Tour de France Femmes stage 4: Marlen Reusser wins time trial to take yellow jersey
Marlen Reusser justified her status as the pre-stage favorite by winning the individual time trial and taking the Tour de France Femmes yellow jersey in the process on the race’s fourth day.
Reusser, a specialist in the discipline, finished four seconds ahead of Lieke Nooijen, but the story of the day was Demi Vollering.
The Dutch rider finished 18 seconds behind the race winner but, crucially, nearly two minutes ahead of reining champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot to move second in the General Classification (GC), 1 minute and 59 seconds ahead of Ferrand-Prevot in 14th and 14s behind Reusser.
The time trial was a 21-kilometer route from Gevrey-Chambertin into Dijon, eastern France, with one climb of 1.8km at 6.9 percent. It therefore was not suited to the climbers, and demanded a punchier racer.
Elsewhere in the race, Welsh rider Zoe Bäckstedt finished fourth, only two seconds behind Vollering. American Kristen Faulkner of EF Education Oatly was sixth, 0.17 seconds in front of teammate Cédrine Kerbaol.
The Athletic breaks down the first decisive GC battle.
What does Ferrand-Prevot do now?
The 2025 champion was not suited at all to this stage. While she has had success at flatter races, like winning the classic Paris-Roubaix last year, the Frenchwoman tends to slim down for summer and will be in better climbing shape than the more powerful puncheurs.
That said, a GC gap of 1:59 to Vollering is significant and could change the way she rides the rest of the race.
“I did my best and I pushed as hard as I could,” Ferrand-Prevot said afterwards. “Now there’s nothing I can do. We will see how big the gaps are and we will make a plan. It’s also good now to not be the favorite. It’s like, ‘OK, I need to catch them.’ It’s also something I like.”
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot was last year’s Tour de France Femmes. (Nicolas Tucat / AFP via Getty Images)
A fire in her belly is exactly what she needs. Ferrand-Prevot won last year with a decisive climb on the Col de la Madeleine, creating an insurmountable gap to her rivals.
The 34-year-old might not be able to do that on Mont Ventoux, however, which has a different profile and — fearsome as it is — has a kilometer of less steep road, which will allow climbers to regroup on. The Madeleine climb, on the other hand, was relentless all the way up.
Ferrand-Prevot will need to attack, and Wednesday could be a good day to do so. She told reporters a plan will be made Tuesday evening and it may prove to be different to what she and her team would have anticipated at the start of Tuesday.
Does Vollering have one hand on the overall win?
The Dutchwoman has been consistent, chipping away seconds here and there while staying at the front of the peloton. However, this stage was less a chip, more a punch.
Vollering had fallen on Monday’s stage, raising questions over how she might perform for the rest of the week. Her response was emphatic and her time trial has put a significant cushion between herself and her biggest rival, setting her up nicely for the rest of the week.
With the hardest stages still to come, it is far too premature to pick a winner but Vollering has made herself the one to beat and is clearly in form.
Boxing off any GC attacks on the challenging terrain of Wednesday’s stage will be crucial to defending her position ahead of Mont Ventoux.
Will Blasi get her chance?
Paula Blasi said on her social media before Tuesday’s stage that she would be able to push herself in the TT, freeing herself from domestique duties for one day. The 23-year-old finished one place and just over one second behind her team’s co-leader Elisa Longo Borghini — and 18 seconds ahead of her other leader Dominika Włodarczyk.
The congestion around the top 10 meant she was also less than 20 seconds off a top-five finish.
Paula Blasi retained the white jersey for the best young rider. (Nicolas Tucat / AFP via Getty Images)
Blasi is clearly in form and showed it Tuesday, begging the question whether this may force her team to let her race for a stage. It is not out of the question as the Spaniard was a domestique for the Vuelta a Espana, which she won by letting her legs do the talking on the tough climbs.
But, positioned 11th in the GC before the mountains, Włodarczyk is not riding badly and could pull out some great performances. Longo Borghini is also in the top five, a position UAE will want to protect, and one which Blasi has the legs to help with.
What’s coming up Wednesday?
The GC could heat up further. With the public’s eyes on Mont Ventoux Friday, stage 5 has slipped slightly under the radar.
The day will take the peloton through 2,850m of vertical gain with gradients reaching 9.7 percent for 1.2 km at their highest, and 11.5km from the finish there is the Mont Bruilly climb of 3km at 7.7 percent.
In short, it is the first chance for the favorites to spin their legs a bit more and set themselves up for the mountainous end of the week.
Stage 4 Top 5:
- Marlen Reusser, Movistar Team, 27 minutes, 30 seconds
- Lieke Nooijen, Team Visma | Lease A Bike +4s
- Demi Vollering, FDJ United-Suez +18s
- Zoe Bäckstedt, Canyon/Sram +20s
- Mischa Bredewold, Team SD Worx-Protime +45s
Overall standings
- Marlen Reusser, Movistar Team, 11 hours, 47 minutes, 36 seconds
- Demi Vollering, FDJ United-Suez +14s
- Cedrine Kerbaol, EF Education-Oatly +54s
- Sigrid Haugset, Uno-X Mobility +56s
- Elisa Longo Borghini, UAE Team L’IMAD +1:03