Greig Leach

With the exception of the women up the road, all of those that mattered were keeping a close eye on each other as they climbed the Col de Saint Jean de Sixt. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon/SRAM) in here long sought after Maillot Jaune was keeping a very close watch on the wheel of Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime). Vollering was over a minute behind the yellow jersey, but her climbing prowess made her a dangerous challenge to Niewiadoma's lead in the Tour de France Femmes. On the jersey's wheel was Shirin Van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) who is just of the lead in the race for the Maillot Blanc currently held by the woman just behind her, Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck). Pieterse was being aided by her teammate Pauliena Rooijakkers. We all expected multiple attacks with just thirteen kilometers to race, but at this point they were all just watching other. Meanwhile, two riders were flirting with both the stage win and the virtual yellow jersey.