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 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 Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM) and Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT) off her wheel in the finale.
Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich) 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 overall classification before the race heads to the Col du Tourmalet.
Norsgaard was in tears in her post-stage interview after claiming her first WorldTour 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 lost for words, it'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 sprinter, 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 real 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 Moolman-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 at 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, with 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 from 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 race 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 "totally ridiculous".
The UCI added CHF 300 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 Lotte Kopecky weren't interested in letting them go.
Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM) 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 (Movistar) 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 with 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-SUEZ and Lidl-Trek carved 45 seconds out of the leaders' advantage 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 group was trailing by 25 seconds with 54km to go.
Soon after, mountain leader Yara Kastelijn and teammate Julie Van De Velde crashed along with Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) on a narrow section of the road.
Amid the chaos, the chasing sprinters 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.
The three leaders 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 but 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 little luck inspiring cooperation in the chase - Lidl-Trek and Team dsm-firmenich gave half-hearted pulls but with 10km to go the race 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 and 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 peloton.
In the finishing straight, Norsgaard hit out first and held off the chase to claim the victory.
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