FRANCE (Reuters) -France's Maeva Squiban delighted home fans with a solo victory on Stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes on Friday, her second win in two days, becoming only the fourth rider to claim back-to-back stages at the race.
The 23-year-old attacked on the upper slopes of the Col du Granier (8.9km at 5.4%) to reach the finish of the hilly stage alone, which lifted the UAE Team ADQ rider to second in the polka dot jersey standings, level on 17 points with Dutchwoman Silke Smulders.
"Honestly, winning once on the Tour is already huge and now a second win...It was an incredible day. I think it was one of the hardest days of my life, mentally as well as physically. But you have to give everything," Squiban said.
"On the last climb, I just wanted to lie down on the ground, and by the end, I think for the last 15 kilometres, I was barely present -- I couldn't hear anything in my ear."
It was another French one-two as Cedrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) crossed the line 51 seconds behind Squiban to take second place and American Ruth Edwards claimed third.
A 17-rider breakaway had lit up the 159.7km stage from Bourg-en-Bresse, with Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) becoming the first Irish rider to win an intermediate sprint at the Tour.
The move split on the Cote de Saint-Franc before Squiban's decisive attack on the final climb. Mauritian rider Kimberley Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) lost ground on the Granier but finished sixth to retain the yellow jersey.
Le Court is ahead of Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 26 seconds and Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) by 30 seconds.
Mountains classification leader Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) endured a difficult day and was distanced from the peloton before Squiban's climb.
Saturday's mountain stage will be from Chambery to Saint-Francois-Longchamp.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru, Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
