Excitement at the front and close calls at the back

Today’s stage saw the peloton race 126.1km from Onet-le-Château to Albi. A hard pace was set from the off with the peloton splitting up and a group of 11 riders going clear. That group included Lifeplus-Wahoo’s Ella Wyllie, making an effort to try and close the gap to the white jersey leader Cédrine Kerbaol. 

The breakaway worked well together but because a number of strong names were in there, the peloton worked relentlessly to keep the gap down and the group close. They never got more than a minute but having Ella in a strong position put the team on the front foot and have the white jersey-leading team forced to chase us. 

Eventually, the reduced-size peloton caught the front group, allowing Natalie Grinczer to link up with and support Ella. Late climbs saw a solo rider break free but the chase group stayed intact to the finish line. Ella and Natalie were still there and finished 25th and 33rd on the stage, at the same time as white jersey leader Kerbaol.

Lifeplus-Wahoo rolled the dice today and put genuine pressure on our rivals which hopefully proves useful during the final 3 stages.

Kaja Rysz had to leave the race on today’s stage, facing some difficulties with injuries sustained earlier in the race.