa Longo Borghini doing it earlier this week. Yesterday, in all the chaos, I forgot to dedicate the win to her, to Eleonora Gasparrini and Karlijn Swinkels, my teammates who are no longer racing with us at the Tour. I thought of them as I crossed the line, and the gesture came naturally. I’m just so happy!”
Tomorrow is stage 8, the Queen Stage, 111.9 km from Chambéry to Saint-François Longchamp (Col de la Madeleine).
(ph. Getty Sport)
