The result ensured that the EF Education-Oatly leader finished second overall, marking Cédrine's best stage-racing result of the season so far. 

Cédrine came into the final stage on Sunday sitting third overall, having finished 10th in the time trial on stage 4. With two full ascents of the Col de la Croix on the menu and the final climb to the line, the action kicked off early, and Cédrine was well protected by her teammates before the race exploded on the second climb as Alice Towers made it into the all-important break of the day.

 Cédrine was active in the early moves involving the GC riders, and even under pressure, she paced herself well to bring herself back into contention.

On the final climb, with a stage win on the line, Cédrine battled back to catch the leading pair, Marlen Reusser and Kasia Niewiadoma, before making a late ditch attack with 900m to go. The acceleration ended with Cédrine taking a valiant second place on the line, with the time gained at the finish enough to see the French time trial champion move into second overall behind Reusser.

“It was a good day, and it went according to the plan that we had prepared with a selection early on in the stage. The plan was to try and make the others make as many efforts as possible, and keep one last bullet for the finish,” Cédrine said at the finish. 

 “Overall I’m pretty satisfied ahead of the Tour de France. It’s good news, but obviously you always want more. It’s super satisfying, and my teammates believed in my capabilities all week long, so it’s pretty good. I was struggling earlier in the season, but we have a great team, so this result is for all of them. I hope that they’re as satisfied as I am,” she added.

We sure are, Cédrine. Congratulations on an excellent week of racing!