Tour de France Femmes 2025 - Stage 7: Lichtenberg's preview: A stage for female downhill riders

Stage 7 | Friday, 1 August 2025 | Bourg-en-Bresse - Chambéry | 159.7 kilometres | 1986 vertical metres

Claudia Lichtenberg's assessment of stage 7

This is a downhill stage - with the long descent from the Col du Granier to the finish in Chambéry. Tour boss Marion Rousse has said that the plunge to the finish is likely to be fast and technically challenging. The mountains in the profile look quite spectacular, but there is only an average gradient of 5.4 per cent on the long climb to the Col du Granier. I expect the race to go in a similar direction to the day before - the day's victory will be decided between the strong female racers.

As a contender for the overall standings, no opponent can be left far behind. The downhill can also be decisive. Everyone is aware that Pauliena Rooijakkers, for example, really struggles to ride fast downhill. And I can say that we women ride downhill with less courage on certain days of the month. With regard to the safety discussion and this downhill final, I think that a female racer has to have it under control herself. Unfortunately, too many serious accidents have happened recently. That's why an organiser should check what happens when someone is carried out of a bend - and give appropriate instructions. But I'm not too worried about that in the Tour de France - they're very conscientious there.

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Schedule, TV coverage & live stream of stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes 2025

• Neutral start: 13:30, sharp start 13:40
• Estimated arrival time: between 17:30 and 17:53
• TV broadcast: Eurosport 1 15:00-18:00
• Live stream: ARD-Mediathek, sportschau.de, Discovery Plus (for a fee)

TOUR expert Claudia Lichtenberg

She was one of the best tour specialists in German cycling - at a time when there was no Tour de France for women. Claudia Lichtenberg won the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de l'Aude in 2009 under her maiden name Häusler, the toughest stage races in women's cycling at the time. Alongside her job as a racing cyclist, she completed a degree in mechanical engineering. Today, the 39-year-old from Munich works as an engineer and, together with her husband Christian, comments on women's races on the Discovery+/Eurosport platforms.