Pauline Allin wins Stage 6 of Tour de l’Ardèche
Lauren Stephens retains the overall lead as the peloton heads into Wednesday's final stage.
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Arkéa Pro Cycling Team’s Pauline Allin celebrated her first stage win during Tuesday’s sixth stage of the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche.
Tuesday’s 138 km course from Valréas to Rochemaure featured something for everyone; from a relatively flat start punctuated by a few punchy climbs midway through, the race ended after a sustained climb up the category one Col de Fontenelle. Allin was in the front from the beginning and said that the race was decided on the one-kilometer kicker to the finish line.
“I left in the morning break and at the top of the last pass we were only six in the lead,” Allin said. “At the bottom of the last steep one-kilometer climb: four. And then it was done by still elimination, and I find myself with the Rally girl who was leading the way. And I thought, maybe she’ll crack. I am still in his wheel in a turn at fifty meters. I was on top of it and all of a sudden she collapsed, and I was like, so ‘go on, go on.'”
Heidi Franz (Rally Cycling Women) and Alicia Gonzalez (Movistar Team) joined Allin on the podium. Lauren Stephens (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) leads the GC with Alé BTC Ljubljana’s Mavi Garcia 38 seconds behind her.
Allin was ebullient about the “best victory of my career,” yet was also quick to credit the squad behind her.
“This victory belongs to the whole team,” she said. “We are all doing well, there are still six of us in the race. Sandra [Levenez] is still fifth of the general, and everyone works in the sense of the collective.”
2020 Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche stage 6 results
1. Pauline Allin (Team Arkéa), 3:54:38
2. Heidi Franz (Rally Cycling Women), at s.t.
3. Alicia González (Movistar Team), at :26
4. Christa Riffel (Canyon SRAM Racing), at :56
5. Sarah Rijkes (Team Austria), at 1:28
6. Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru (WCC Team), at 1:45
7. Yara Kastelijn (Ciclismo Mondial), at 2:54
8. Lauren Stephens (Team TIBCO – SVB), at s.t.
9. Mavi García (Alé BTC Ljubljana), at 2:58
10. Sandra Levenez (Team Arkéa), at s.t.
