Tour de France Femmes: Emma Norsgaard holds off favourites in sprint for stage 6 victory
Kool, Kopecky, Vos finish one-second b꧙ehind breakaway rider

























Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) made it a stage win for the breakaway for the third day in a row, holding off the chasing peloton by only a few metres in Blagnac on stage 6 of the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Norsgaard was part of a three-rider move that worked to hold off the peloton but rode her previous breakaway companions A𝓰gnieszka Skalniak-S&oa✨cute;jka (Canyon-SRAM) and Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT) off her wheel in the finale.
Charlotte Kool (dsm-fir🐎menich) won the sprint for second ahead of race leader Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx).
With the time bonus for third and a crash in the final kilometre splitting the peloton, Kopecky extended her lead in the o💞verall classification before the race heads to the Col d꧅u Tourmalet.
Norsgaard was in tears in her post-stage interview after claiming her first Worl🎶dTour victory and the biggest result of her career. She crashed at Strade Bianche and suffered multiple fractures to her collarbone, and faced a long comeback.
"I'm lo♓st for words, i൲t's been really a difficult start of the year. I want to thank everyone around me - my family, my husband, my team for still believing in me after being out the whole spring. I'm super emotional - it's the biggest victory ever, I'm so happy."
Norsgaard said that while she used to be considered a spr🧔inter, she's a 🎃different rider now.
"I'm not a sprinter anymore, I have to realize it. I might be fast but I can't keep up with the rea🗹l sprinters so I took a chance today and reached for the stars - and here we are," she said.
"It's amazing. I'm so happy - I was even emotional when Liane won🐻 and now me - it's been super amazing, I love this team."
There was more drama for the general classification contenders as the top five riders behind Kopecky: Ashleigh Moo🐓lman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal-Quickstep), Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) were caught out in the final kilometre crash and given times well behind the maillot jaune.
Moolman-Pasio finished 32 seconds down, Kastelijn a⛄t 35 seconds and Longo Borghini finished 1:35 down with 🀅Niewiadoma.
After the jury reviewed the finale, all of the riders✃ were given the same time as the maillot jaune group. Moolman-Pasio remains in second at 53 seconds, while Van Vleuten, Longo Borghini, and Niewiadoma are third through fifth at 55 seconds.
Kastelijn continues as the mountains classification 🅺leader and is sixth at 1:04, wi🍎th Demi Vollering seventh at 1:07 following her time penalty from stage 5. Rounding out the top 10 are stage 2 winner Liane Lippert (Movistar) at 1:29, stage 5 winner Ricarda Bauernfeind (Canyon-SRAM) ninth at 1:42 and Juliette Labous (DSM-Firmenich) in 10th at 1:52.
Cedrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT)⛎ keeps the white jersey of best ♒young rider, while Kopecky extended her lead in the green jersey competition.
How it unfolded
The 122.5-kilometre stage fr𝔉om Albi to Blagnac should have been a day without drama and one for the sprinters but - it's the Tour de France Femmes. Overnight, the UCI jury ejected SD Worx directeur sportif Danny Stam from the ℱrace and added to his fine for dangerous driving on stage 5 and for "inappropriate comments".
After the stage, Stam objected to his team leader Demi Vollering being handed a 20-second time penalty for drafting off the team car following a puncture, calling the jury's decision "168澳洲5最新开奖结果:totally ridiculous".
The UCI added CඣHF 3𓆉00 to his 200 CHF fine and booted him from the race, leaving former World Champion Anna van der Breggen in sole control of the team for the Tour de France Femmes.
The drama overshadowed the early attacks, with April Tacey (Lifeplus Wahoo) opening up the first gaps. She was joined by Rachel Neylan (Cofidis) but Team dsm-firmenich, looking to set up sprinter Charlotte Kool, and SD Worx for race leader Lot𝔉te Kop🐼ecky weren't interested in letting them go.
Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-ඣSRAM) and Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT) were the next to go ahead of the category 4 Côte de la Cadène (2.5km at 4.5%). Alonso couldn't hold the Polish rider's wheel but, as Emma Norsgaard (Mo꧅vistar) worked to bridge across, she picked up the Spaniard.
Norsgaard and Alonso made contact on the Côte de Puycelsi (1.8km at 6%) with 72km to go withꦅ Lidl-Trek leading the peloton at 2 minutes.
When the race hit the Côte du Clos Pourtié (2.8km at 4.8%) with 65km to go, a surge from FDJ-ಌSUEZ and Lidl-Trek carved 45 seconds out of the leaders' advaܫntage when Skalniak-Sójka claimed the two points on the climb, and further attacks came soon after. However, when the gap fell to 40 seconds, the peloton eased up, not wanting to make the catch too soon.
Kool succumbed to the furious pace over the climb and had to fight to get back in contact with the maillot jaune group and Team dsm-firmenich sent Esme Peperkamp back from the yellow jersey group to Kool's when the sprinter's gr💧oup was trailing by 25 seconds with 54km to go.
Soon after, mountain leader Yara Kastelijn and teammate Julie Van De Velde crashed alo🥃n🔯g with Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) on a narrow section of the road.
Amid the chaos, the chasing s♚printers finally made contact along with the Fenix riders and with 50km remaining there was a détente in the peloton that allowed the trio's lead to be reinvigorated to almost 2 minutes. On the Côte de la Gayre with 41 to go, Skalniak-Sójka again claimed the maximum points.
Thಌe three lea🦋ders went through the intermediate sprint with 30km to go still holding a 90-second advantage giving them hope they could contest for the stage victory. Alonso led across the sprint line while Kopecky took the points for fourth.
The gap to the trio finally came under one minute with 16.9km remaining bu꧒t they were not an easy catch for the peloton, led by UAE Team ADQ and Jumbo-Visma but notably not SD Worx.
Jumbo-Visma had very litt🙈le luck inspiring cooperation in the chase - Lidl-Trek and Team dsm-firmenich gave half-hearted pulls but with 10km to go the r🤡ace seemed to be in the hands of the breakaway for the third stage in a row.
However, the long, straight road put the breakaway in the sight of the chasers a🐭nd with 7.5km to go the pendulum began to swing the other way as the gap fell to 25 seconds. When Alonso cracked and couldn't pull through, it spelled the death knell for the trio. Norsgaard would not relent and surged with 4km remaining, opening the lead from 15 to 20 seconds.
It was only 10 seconds with 1.3km to go inside the final kilometre when a crash took down a large part of the pel🎉💯oton.
In the finishing straight, Norsgaard hit out first and held ജoff the chase to claim the victory💝.
Results
Results powered by
The latest rac🗹e content, interviews, features, revie🌟ws and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, sh꧅e coordinates cov🐼erage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Tour de France stage 4 Live – A strong four-man breakaway is in the lead on an interesting day to Rouen
Short, steep climbs litter the run-in to Rouen on a day made for the puncheurs -
Amazon Prime Day 2025 Live: All the best deals as soon as we unearth them
We're trawling Amazon and beyond to bring you some absolute bargains -
Giro d'Italia Women stage 3: Lorena Wiebes wins crashed-marred finale, Anna Henderson maintains lead
Josie Nelson second, Lotte Kopecky third in Trento as only ten riders make it through late crash unscathed -
'A story out of nothing' – Jonas Vingegaard says press wasting time with wife's criticisms of Visma-Lease A Bike Tour de France priorities
'I don't know what happened and I don't care' responds Visma team boss Richard Plugge