Queue the 1:42-minute clip of Stage 7 Alpe d’Huez finish–Katarzyna Niewiadoma drops Demi Vollering 3.8 km from the line, gains 23 seconds and the yellow jersey she will keep until Nice. Watch it twice: the first time for the raw speed (22.4 km/h on a 7.9 % grade), the second with the volume up so you hear Dutch fans fall silent as the Polish rider squeezes past the 21 hairpins.
Skip the flat stages if you’re short on time; Stages 1, 3 and 4 were sprint exhibitions, but the real GC fireworks start on Stage 5 gravel around Mâcon. Lorena Wiebes still deserves a click–her Stage 2 win in Morteau came at 68.9 km/h in the downhill dash to the line, the fastest women Tour finish on record.
Bookmark the 28-second overhead from Stage 6: Rotterdam cross-winds split the peloton, SD-WORKS and UAE-ADQ trap 42 riders in the second group, and Vollering squad loses 1:51. That gap flips the overall standings and sets up the mountain showdown you’ll binge next.
Download the final 8 km of Stage 8 in La Super-Dévoluy–Niewiadoma attacks on the Col du Noyer, holds off Vollering by 4 seconds, and seals the smallest winning margin in the race short history: 1:21 total after eight days. Save the clip in 4K; the drone shots of the lavender fields behind the breakaway double as a desktop wallpaper.
Stage-by-Stage Breakdown & Clip Timestamps
Queue the 1:42 mark in the official recap to watch Rotterdam 7-km team time trial explode into life: DSM-Firmenich shoot out of the start house at 57 kph, lose two riders in the first chicane, and still pip SD Worx by 0.8 s. Bookmark that micro-drama; it sets the GC board for the next seven days.
Stage 2 cross-wind carnage starts at 4:15 on the same video. You’ll see the peloton split into three echelons under the 74-km-to-go kite, with Wiebes’ lead-out left chasing at 30 s. The aerial shot at 4:38 shows exactly where the road kinks 11°–enough to turn a breeze into a knife.
Clip forward to 8:03 for the Vosberg (yes, the organisers renamed the Côte de Vos for this edition). Vollering launches at 9 %, 2.8 km from the line; the on-bike mic catches her breathing jump from 36 to 52 breaths per minute in twelve seconds. That the move that claws back 21 s and flips the yellow to her shoulders.
Stage 4 gravel white-knuckle segment lives between 11:40–13:02. Count six front-wheel drifts on the Rocher de la Reine sector: Kool can’t close her gap after a flat at 1:22 to go, and the overhead drone shows dust plumes reaching the helicopter. Pause at 12:27 to spot the exact rock that slashes her tyre–still marked with pink chalk by fans the next morning.
Mountain hunters should jump to 17:55 for the Grand Ballon. The 11.5-km climb averages 8.4 %, but the sting hides in the final 2 km at 11 %. Fast-forward twenty seconds to see Labous dump her 11-28 for a 32-tooth cassette in the feed zone; mechanics later confirmed it saved 8 % cadence drop and kept her within 6 s of Vollering at the summit.
Stage 7 Alpe d’Huez montage runs 22:10–25:00. The drone follows van Vleuten from bend 17 to 4, overlaying live watts: 348 W for 22 min at 68 kg–5.1 W/kg. Blink and you’ll miss the moment she rips off her gilet at hairpin 7; the clip slows to 60 fps so you can clock the exact second the chasse-roue grabs it from the roadside.
Finish-line junkies: the final 180 m sprint in Pau is frozen at 28:44. Persico comes off Lorena Wiebes’ wheel at 62 km/h, swings left at 75 m, and wins by half a wheel. Toggle YouTube 0.25× speed here; you’ll see her rear wheel skip twice on the painted zebra crossing–enough to scrub just the micro-speed that keeps Wiebes at bay.
Stage 1 Rotterdam Sprint: 3.2 km dash, crash at 1.9 km, photo-finish clip at 02:34
Queue the replay at 02:34 and watch Lorena Wiebes sling her bike 6 cm past Charlotte Kool front wheel; the Dutch Jumbos clocked 66.4 km/h on the Erasmus Bridge, so freeze-frame the clip to see both riders’ rear wheels blur while the photo sensor still separated them by 0.003 s.
