The fifth stage in the Tour de France Femmes was another hard stage. Mavi Garcia rode a strong stage and finished in the first bunch in the scorching heat.
Thursday was no time for rest in the peloton during the Tour de France Femmes. After a fast start of the stage a group of eleven riders took off. In the peloton Liv Racing TeqFind made sure Mavi Garcia was safe in the front. The Spanish champion made a strong impression in the hill zone and had no trouble following the first group. Eventually Garcia finished safely in the upper part of the bunch.
“I was well positioned before the climbs thanks to my strong team mates. It is very nice to have that kind of support. My legs were a bit better then yesterday and I didn`t have any trouble following the first group. Tomorrow is a flatter stage, but we have to stay alert all the time. It is really hectic in the Tour and anything can happen. Concerning the overall classification we will take it day per day”, a satisfied Garcia told after the stage.
Sports director Wim Stroetinga was also satisfied. “It was too bad we had nobody in the escape group of eleven riders. Still our riders did a good job protecting Mavi. It was a hard stage, I think the hardest of the race till now. Mavi was riding strong and finished in the first group. The plan was to try something with Mavi in the final kilometres when the chance was there, but the race situation wasn`t suited for it and we choose to finish safely in the bunch.”
After her day in the breakaway Jeanne Korevaar had a less good day today. In a small group she battled to finish within the time limit. A closed railroad crossing with 3 kilometres to go costed the group a few extra minutes, so it seemed they finished outside the time limit. The jury corrected that time however, so the group with Korevaar can take the start tomorrow.