The scenes could not have been any more different. Chloé Dygert crossed the line 11 seconds inside the time cut, and was crying uncontrollably; Susanne Andersen finished 17 minutes and 11 seconds after the Tour de France Femmes time limit, and was happy, joyful, and proud. She didn’t shed a tear.

While a Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto staffer massaged Dygert’s left thigh the moment she slumped to the floor after the stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Andersen received the plaudits from rival teams, fans and other passerbys. Dygert had succeeded, and Andersen had failed, but their emotions were a world apart.

Dygert respectfully refused to speak to the media, the pain in her left leg – lingering discomfort from a dreadful crash in 2020 – just too sore. Managing her recovery for the final day took priority.

But Andersen, who had crashed earlier in the race for a Uno-X Mobility team now down to two riders, was more than happy to discuss her lonely day out, one that ended one hour and two minutes after stage winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

“I’ve been struggling for a few days,” the Norwegian told Velo. “I have inflammation in my left leg and that has already been giving me some problems in earlier stages and everything was just adding up.”

This article was published by Velo during the 2025 Tour de France Femmes. You can read the full article here.