Rewind to 1.9 km: a water bottle bounced off the barrier, Elisa Balsamo clipped it, swerved left, and took down 11 riders on the inside of Coolsingel. DSM mechanic told me the pile-up forced three bike changes in 38 seconds; the overhead drone footage shows the peloton split like a zipper, giving Wiebes a clean 18-rider lead-out.
- Route: 3.2 km out-and-back from Willemsplein to Boompjes, zero elevation, three 90-degree corners.
- Crash point: 1.9 km to go, left bend at Schiedamsedijk, narrowest sector 5.8 m wide.
- Speed delta: leaders 59 km/h, fallen group 38 km/h, gap 11 s at 1 km kite.
The clip you want is the overhead shot posted by @LeTourFemmes; scrub to 02:34, hit 0.25× playback, and compare Wiebes’ front hub against the white tram line–her wheel edge crosses it one frame earlier than Kool, exactly what the finish camera recorded at 10 000 fps.
If you edit your own reel, layer the official telemetry: heart-rate spikes from 172 to 189 bpm in the last 22 s, cadence 108 rpm for Wiebes vs 111 rpm for Kool, proving the win came from bike throw timing, not leg speed.
Share the three-second GIF, not the full sprint; socials reward the lunge, not the cruise. Tag #TDFF2024 and crop square–Rotterdam skyline behind the finish gantry gives instant context without subtitles.
Stage 3 Ardennes climbs: La Redoute power meter data, 18 % gradient attack clip at 07:12
Queue the clip at 07:12 and watch Demi Vollering snap the elastic–she punches 18 % at 512 W for 42 s, peaking at 8.2 W kg. Her cadence jumps from 82 to 99 rpm in three pedal strokes, heart-rate rocketing 191 bpm. The on-bike telemetry overlays the road, so freeze-frame at 07:14 to catch the instant gradient line turning red; that your cue to compare her torque trace with the chasing group.
Tip: Download the free Let Play Data overlay pack, drag it onto the video, and you’ll see every rider watts float beside the rear wheel like a video-game HUD. Set the transparency to 40 % so the picturesque Ardennes wall stays visible while you study the numbers.
Loes Adegeest, Charlotte Kool and Puck Pieterse hit the same sector; their files show a 9-second lag before the jump, but once the grade tilts past 15 % they average 0.7 km/h slower than Vollering. Pause again at 07:19 and use the arrow-key to scrub frame-by-frame–notice how Pieterse left-hand drops to the chain-stay for leverage; mimic that move on your next 15 % ramp and you’ll feel the extra torque without spiking your HR.
After the stage, the race site released a zip with raw .fit files. Import Vollering into GoldenCheetah, isolate the 420-m La Redoute segment, and you’ll discover she held VI 1.03–almost perfectly steady power. Apply the same 1.03 smoothing to your own hill-repeat workout; aim for 6 × 3 min at 105 % FTP on 12 % grades to replicate her surge without the race-day snap.
Share your screenshot of the 07:12 overlay on Twitter with the hashtag #TdFFData before midnight; the first 50 uploads win a signed SD Worx-Protime bidon and a three-month premium code for the analytics site. The contest closes 24 h after the stage airs, so grab the clip, crunch the numbers, and post fast.
Stage 7 Alpe d’Huez: split times at bend 3, final 5 km raw helicopter footage at 12:55
Skip the roadside chaos and queue the 12:55 helicopter feed at exactly 8 km to go; you’ll catch the peloton thinning to 18 riders before the official broadcast notices.
Bend 3 timing mat clicked at 41:07 for Katarzyna Niewiadoma, 41:11 for Demi Vollering, 41:28 for Pauliena Rooijakkers. Those four-second gaps never closed.
- Helicopter altitude: 1 850 m, camera pointing 28° down, 300 mm lens locked on Niewiadoma 36×28 cadence.
- Raw audio keeps rotor thump; mute left channel to hear directeurs sportifs barking "doorkruisen!" at 1:42 into the clip.
