Ruth Edwards delivered a breakout result for Human Powered Health at the world’s biggest bike race, finishing third on stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes.
The 32-year-old was part of a 17-rider 131 km breakaway, eventually joining an elite trio on the Col du Granier climb before dropping down to the finish in Chambéry at the end of 160 km of racing.
“Third in a Tour de France stage sounds pretty good,” she beamed afterwards. “Our director Clark [Sheehan] had us listening to Don’t Stop Believin’ the other day, so I was just singing that in my head the entire race, especially up that last climb.”
With a healthy gap over the peloton, the breakaway sprang into life on the 8.9 km Col du Granier. Edwards joined Mareille Meijering (Movistar Team) and eventual stage winner Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) before the French rider triggered her bid for glory.
“I didn’t want to look around and think anyone was stronger than me, so I just wanted to stay in the moment and follow the moves,” she explains. “I know I can descend decently fast, too. I was able to drop two of the riders I was with in those last couple of kilometers.”
Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl – Trek) joined Edwards on the descent with the duo distancing Meijering and maintaining a close to 30-second gap to the peloton. In the closing kilometers, Edwards then moved again, gapping van Anrooij before Cedrine Kerbaol launched across to sprint for second.
“I don’t really know where Cedrine came from, so she must have been descending like a bat out of hell.”
The result marks the team’s first podium at the revived Tour de France Femmes, and a turning point for Edwards at the race.
“I was left demoralized by leaving the Tour last year,” she explains. “Coming back now and this being the first day we had a marquee result is great. We raced strongly as a team and have felt a part of the bike race, and that’s been super encouraging.”
On the ground, you can feel that the Tour is bigger than ever in 2025. Hordes of baying fans crowding the roads and more coverage than ever have cemented its role as the biggest race in the world.
“What this race did the most is help the TV coverage in the US,” Edwards surmises. “When I quit in 2021, women’s racing was growing so fast. The Tour has brought the fame that comes with it, and that’s cool. To know my family is at home, able to watch, is so encouraging. My grandparents in the UK have been big cycling fans for so long. My grandfather has passed away, but my grandma sent me a message to say, ‘Grandad Barton would be so proud that his daughter’s name was on the TV.’”
Elsewhere, climber Barbara Malcotti has been continuing the form that saw her finish 8th on GC at the Giro d’Italia. She sits 14th overall in France with two big mountain tests to come.
“We have been trying hard every day, and sometimes you get the result and sometimes you don’t,” says Edwards. “To have a breakthrough helps the good vibes, and we’re going to keep trying.”
Tomorrow’s stage 8 could well be the crowning day of the race. Two alpine tests lead the race to the foot of the legendary Col de la Madeleine. 18.9 km at 8% and rising to nearly 2,000 meters above sea level, it’s a brute of a mountain and will leave no prisoners.
Photos: GettySport
Tour de France Femmes stage 7 results
1 SQUIBAN Maeva – UAE Team ADQ 3:58:26
2 KERBAOL Cedrine – EF Education-Oatly 0:51
3 EDWARDS Ruth – Human Powered Health ”
4 VAN ANROOIJ Shirin – Lidl – Trek 0:53
5 WŁODARCZYK Dominika – UAE Team ADQ 1:00
6 (LE COURT) PIENAAR Kimberley – AG Insurance – Soudal Team ”
7 VAN DER BREGGEN Anna – Team SD Worx – Protime ”
8 VOLLERING Demi – FDJ – SUEZ ”
9 NIEWIADOMA-PHINNEY Katarzyna – CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto ”
10 FISHER-BLACK Niamh – Lidl – Trek ”
