And that makes three! Célia Gery wins again. The Frenchwoman, already victorious in Saint-Galmier and then Lugny, did it again in Val Suran, where she once again dominated the pack, this time reduced to around thirty competitors in the folds of the Jura mountains.
The Frenchwoman, who is completing her first year in the “espoirs” category, leaves (almost) nothing to chance. Since the special prologue on the climb to Tignes, only Dutch rider Scarlett Souren has been able to win a stage, at Vitry-en-Charollais, with everything else subject to the clear superiority of 19-year-old Célia Gery, whose appetite has grown day by day. As a bonus, and quite logically, she donned the green jersey for the Biofioul points classification, while also taking advantage of this hilly stage to take the lead in the Alden best climber classification.
The young Frenchwoman has already had a very successful Tour de l’Avenir, whatever happens on the final day around the Haute-Tarentaise resort of La Rosière, where Canada’s Isabella Holmgren, who has worn the CIC yellow jersey since her impressive performance in the prologue, will be back on home turf, even if another Frenchwoman, Marion Bunel, last year’s winner ahead of the Canadian, remains hopeful that this situation is not irreversible (8th at 45”).
In the meantime, the competitors are taking a break, as they have no stage scheduled on the eve of the final finish.
