Thalita de Jong raced valiantly to ninth place on stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, crossing the line in a select third group after the 140-kilometre route from Mâcon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais.
With eight categorized climbs and 2,783 metres of elevation gain, de Jong was part of a strong breakaway that lasted for 56 kilometres and battled to stay in contention once the general classification contenders joined the fray on the final ascent of Mont Brouilly.
“We came for this. Finally, after the hard work, it paid off,” the 32-year-old said afterwards. “Earlier in the day I struggled and felt terrible, but then I went into the right break, raced smart with the head, and I never gave up because the legs are there.”
The puncheur has endured a difficult few days, battling poor sleep and voice problems. Even so, she dug deep late in the stage, motivating herself on the final climb as stage winner Demi Vollering (FDJ United – SUEZ) reeled in the breakaway and launched acceleration after acceleration to whittle down the group.
“I remembered what Lily said before the stage on the bus,” she explained. She said, ‘sometimes you feel so terrible and empty, but you have a good day out, and then sometimes you feel so good, and during the race it doesn’t come out’. Well, I was the first one today.”
On terrain well suited to her Ardennes-style strengths, de Jong used all of her tactical nous to identify the right move to follow.
“When the break went on the final part of the climb, I looked back, and I had the feeling that this could be the break of the day and it was,” she said. “We rode really well together, all of us. I knew that it would be really painful because just after the really steep climb, the top riders caught us and that was a surprise.”
The fresher climbers then went in search of victory, but de Jong trusted in her abilities and settled into a rhythm on the final 2.9km climb, which averaged 7.9%.
“I started in a good position, kept on pushing, but when Demi attacked, off course I knew it was still 1.5 km of hard climbing,” she explained. “It was all mental, but the legs hurt. I found my own pace, and did not overdo myself. Then with Nienke Vinke, we caught Niam [Fisher-Black] and Femke [de Vries] in the last kilometer.”
The quartet worked well together, expecting more riders to return on the descent, but they were never caught and crossed the line 1 minute and 12 seconds behind Vollering. The result lifted de Jong eight places in the overall standings to 14th.
“I’m happy with this. It means I worked hard and it paid off,” she said. “I may have no voice, but the legs are still there. Hard days are coming up, but like always I will give my best.”
Stage 6 presents another stern challenge, with six climbs packed into 153 kilometres, including the Col de Lalouvesc and the Côte de Boucieu-le-Roi, making it another pivotal day for the general classification. Constant elevation changes are expected to wear down the peloton, while the technical descents could reward daring riders.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift stage 5 results
1 VOLLERING Demi – FDJ United – SUEZ 3:53:54
2 REUSSER Marlen – Movistar Team ”
3 NIEWIADOMA Kasia – CANYON//SRAM ”
4 WŁODARCZYK Dominika – UAE Team L’IMAD 0:45
5 HOLMGREN Isabella – Lidl – Trek ”
6 NIEDERMAIER Antonia – CANYON//SRAM ”
7 VINKE Nienke – Team SD Worx – Protime 1:12
8 DE VRIES Femke – Team Visma | Lease a Bike ”
9 DE JONG Thalita – Human Powered Health ”
10 FISHER-BLACK Niamh – Lidl – Trek 1:15
Stage Gallery
Photos: GettySport
