Tour de France Femmes 2022 - 'How fantastic is that?' - Dani Rowe and Dani Christmas revel in huge Stage 8 crowds

ByHarry Latham Coyle

Updated 01/08/2022 at 13:39 GMT

Annemiek van Vleuten sealed victory at the Tour de France Femmes with another dominant performance on the steep slopes up to the top of La Super Planche des Belles Filles, roared on by a huge crowd. On Eurosport's the Breakaway, Dani Rowe and Dani Christmas celebrated the progress made in the sport, with Rowe describing the final stage as "a moment that goes down in history".

Dani Rowe and Dani Christmas revelled in the huge crowds who turned out on La Super Planche des Belles Filles to watch the conclusion of the inaugural Tour de France Femmes.

Movistar's Annemiek van Vleuten secured overall victory with another dominant climbing performance, surviving the steep slopes and gravel sections of the iconic Vosges Mountain summit finish.

Van Vleuten and the rest of the women's peloton were roared all the way to the top by a great throng of supporters who had gathered to watch the race's conclusion.

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Fans had turned out in strong numbers throughout the eight days of racing in France and, speaking on Eurosport's The Breakaway, former professional riders Rowe and Christmas celebrated a historic day to close a historic Tour.

Highlights: Van Vleuten tames Super Planche to seal Tour de France Femmes win

"The young girls on the side of the road with goosebumps: they will be the next crop of riders to come through," Rowe explained. "They are going to be inspired.

"If you cannot see it, you can't believe it.

"And now you can. It is going to be a moment that goes down in history."

A number of incarnations of a women's version of the Tour de France have been held since a first one-off event in 1955, including a regular annual event during the 1980s.

This, however, was the first significant stage race held by ASO, organisers of the men's Tour, utilising identical classifications and significant television coverage.

It follows wider moves towards parity between men's and women's cycling in recent years, including the first women's Paris-Roubaix Femmes last year and a number of Spring Classics offering equal prize money.

Christmas believes that the progress made has been "astonishing".

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The former Lotto-Soudal and Drops-Le Col rider said: "How fantastic is that? To grow up and it just be normal that we are seeing these great riders on our screen.

"It is normal now, and that is what we need to keep on pushing forwards, the back stories of these riders and the way that they race.

"We have lived and breathed this race with them this week. Not so long ago, just a year or so ago, we wouldn't have been able to have done that, so the progress that has been made to get to this point is astonishing."

Van Vleuten's second consecutive stage win secured her general classification triumph by three minutes and 48 seconds.

Demi Vollering (SD Worx) finished second on both the stage and overall, while Kasia Niewiadoma of Canyon//Sram completed the podium.

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