As the peloton hit the base of the first climb of the day, the Cote de Najaac riders began to pop off the back. I wasn't that surprised to see Teniel Campbell (Jayco-Alula) slipping away. She is a remarkable tall rider and must find the climbs a bit more difficult than the wee women that are born to climb. A little more of a surprise is seeing Anouska Koster (Uno-X) in the Maillot a Pois having trouble staying with the leaders. I am sure she spent quite a lot of energy attacking in the first four stages of the race to gain the points that earned her the title of Queen of the Mountains. But she need not fear for those polka dots, she has enough of a lead that with one exception she has enough points to keep this jersey on her shoulders. Unfortunately for Koster, that woman, Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) was in the group ahead. On the upside, Koster did catch back up to the leader's peloton.. Original Painting
Even the Tour de France Femmes are full of traditions despite this only being the second year of this version of the race. In days past the chalkboard with the time gaps on it was the only way the riders knew what there advantage was over the chasers (or the leaders for that matter). Now a days, the riders all have radio contact with their team cars behind the race. They in turn have wifi connections, race radio, and can even watch the race coverage in the car behind. Obviously, they know just how far behind the peloton is from the front group and who is where out on the road. Still the bright yellow motorcycle with the bright yellow clad driver and rider showing the riders the time checks on a chalkboard still exists. In other races, they have gone modern and use a dry erase board instead. Today the beneficiaries of the archaic technology are Georgia Williams (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) and Hannah Ludwig (Uno-x). Now they know that they have almost a minute and a half on the peloton with another 77 kilometers to race.. Original Painting
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