Tour de France Femmes Stage 8: Adegeest Leads After Squiban Crash

Loes Adegeest of Lidl-Trek was alone at the front of stage 8 of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes after her breakaway companion Maeva Squiban crashed on the descent following the Côte de Colomars. The Dutch rider continued pushing on while the peloton, which had steadily reduced the leaders’ advantage during the closing kilometres, caught Squiban.

The longest stage of the race began in Sisteron and was set to finish in Nice after a route featuring four category 4 climbs. With two climbs inside the final 20km, the day had been presented as an open contest between a possible sprint and a breakaway, while the general classification battle remained tight behind yellow jersey wearer Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.

At the start of the day, Niewiadoma-Phinney led Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser, with the top three separated by 39 seconds. The stage was also marked by the non-start of defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who was unwell overnight, while Charlotte Kool had left the race after missing the time cut on Mont Ventoux the previous day.

Early break builds a major advantage

The peloton stayed together through the opening attacks. Daniek Hengeveld and Lieke Nooijen both tried to establish early moves but were brought back, while Marianne Vos also attempted a solo bridge later in the opening phase.

The decisive early move eventually formed with Squiban of UAE Team L’IMAD and Adegeest. Morgane Coston attempted to bridge across but was unable to join them and was later caught by the peloton. Squiban and Adegeest extended their advantage as the race moved through the early climbs, reaching more than six minutes clear at one stage.

Adegeest took maximum points over the category 4 Col des Robines, ahead of Squiban. Squiban then led Adegeest over the Col de Toutes Aures. Adegeest was also first at the intermediate sprint, with Squiban second, as the pair continued to share the work at the head of the race.

Behind them, several teams contributed to the chase. SD Worx-Protime moved to the front with the aim of setting up Lorena Wiebes, while AG Insurance-Soudal, Liv-AlUla-Jayco, FDJ United-SUEZ and other squads also appeared at the front as the gap began to fall.

Wiebes collected 17 points while crossing the intermediate sprint, having started the day leading the points classification on 164 points. Adegeest collected 25 points at that sprint.

The leaders’ advantage was still above six minutes around the midpoint, but the pace of the peloton gradually changed the shape of the stage. The gap dropped below five minutes, then continued to fall as the road narrowed and the bunch became increasingly strung out approaching the final climbs.

Late crash changes the breakaway

With around 30km remaining, Squiban and Adegeest had 3 minutes 35 seconds in hand. That margin fell below three minutes with 25km to go, and then below two minutes as the race approached the Côte de Colomars, a category 4 climb measuring 1.4km at an average gradient of 5.4%.

Squiban took the mountain points on the Côte de Colomars, but the breakaway changed immediately afterwards. The French rider slid out on the descent after the climb, leaving Adegeest to continue alone. Squiban remounted quickly but was described as being in significant pain and unable to hold the handlebars before she was caught by the peloton.

Usoa Ostolaza also crashed in the peloton on a corner shortly after Squiban’s fall. Earlier in the stage, Alice Coutinho had returned to the peloton after a crash, while Chiara Consonni suffered a puncture and later rejoined the bunch.

Adegeest’s solo effort became the key story of the final approach to Nice, with the peloton having already erased much of the breakaway’s large earlier advantage. The stage also remained important for the overall race, as Niewiadoma-Phinney started the day in yellow with Vollering and Reusser close behind ahead of the final stage.