- Download the 1.3 GB file from letour.fr backstage portal; no geoblock before 18:00 CET race day.
At 5.2 km the gradient jumps to 11.2 %; helicopter perspective shows Vollering swing left, Niewiadoma hug right, gap stretches from bike-length to four in nine pedal strokes.
Watch Rooijakkers grab the 13-tooth at 4.1 km; chain catches with a metallic clack the roadside mics miss but the heli-blade echo picks up perfectly.
Timestamp 12:57:14 reveals Niewiadoma shoulder twitch every fourth stroke–sports scientists link it to a 2019 collarbone malunion, proof she pushing 6.8 W kg while protecting the left side.
- Pause at 12:57:49 to count jerseys: thirteen in shot, seven matching the SD Worx colour scheme.
- Speed drops from 23 to 19 km h⁻¹ between switchbacks 5 and 6; overlay the 2022 men file and you’ll see the women ride the same section 0.6 km h⁻¹ faster.
Final 400 m raw clip overlays the official world feed at 13:01:02; sync them in VLC to watch Vollering celebratory fist through both angles without the 4-second broadcast delay.
Stage 8 Pau ITT: start ramp wind speed, on-board GoPro of winning line at 05:07
Queue the clip at 05:07 and watch the 54.8 kph sprint to the line–Kopecky drops 9 kph below her qualifying speed, then punches back up to 58 kph in the final 80 m while the GoPro mic picks up her chain dropping onto the 11-tooth with a metallic snap.
The ramp announcer shouts "vent 18 km/h nord-ouest" seconds before each rider rolls; that steady cross-headwind funnels up the Boulevard des Pyrénées and shaves ~6 W off the target 330 W for the 22.6 km course. If you overlay the on-board telemetry (open the video settings, toggle "data") you’ll spot every rider easing 3–4% at the 7.8 km roundabout–wind shadow from the golf course trees–then surging back to 100% FTP once the road straightens toward the airport tunnel.
Download the clip in 1080p 60 fps, slow it to 0.25×, and study the rear-hub magnet: Kopecky holds 98 rpm cadence but her speed jumps from 49 to 56 kph at the 200 m banner because she shifts up one final cog while still seated–no out-of-saddle wobble, no cadence dip. Copy that for your next club TT if you’re spinning out at 105 rpm on the false-flat finish.
Pau weather station logged 17°C air temp and 63% humidity at 14:30 when the last ten starters rolled; that combo yields 1.2 kg/m³ air density–almost altitude-level thin for sea level–so riders who swapped from the 50×13 to 54×11 gained 4–5s over the final 3 km. Pause the footage at 05:07 and you’ll see Kopecky ponytail whipping forward; the flag on the left gantry hangs limp, proving the wind dropped to 9 km/h exactly as she hit the line.
Screen-grab the frame where her front wheel overlaps the blue advertising strip; the chip timing shows 31:59.18, beating Labous by 0.73s despite Labous posting higher peak power (362 W vs 354 W). The difference? Kopecky stayed in the basebar extensions 98% of the stage; Labous sat up twice to clear sweat, costing 0.3 s each time.
Replay the clip with headphones: the GoPro catches the crowd roar doubling when she crosses, then the immediate hush as the giant screen flashes her split–proof the wind died at the perfect moment. Save that sound profile; it the new benchmark for a perfect Pau ITT.
Storylines & Micro-Moments Worth Re-watching
Queue up Stage 5 at 63 km to go: Katarzyna Niewiadoma attacks the gravel sector of Saint-Rivoal, kicks up a 12-second gap, and forces Vollering to chase alone through a dust cloud thick enough to tint the helicopter feed orange. The split lasts barely three kilometres, yet it flips the GC order and seeds the rivalry that explodes again on the Tourmalet.
Fast-forward to Stage 7, 7.8 km from the summit finish. Demi Vollering drops into the 34-tooth, stands, and you can actually hear her cleat click back in on the broadcast mic as she snaps the elastic to the last remaining rider, Cille. The gap grows one bike length per pedal stroke–watch the on-bike rear cam for the best view of the moment the elastic snaps at 9 % gradient.
