The general classification of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes came down to seconds in a thrilling pursuit on stage 8 as Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) went on a long attack in an attempt to make up the time she had lost due to a crash on stage 5. Vollering won the stage to the top of Alpe d'Huez, but Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) fought back on the mythical climb to stay just four seconds ahead of Vollering and win the race overall.
Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck) was the only rider who could follow Vollering’s attack on the Col du Glandon and stayed with Vollering all the way to the finish. In the end, Rooijakkers was four seconds behind Vollering on the stage and ten seconds behind Niewiadoma. That moved the Fenix-Deceuninck rider up to third in the general classification, improving on her fourth-place finish in the Giro d’Italia Women.
Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ) had targeted the GC podium, but finished fourth overall in the end, 1:21 minutes behind Niewiadoma. Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) moved up seven places in GC on the final stage to finish fifth at 2:19. Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT) started the stage on the overall podium and did everything she could, attacking on the Glandon descent, but ultimately lost several minutes on Alpe d’Huez and dropped to sixth place, 2:51 behind.
Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), on the other hand, moved up ten GC spots, finishing the race in seventh place at 7:09. Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) did crucial work for her teammate Realini – and Niewiadoma – in the valley between the Col du Glandon and Alpe d’Huez, then continued up the finishing climb at her own pace which was still enough to move up to eighth place overall, 8:06 down on Niewiadoma and one second ahead of Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich PostNL) in ninth place.
Thalita de Jong (Lotto-Dstny) dropped from fifth place to tenth on the last day, finishing 8:12 down. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) also found the last stage to be a day too far, falling from second to eleventh place, 8:28 behind, but Pieterse still won the white jersey for the best U23 rider.
Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ) improved her GC position by four spots, climbing to 12th place at 9:16. The 13th place was taken by Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) at 9:35, then came Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx-Protime) at 11:39, and Mareille Meijering (Movistar Team) completed the top-15 at 11:49.
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Tour de France Femmes standings
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The Tour de France Femmes classifications
Here is on overview of the ongoing competitions and special jerseys at the Tour de France Femmes.
Yellow Jersey/Maillot Jaune – The yellow jersey is worn by the overall race leader on the general classification, the rider who has completed the stages so far with the lowest accumulated time.
Green Jersey – The green jersey designates the points classification leader. Riders accumulate points at intermediate sprints during stages and also at stage finishes, and the woman with the most points leads the ranking.
Polka Dot Jersey – The red and white polka dot jersey is for the mountain classification leader. Points are handed out to the first riders over certain hills and climbs during the Tour de France Femmes, with the hardest mountains giving the most points. Once again, the rider with the most points leads the ranking.
White jersey – The white jersey is for the best young rider classification leader. It works the same way as the yellow jersey, but only riders under 23 years of age are eligible to win.
