Ghekiere goes solo for spectacular stage win atop Le Grand Bornand

Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal) embodied the Queen of the Mountains jersey on her shoulders as she went solo to win Stage 7 of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes atop Le Grand Bornand.

3rd Tour de France Femmes 2024 - Stage 7

LE GRAND BORNAND, FRANCE - AUGUST 17: Justine Ghekiere of Belgium and AG Insurance - Soudal Team - Polka dot Mountain Jersey celebrates at finish line as stage winner during the 3rd Tour de France Femmes 2024, Stage 7 a 166.4km stage from Champagnole to Le Grand Bornand 1265m / #UCIWWT / on August 17, 2024 in Le Grand Bornand, France. (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images) Source: Getty / Alex Broadway/Getty Images

The place to watch the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is right here on SBS. Replays, mini stage recaps, highlights and live streaming can be found on the  and the available for download on  and .

Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal) rode away alone with 13 kilometres left on the stage as the day's breakaway fell apart, pacing her effort perfectly to claim her first career road stage victory atop Le Grand Bornand.

Maeva Squiban (Arkea B&B Hotels) finished second, a minute and 15 seconds behind Ghekiere whilst Demi Vollering (SD Worx-ProTime) outsprinted Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) for third.

Stream free On Demand

Thumbnail of Tour de France 2024

Tour de France 2024

series • 
cycling
series • 
cycling

Originally brought into the AG Insurance-Soudal team as an injury replacement for Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Ghekiere has gone from strength to strength in the race, taking the most combative prize in Stage 4 before taking over the lead in the mountains classification after Stage 6, then turning in a remarkable winning ride on the penultimate day.

“I really have no words, I think I’m dreaming!" Ghekiere said after the stage.

"It’s crazy, I really want to thank my team today. The whole team was really at the front at the beginning to protect me and get me into the breakaway.

"Especially a really, really big thanks to Julie [Van de Velde], she rode a really strong race. This victory is also really thanks to Julie."

Facing the first of two mountains tests in the yellow jersey, Niewiadoma showed great legs to distance all her rivals except Vollering on the ascent of Le Grand Bornand, before the Dutchwoman sprinted to create a small gap between the two at the finish, gaining the four bonus seconds on offer for third place.
This puts Vollering at eigth overall in the general classification, trailing Niewiadoma by a minute and 15 seconds with the gargantuan final stage on tomorrow's agenda, headlined by the summit finish atop Alpe d'Huez.

Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) was the best placed Australian on the stage, crossing the line in 11th and Sarah Roy (Cofidis) also featured prominently in the day's breakaway before being distanced prior to the final climb.

In unfortunate news, Stage 7 spelled the end of the race for a number of Australian riders, as Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco), Anya Louw (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) all withdrew shortly after starting.

The Tour de France Femmes concludes tonight with a massive Stage 8, featuring two hors-categorie climbs of Col du Glandon and Alpe d'Huez which are sure to decide the yellow jersey. Watch the action from 12am Monday morning (Sunday night) on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.

Share
Watch the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Dakar Rally, World Athletics / ISU Championships (and more) via SBS On Demand – your free live streaming and catch-up service. Read more about Sport
Have a story or comment? Contact Us

Watch the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Dakar Rally, World Athletics / ISU Championships (and more) via SBS On Demand – your free live streaming and catch-up service.
Watch nowOn Demand
Follow SBS Sport
3 min read
Published 18 August 2024 3:14am
By SBS Sport
Source: SBS

Tags

Share this with family and friends