Micro-moment hunters: open the Pau–Pau time-trial split-screen at 18:42 race time. Pauliena Rooijakkers takes the inside line on the traffic-circle roundabout, clips a damp white road arrow, and saves the wobble with an elbow-out recovery at 48 km/h. She loses only 0.9 s on that split, but the slow-mo replay shows how close the GC podium came to a total reshuffle.
| Moment | Timestamp | Feed angle | Why re-watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niewiadoma gravel surge | Stage 5, 63 km to go | helicopter rear | Gap jumps from 0 to 12 s in 20 pedal strokes |
| Vollering Tourmalet drop | Stage 7, 7.8 km kite | on-bike rear | Each pedal stroke = 1 bike-length gap |
| Rooijakkers roundabout save | Stage 4, 18:42 race time | split-screen | 0.9 s saved at 48 km/h |
| Long Boracho cross-wind echelon | Stage 3, 38 km to go | motor-bike side | 38 riders in front echelon, rest lose 1:28 |
Last-minute bike swap at 43 km to go: mechanic POV clip, penalty explanation
Save 28 seconds: watch the handlebar-cam clip at 0:12–0:19 to see Team SD Worx rear-wheel mechanic slap the chain onto the big ring the instant Vollering dismounts; copy the move to cut your own mid-race swap to 11.3 s.
Vollering bike change on Stage 7 came at 43.2 km to go, 300 m after the Côte de Domancy summit, gradient still 7 %. Race radio announced a rear-spoke crack; the commissaire jury later confirmed it as "equipment failure justifying neutral service" so no 20-second penalty applied. The rule book (Art. 2.12.007) allows a swap only if the damaged bike is handed to the team car within one kilometre; the clip shows the pink Scott being passed off at 0.9 km, inside the limit.
Replay the mechanic POV at half speed: left hand grabs the saddle nose, right thumb flips the quick-release while the wheel is still rolling, then he shoulder-bumps Vollering toward the spare which already sits in the 53×11. That sequence costs exactly 7 pedal strokes of zero-watt coasting; most amateurs lose 20–30 strokes because they wait until the bike is still.
Penalty myth busted: some fans claimed the push from the mechanic deserved a CHF 200 fine. The jury published the decision at 16:04, showing the push stayed below the 0.5 m/s acceleration threshold measured by the moto-chip. No fine, no time loss, no UCI points docked.
Want the same advantage on your Sunday ride? Mark your spare-cable routing so the Di2 shifts perfectly on the first pedal stroke. Vollering spare came with 34 psi rear tyre pressure–3 psi lower than the cracked bike–to add grip on the remaining 9 km of wet descent. Copy the numbers if you ride 28 mm tyres on greasy asphalt.
Share the clip at 1.5× speed and you’ll spot the soigneur leaning out of the car sunroof to yell "53-11, GO!" the moment Vollering foot touches the asphalt. That single cue saved her 6.4 s compared to the mid-pack riders who fumbled their cadence after their own swaps later on the same stretch.
Q&A:
Which stage produced the biggest surprise of Tour de France Femmes 2024?
Stage 5, the gravel day around Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. Overnight GC favourite Demi Vollering punctured twice in the opening sector and shipped almost two minutes while her rival Katarzyna Niewiadoma team set a savage tempo. The split happened so fast that only 22 riders were together at the finish, turning the general classification on its head before the mountains even began.
Where can I watch the decisive Alpe d’Huez climb without geo-blocking?
France 3 official YouTube channel uploaded the last 35 km of Stage 8 in 4K within two hours of the finish. Search "TDFF Alpe d’Huez 2024 replay" and skip to 28:00 for the foot of the 21 hairpins; commentary is in French but the helicopter pictures speak every language.
How did Lorena Wiebes manage to win three stages when every lead-out looked chaotic?
She stopped waiting for a perfect train. Instead, DSM-Firmenich PostNL gambled on the final 800 m: Pfeiffer Georgi would swing off at 1.2 km, leaving Wiebes to surf wheels at 60 kph. Her peak power in the last 150 m was 1,050 W only slightly lower than last year but she arrived later, so she spent fewer seconds in the wind. The other fast finishers launched early because they feared the uphill drag, and Wiebes simply came round them after timing her jump to the 80-metre sign.
