In a drawn-out sprint from a nervy bunch, Chloé Dygert used her immense raw power to charge into fifth in stage four of Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, launching from 300 metres and igniting the sprint proper among the designated finishers.

“Of course, we don’t show up for fifth place, but today was another change of plans. Originally, we were sprinting for Aga [Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka], but halfway through the race, she started to not feel so great, so we changed to me. At that point, I kind of switched from being the helper to just trying to sit in and recover as much as I could.”

The route covered 130 kilometres from the picturesque town of Saumur, perched on the banks of the Loire River, to the city of Poitiers. With just one categorised climb and 780m of elevation across the day, it was a stage clearly designed with sprinters in mind.

On the other hand, the final 3km added some interesting texture – an 800m drag at a deceptive 4%, a faster regrouping stretch on a wide arterial road, and then a final 500m incline at 2%.

With 700m to go, Soraya Paladin emptied the tank with Chloé on her wheel, leading the 50-strong bunch. From there, Chloé never quite managed to slip back into a sheltered position. After a brief jostle and a few cagey moments, she found herself exposed with open road ahead, and just a few too many metres left to cover in an ideal sprinting scenario.

Remarkably, despite the swarm of sprinters behind, she only conceded four places after launching her longer-range effort. Winner Lorena Wiebes (SDW) kicked right from Chloé’s along the barriers, while yellow jersey wearer Marianne Vos (TVL) followed closely behind.

Here’s what Chloé had to say about her first full-blooded sprint effort in quite some time:

“In the final, it was my first time going for myself against the best in probably a year or two. So, I was just trying to find my sprinter legs, be confident up in the bunch, and use my teammates as best as I could. Soraya had an amazing pull for me, and I just tried to use that as much as I could and hold on for dear life.”

“After seeing the replay, my first thought was, ‘I should have just stayed on the barriers – I would’ve shut the door on the sprinters!’ But yeah, that’s how it goes, right? I’m just learning and trying to get better each race.”

Stages three and four offered prime opportunities for sprinters. While stage five doesn’t rack up a huge elevation gain (2073m) over the longest distance of the tour (165km), it edges into hillier territory in the closing kilometres with a profile that subtly rises all day.

The final 30km features three key climbs between 2 and 3 kilometres long, the longest being the Côte de Peyroux (3.3km at 4.4%). This sets the stage for an intriguing battleground – enough challenge to prevent a large group sprint, yet four days of more decisive GC terrain are still to come. Did someone say breakaway?!

HOW TO FOLLOW

Stage 5 | Wednesday, July 30 | Chasseneuil-du-Poitou (Futuroscope) – Guéret | 165.6km | 2073m elevation | Start: 13:20 – Fastest finish: 17:32 CET. LIVE from 15:35.

Stage 6 | Thursday, July 31 | Clermont-Ferrand – Ambert | 123.6km | 2474m elevation | Start: 14:00 – Fastest finish: 17:33 CET. LIVE from 15:35.

Stage 7 | Friday, August 01 | Bourg-en-Bresse – Chambéry | 159.7km | 1953m elevation | Start: 13:30 – Fastest finish: 17:30 CET. LIVE from 15:35.

Stage 8 | Saturday, August 02 | Chambéry / Saint François Longchamp – Col de la Madeleine | 111.8km | 3539m elevation | Start: 13:45 – Fastest finish: 17:15 CET. LIVE from 13:55.

Stage 9 | Sunday, August 03 | Praz-sur-Arly – Châtel | 124.1km | 2822m elevation | Start: 15:20 – Fastest finish: 18:45 CET. LIVE from 15:25.

Live coverage is available via Eurosport, Discovery Plus, TNT Sports, FloBikes, SBS Sport, France 3, and many other regional broadcasters. Stay updated on X with #TDFF2025 and #WatchTheFemmes, and follow CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto on social media for the latest team updates.