Greig Leach

As the peloton hit the base of the first climb of the day, the Cote de Najaac riders began to pop off the back. I wasn't that surprised to see Teniel Campbell (Jayco-Alula) slipping away. She is a remarkable tall rider and must find the climbs a bit more difficult than the wee women that are born to climb. A little more of a surprise is seeing Anouska Koster (Uno-X) in the Maillot a Pois having trouble staying with the leaders. I am sure she spent quite a lot of energy attacking in the first four stages of the race to gain the points that earned her the title of Queen of the Mountains. But she need not fear for those polka dots, she has enough of a lead that with one exception she has enough points to keep this jersey on her shoulders. Unfortunately for Koster, that woman, Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) was in the group ahead. On the upside, Koster did catch back up to the leader's peloton.