Lily Williams laid the groundwork for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift by sprinting to two top fives in French one-day races over the weekend.
The 31-year-old sprinted to fourth and fifth place at La Périgord Ladies and La Picto – Charentaise respectively to continue her fine run of form and claim her tenth top-ten of the season.
“I’m feeling really confident right now,” Williams said afterwards. “I would have loved to score a podium or top step in the races in the past few weeks, but I’ve been consistently in the top five/top ten and feel part of the bike race. I’ve been training completely through all of these races, so I’m very excited to freshen up and see how I feel.”
Williams was part of small chase groups in both races, showing her impressive strength in breakaway riding to test her legs on the 120.7km and 135km race routes, respectively. Thanks to these two results and a fourth-place finish at the Argenta Classic and sixth place in the Copenhagen Sprint, Williams has a run of impressive results heading into the biggest race of the year.
The first week contains a multitude of Classics-style stages where she can excel.
“I’m thrilled with the first five stages of the tour,” she says. “Each one is dynamic and provides an opportunity. My favorite place to race is in Bretagne and in western France, so I’ve had my eye on these stages since they made the route announcement.”
The eclectic route that begins with holly and flatland tests in the northwest of the country before transitioning to an Alpine battle in the latter stages suits the many characteristics of the team.
“I’d love to have some of my own opportunities and support in the early stages, and I think I’ve shown that I’m ready for that,” Williams explains. “Of course, we need to save the climbers for the final half, which will be brutal, but we have a really strong all-around team that I think is also suited for the first half of the race.”
Also displaying fine form is Marit Raaijmakers, who won the bonus sprints classification at Saturday’s La Périgord Ladies. The 26-year-old finished 15th the following day and also laid a bedrock for the coming challenge in France. Herself and Williams will be crucial assets during that first week.
Keep it Human Powered Health for further Tour de France news, previews and announcements as we gear up for the greatest show in cycling.
La Périgord Ladies results
1 BLASI Paula – UAE Team ADQ 3:17:28
2 SWINKELS Karlijn – UAE Team ADQ 2:01
3 VANPACHTENBEKE Margot – VolkerWessels Cycling Team ”
4 WILLIAMS Lily – Human Powered Health ”
5 OTTESTAD Mie Bjørndal – Uno-X Mobility 2:02
6 WŁODARCZYK Dominika – UAE Team ADQ 2:04
7 RAYER Eglantine – FDJ – SUEZ 2:20
8 SQUIBAN Maeva – UAE Team ADQ 3:30
9 FRANZ Heidi – Cynisca Cycling 3:34
10 COSTON Morgane – Roland Le Dévoluy ”
La Picto – Charentaise results
1 WŁODARCZYK Dominika – UAE Team ADQ 3:13:12
2 ZANETTI Linda – Uno-X Mobility 0:32
3 CONFALONIERI Maria Giulia Uno-X Mobility ”
4 VAN ‘T Geloof Marjolein – Arkéa – B&B Hotels ”
5 WILLIAMS Lily – Human Powered Health ”
6 JANSEN Eline – VolkerWessels Cycling Team ”
7 UNEKEN Lonneke – VolkerWessels Cycling Team 0:35
8 SWINKELS Karlijn – UAE Team ADQ 0:36
9 GILLESPIE Lara – UAE Team ADQ ”
10 FITYUS Lucie – St Michel – Preference Home – Auber93 WE ”
