Tour de France Femmes : Kiara goes on the attack in a grueling stage

The terrain got tougher on Wednesday at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The roads through the Creuse department made for a challenging finale leading into Guéret. Kiara Lylyk attempted to break away, but to no avail, while Nadia Gontova was the best-placed rider for Winspace Orange Seal, finishing 43rd.

The goal for Stage 5 was once again to get into the breakaway. As in previous stages, numerous attacks lit up the early part of the race, with Kiara Lylyk showing herself the most in this phase. She found herself in no man’s land, chasing solo for 15 kilometers, but was unable to bridge to the leading group. "I wasn’t in the main break, but when I saw an opening, I still gave it a shot. Pretty quickly, I realized it wasn’t the best idea — but at least I showed the Winspace Orange Seal jersey," explained the young Canadian. Riding her first Tour de France Femmes, Kiara has already suffered crashes in the opening stages and is racing covered in bandages. "Each stage feels like a one-day classic. My goal today was to reach the finish line. I did it, so I’m happy."

Franck Renimel, sports director, was a bit disappointed with the outcome of the day : "The average speed early on was around 45 km/h — once again, there was a big fight for the break. When the decisive move finally went, we weren’t in it, and that’s disappointing. Kiara counterattacked afterward, which wasn’t a team plan, especially since the break already had a four-minute gap. But at least she tried. As for our climbers, Nadia and Karolina couldn’t stay with the yellow jersey group, mainly due to poor positioning. It wasn’t a successful stage for us, but we’ll bounce back tomorrow."

Stage 6, on Thursday, will take the riders from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert over a medium mountain route, featuring a first-category climb.

Results :

43 - Nadia Gontova

49 - Karolina Perekitko

77 - Marine Allione

107 - Fiona Mangan

119 - Constance Valentin

132 - Kiara Lylyk

Photo credit : Quentin Photographie BE