ZOE MISSES PODIUM BY SECONDS AS KASIA BOOSTS GC HOPES AT TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES AVEC ZWIFT

Zoe Bäckstedt and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney both delivered standout performances in stage four’s individual time trial at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, although their emotions at the finish line differed greatly – dictated by differing objectives.

British road and time trial national champion Zoe powered to a tremendous fourth, but agonisingly missed the podium by just two seconds behind Vollering (TFS). In what was another statement ride from one of cycling’s brightest talents, she finished only 19 seconds adrift of stage winner Marlen Reusser (MOV), the reigning Elite World and European time trial champion.

Despite making her Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift debut, and contesting only the second Grand Tour of her career, Zoe arrived at stage four as one of the pre-race favourites. A string of exceptional performances throughout 2026 has firmly established her as a contender across a variety of racing scenarios, with her time trialling prowess highlighted by a runner-up finish at June’s Tour de Suisse, where she finished just 11 seconds behind Reusser over a comparable distance.

With her impressive track record and trademark champion’s mentality, Zoe arrived on time trial day with ambitions firmly set on challenging the race favourites. Reflecting on her fourth-place finish, the 21-year-old said:

“For sure, I have to say I’m disappointed at first, because I always hope for more in a time trial like this. But, give me maybe an hour or so, and I’ll come around to the fact that I got fourth in my first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift time trial.”

The 21km test began in Gevrey-Chambertin, weaving through the historic town before heading north through Burgundy’s famed vineyards and picturesque villages. The defining feature was positioned midway through; a gradual 2km climb averaging 6.7%, tackled on a wide road featuring two sweeping hairpins near its base. Riders then negotiated a couple rollers before launching into a high-speed, largely straight descent towards Dijon. A final 3km flat run delivered them into the centre of the historic city, renowned for its famous mustard.

“I did a super good power for the first half, and then the second half, where we went downhill, was really quick. I was going above 85kph. At that point, it’s about letting the speed do the work, and you can’t really do anything extra. I was maxing out the gears,” Zoe explained.

While Zoe chased stage victory, Kasia’s objective was to limit her losses in the general classification battle. She dug deep and poured every ounce of energy onto the scorching French roads, finishing an impressive 13th and delivering one of the strongest time trials of her career. Not only did she limit the expected gaps to her general classification (GC) rivals, but she also gained valuable seconds on several, leaving the stage delighted after exceeding even her own expectations.

“I felt that I found my flow. I definitely spent a huge amount of time working on my TT skills, because as everyone knew, I wasn’t the best at it. As you can see, if you believe in something and you put a good amount of work, anything is possible.”

“The goal for today was to minimise losses to riders like Demi [Vollering], Anna Van der Breggen, Marlen Reusser, and [Elisa] Longo Borghini. Of course, it’s also nice to be in front of Pauline [Ferrand-Prevot], moving to Mont Ventoux and the other harder stages. I feel like from tomorrow onwards, the stage race will properly start.”

I’m super grateful to all the people that were with me along the journey to get to this place, because as always, Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is such a big goal for myself and my team, and we always want to come here to bring that yellow jersey home again. So definitely, this result puts us closer to the dream.”

She continued:

“I was definitely looking forward to this particular moment – to be done with the TT and to just focus now on the climbs. Tomorrow, it’s going to be a super hard stage and we’re here to be aggressive. We have a strong team. So yeah, we just want to do our best. We’re in great shape.”

The 140km stage five presents a formidable tactical, mental and physical challenge. Nearly 3000m of climbing are packed into a route with scarcely a straight road in sight. Eight categorised climbs are scattered throughout an endlessly twisting parcours, culminating in a technical descent from the summit of the final category two climb with just 10km remaining, before the course finally flattens for a fast run to the finish.

Stage 5 (Hilly) | Wednesday, August 5 | Mâcon – Belleville-en-Beaujolais | 140km | 2850m | 13:45 – 17:41 CET | Live 13:35 (in full)

Stage 6 (Hilly) | Thursday, August 6 | Montbrison – Tournon-sur-Rhône | 153km | 2650m | 13:35 – 17:41 CET | Live 15:45

Stage 7 (Mountain) | Friday, August 7 | La Voulte sur Rhône – Mont Ventoux | 144km | 3565m | 12:50 – 17:17 CET | Live 15:20

Stage 8 (Flat) | Saturday, August 8 | Sisteron – Nice | 175km | 1420m | 13:40 – 17:43 CET | Live 15:45

Stage 9 (Mountain) | Sunday, August 9 | Nice – Nice | 2175m | 99km | 16:05 – 18:51 CET | Live 15:55 (in full)

Watch every stage live on TNT Sports, Eurosport, HBO Max, France TV, RTBF (BEL), Flobikes (CAN), Peacock (USA) ESPN (Latin America), SBS Sport (AUS) and other regional providers. Stay updated on X with #TDFF2026, #WatchTheFemmes, and follow CANYON//SRAM social channels for the latest team updates.