French joy at 2025 Tour de France Femmes as Maeva Squiban solos to stage 6 success with perfectly timed attack

The wait for a French win at the 2025 Tour de France Femmes has been sensationally ended on stage 6 by a perfectly timed late attack from Maeva Squiban, helping her UAE Team ADQ bounce back from the loss of their GC hopeful Elisa Long Borghini earlier this week. 

12 riders got themselves up the road and into the breakaway. Best placed on GC was FDJ - Suez's Elise Chabbey, who started the day just 1:19 down. Other notable names included in the break were the likes of Pfieffer Georgi, Soraya Paladin, Yara Kastelijn, Femke Gerritse, Brodie Chapman, Liane Lippert and Silke Smulders.

As the road began to head upwards on the Col du Béal, the likes of Lorena Wiebes and Marianne Vos were dropped from the peloton. At the front meanwhile, Chabbey and Smulders proved the strongest of the breakaway, fighting it out for the QoM points on offer at the summit. Because the peloton had taken the climb so fast however, on the descent following, the break were caught. 

On the next climb, the Col du Chansert, it was then Maeva Squiban who came to the fore. More than nine minutes down in the GC, the French star was no immediate threat in that regard, and perhaps because of this, was given some freedom. Squiban was making the most of that freedom too, entering the final 25km clear solo by around 1:10. By 15km to go, she had extended that gap to 1:30. 

As Squiban held firm up ahead, and the GC contenders behind somewhat nullifying themselves, a stage win was looking more and more likely. Still well clear as she entered the Flamme Rouge, Squiban could begin planning her celebration with victory on the day assured. soaking up the applause of her compatriots at the road side, Squiban looked visibly emotional as she crossed the line.