Tour de France Femmes 2024 stage 7 preview - The peloton arrives at the Alps with the first mountaintop finish at Le Grand-Bornand

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The peloton has reached the pinnacle of the Tour de France Femmes in the Alps with the first of two mountain top finishes on Saturday's stage 7, which starts in Champagnole and finishes at Le Grand-Bornand.

With five categorized ascents, it is expected to shake up the general classification shake-up before the stage 8 finale on Alpe d'Huez on Sunday.

Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) is wearing the yellow jersey and will start the stage 16 seconds ahead of stage 6 winner Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT) and 19 seconds ahead of Kristen Faulkner (EF-Oatly-Cannondale). The key GC contenders are not far behind, with French favourite Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) at 56 seconds back and defending champion Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) at 1:19, losing time after crashing on stage 5 into Amnéville.

Le Grand-Bornand has a special place in women's cycling, the site of a great battle between Dutch rivals Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen the 2018 La Course by Le Tour de France.

It was Van Vleuten's hard-fought win, with clips from the live broadcast that went viral across social media platforms, that captured global attention and the hearts of the cycling community.

The cycling world could be treated to another thrilling battle through the mountains as a selection of women pursue the yellow jersey.

The peloton was treated to a mountains appetizer across the combined Vosges and Jura on the previous day's stage 6 into Morteau, where Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT) became the first French rider to win a stage at the Tour de France Femmes.

Now, the riders are prepared to race through the two-day grand finale in the Alps on the weekend.

Stage 7 marks the first major mountain stage of this Tour de France Femmes, and the field will tackle 167km from Champagnole to Le Grand-Bornand. It is also the longest of the eight stages and will include five categorised ascents.

The field will head out of Champagnole along undulating uphill terrain for the first 50km, which could mark a place for an early breakaway as riders look to get ahead of the race before the major ascents.

It will also be an important stage for those riders leading the mountain classification led by Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal). Also in the running for the QOM points are Puck Pieterse and Yara Kastelijn (both Fenix-Deceuninck) and Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ).

The stage includes five categorised climbs that begin with the Col de la Croix de la Serra (12km at 5.1%), located 57.9km into the stage. It is the longest and most demanding of the ascents on tap for the stage, where either a selection or a small group could form early in the race.

The peloton will descend before reaching the second ascent at Côte de Bois d'Ariod (2.4km at 4.6%), a shorter ascent located mid-stage at 88.1km.

The route is generally routed uphill from this point forward with Côte de Cercier (4km at 4.9%), then they reach the base of the final two climbs at Col de Saint-Jean-de-Sixt (5.4km at 5.1%), which leads into the final ascent Montée du Chinaillon (7km at 5.1%) into the finish line at Le Grand-Bornand.

"The longest stage of this 2024 edition will begin with a number of smallish hurdles, plus the long haul up the Col de la Croix de la Serra (12km at 5.1%), from the Saint-Claude side," Rousse said.

"It concludes with a new and steep finish at Chinaillon (7km, 5.1%), an authentic hamlet with traditional chalets on the flanks of the Col de la Colombière."

Climbs

• Col de la Croix de la Serra (12km at 5.1%) - category 1
• Côte de Bois d'Ariod (2.4km at 4.6%) - category 4
• Côte de Cercier (4km at 4.9%) - category 3
• Col de Saint-Jean-de-Sixt (5.4km at 5.1%) - category 2
• Montée du Chinaillon (7km at 5.1%) - category 2