Carlotta Cipressi animated stage two of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, joining the lead breakaway for 47 kilometers midway through the 147.9 km rolling test from Aigle to Geneva, Switzerland.
After the breakaway, the stage came down to a bunch sprint. With Olympic gold medalist Lily Williams protected all day by her teammates, she then navigated the finale on the wheel of Thalita de Jong, before sprinting to 12th place behind yellow jersey and stage winner Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime).
Co-operating well within a group of five, this was Cipressi’s first breakaway effort in her debut Tour, reversing her fortunes after a tricky opening day for the Italian.
“I was feeling better than yesterday, and I saw the opportunity to make the breakaway, which was the plan for one of us pre-stage,” the 23-year-old said afterwards. “It was a good moment for the breakaway, so I was there.”
Cipressi made the group on a rolling section of the parcours, helping to extend the advantage to almost three minutes at its height.
“I said, ‘Okay, I jump.’ We joined as a five and went out for a long time,” she explains. “We collaborated well together, and so I saw that this was a real opportunity for me and for the team.”
One of the largest racing factors to manage in the early stages has been scorching heat, with the average temperature hitting 90 degrees. To combat the stifling conditions, regular fluid intake, ice socks and a cooling vest from CORE, as well as post-stage ice baths, are used by the team to regulate the athletes’ temperatures.
“After a stage we do some cooling down on the rollers for the legs to spin the legs,” Cipressi said, whilst riding atop her Factor OSTRO VAM on a SpongeBob-liveried Wahoo KICKR trainer post-stage. “We also use the CORE devices that we have. I can monitor my temperature all day with my CORE sensor linked to my Wahoo, and we have the cooling jacket and cooling towels around our necks that help us to regulate our temperatures.
Starting in Geneva, Switzerland, tomorrow’s stage 3 takes the peloton to France on a 157 km route through the Jura Mountains. Early climbs like the Col de la Faucille will test climbing legs, followed by rolling roads toward a fast finale in Poligny. Breakaway hopefuls may eye this transition stage for glory.
Stage gallery
Photos: GettySport