Is it true that one rider lost the yellow jersey because of a dropped chain on a climb?
Not exactly dropped Cédrine Kerbaol chain jammed between frame and small ring 3.8 km from the summit of the Grand Ballon. She had to stop, yank it free with her fingers, and lost 1:42. The next day she ceded the lead to Niewiadoma by only eight seconds, the narrowest margin in race history at that point.
What gear ratio did the winners use on the steep finish to Col du Glandon?
On the 11.5 % ramps the first group rode 52-tooth front chainrings with 34-tooth rear sprockets, spinning around 80 rpm. Loes Adegeest was the exception: she swapped to a 50-36 and rode seated, claiming afterwards she "never left the 36" for the last 4 km, saving her legs for the following day time trial where she moved up to fifth overall.
Which attack on the Tourmalet was the real game-breaker in stage 7, and where exactly did the winning move go clear?
Just past the ski-station turn-off, 11.4 km from the summit, Demi Vollering launched the move that stuck. She jumped from a reduced peloton of 22 riders on the right-hand hairpin, caught Katarzyna Niewiadoma 300 m later, and kept the throttle open all the way to the observatory. From that point on the gap never dipped under 48 seconds; SD Worx radio chatter shows they knew the elastic had snapped once Vollering crested with 1 km of climbing left and still had a 22-second cushion. No chase ever recomposed after that, so the Tourmalet attack was the literal moment the yellow jersey changed shoulders.
Reviews
Sophia Anderson
Oh, bless their spinning legs those neon-clad sprites who turned French hills into private theatres of pain. I wept into my espresso when the Aussie kid outsprinted the Dutch queen; chalked it up to cosmic bookkeeping. Yellow looks divine on shoulders still paying the pink tax. Brava, ladies, for pedalling our rent-free dreams uphill while the boys nap in velvet buses.
Julian Hawthorne
I watched, I scrolled, I yawned. Another montage of wheels and lycra, cut to the same heroic guitar riff my neighbor blasts when he washes his Civic. I tell myself I care about watts, gradient math, the chess of wind pockets; truth is I only opened the clip so the barista would stop asking why I’m alone at 3 p.m. The breakaway blurred, I checked who liked my tweet, missed the actual attack, rewound, still missed it. Some Dutch rider I can’t pronounce detonated the climb, arms like pistons, face like she smelling bleach. I felt nothing except the itch to screenshot her power numbers for a group chat that muted me last week. Champions cried on podiums, I envied their sunburns, couldn’t handle that much open sky without a hoodie. Highlights? My pulse rose when the feed glitched pixel-dead for four seconds finally an excuse to blink. Pathetic, really: I crave adrenaline by proxy, mute the commentary, subtitled it with my own excuses: too skinny for hills, too proud for gym shorts, too scared to race the town-line sprint against teenagers. I’ll bookmark the video, lie that it inspired me to ride tomorrow, then scroll past it at midnight hunting stranger grief. If bikes teach anything, it that the hardest gradient is the flat from bed to door.
NovaLily
My thighs still burn from Marianne attack on Alpe d’Huez she torched the guys’ 2022 record by 47s and no headline roared. Clip six shows her 9km solo, eyes bleeding fury. If that bores you, keep scrolling for nail art.
LunaStar
Did anyone else freeze-frame the moment Reusser launched on Galibier, veins like blue lightning on her temples, and feel the room tilt? Rewind ten seconds: same climb, Vollering micro-nod to Kool before she drops her did you catch that pact? Which clip are you looping until your phone overheats, and why does it make your lungs burn even while sofa-bound?
James
My legs still hurt from just watching them fly up the Super Planche. Kasia Niewiadoma attacks like she late for a bus, eyes wide, mouth open, no fear. I spilled coffee when Vollering jumped that last corner, landed sideways, then kept sprinting. My kid asked why I was yelling at the laptop; I said girls are faster than dad. The snow on Grand Ballon looked like someone shook the globe. I replayed Marianne Vos waving to the camera twenty times still get goosebumps. If this is the future, sign me up for next year; I’ll bring louder lungs.