Mischa Bredewold (Parkhotel Valkenburg) lies face down on the asphalt just after the finish line, head in hands, crying. His lord crouched beside him, his hand on his back, making sure he was okay.
Just beyond the finish, Kristen Faulkner (BikeExchange-Jayco) crashes into a barrier, looking even worse for wear. He’s trying to drink a can of Fanta, but his body isn’t having any of it. A moment later, she is lying on her side on the sidewalk, a team member carefully standing over her, checking her pulse.
Elsewhere in the finish line, FDJ Suez’s Futuroscope couple Grace Brown and Vittoria Guazzini are slumped over their bikes, catching their breath. “I don’t want to climb another mountain tomorrow,” Brown says. Guazzini laughs. “I don’t think about tomorrow,” he says. “I plan on making him live on the bus.”
In the 45 minutes or so after Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) crosses the line, many moments like this unfold on the road above the Le Markstein finish line. Van Vleuten not only tore through the GC at the inaugural Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, he did the same to pretty much the entire peloton.
Even those who arrived on stage 7 hoping to match Van Vleuten on the day’s three climbs were summarily dismissed, reduced to tears after such a dominant performance.
Demi Vollering (SD Worx), who set off with Van Vleuten on the first climb and managed to stay with her until the second, takes a cramping leg as she crosses the line, 3:26 behind her Dutch compatriot. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Suez Futuroscope) is next on the other side, 5:16 behind Van Vleuten. Normally full of life, it’s anything but right now.
“I gave it my all,” he says, his voice uncharacteristically flat. “I guess then [I] should be satisfied. I did everything I could, and I think the rest did too. she [Van Vleuten] was stronger.”
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) is two seconds further back in fifth. Standing on his bike after the finish, his shirt and shorts soaked in salt, he needs the help of a team helper to stay upright.
Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo), seventh on the line after gallantly chasing solo for most of the day, collapses after the finish and sits with her back against a barrier, crying. When he is brought to his feet to speak to the press a short time later, he worries worryingly.
“I’m completely exhausted,” she says, but she doesn’t need to be. “I have been alone for a long time. For me, what really killed me was the valley.” With Longo Borghini light-faced, a team assistant approaches.
“I gave my best and that’s it,” he continues. “In the end, if you give your best, that’s all you can do, and I really did. For me I was climbing the last climb, but what can I say? It’s a bike race.”
The effects of Van Vleuten’s bold foray can be felt throughout the peloton. The high pace of the first climb put many runners in difficulty very early on, in a day that featured three considerable climbs. And for many, the fight would continue throughout the stage, fighting for the right to stay in the Tour.
In this seventh stage, covered by the Vosges mountains, the time cut-off is set at 18% beyond Van Vleuten’s final time: a buffer of just under 41 minutes for the runners to play with.
Slovenian champion Eugenia Bujak (UAE Team ADQ) is one of the last runners to make it home safely, 37:58 behind Van Vleuten. She is exhausted, but relieved to have reduced the time.
“This was a very hard stage for me,” he says. “I’m not really a climber. We’ve worked hard all these last few days and I felt it [today].
“I think the race is like another level. I don’t think I ever competed at such a high level. Everyone is so prepared and motivated, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the peloton so strong.”
Another driver flirting with the time cut is Franziska Koch (DSM). Like Bujak, Koch has paid off for his efforts, having worked for Lorena Wiebes in recent days and spent some time on the run. He crosses the line and immediately asks his master if he is on time. He gives her the bad news. Koch bursts into tears.
In short, the time limit calls for six runners per day.
Cycling can be a brutal sport, and today he exemplified that brutality. While Van Vleuten torched the race with apparent ease, clearly recovered from her early-race illness, few others spent the day looking as comfortable.
But the vast majority will recover. Bredewold is pulled up by teammate Femke Gerritse, accepts a quick hug, wipes her eyes, then heads down to the team bus to recover. Kristen Faulkner is also up and walking back to the buses, apparently on the mend.
A day in the mountains complete, one to go.
Gerritse gives Bredewold a hug after helping his teammate to his feet.