Juliette Labousse (Team DSM) said that a top five finish in the Tour de France Femme Avec Zwift is her "most realistic" ambition ahead of a final weekend full of climbs suitable for French climbers.

LaBruce is currently seventh on GC, 1:19 behind yellow jersey Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma).

"It was a little hectic, but as a team we feel really good," said Vos. And for me, there were no crashes, no punctures, no time lost in the GC."

With less than 25km remaining in stage 6, teammate Wiebes crashed along with Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Works) and Alena Amialiushik (Canyon-SRAM), leaving Wiebes 7:34 behind the stage winner.

The overall battle began to take concrete shape as early as stage 3 in Eperani, when the overall contenders crossed the finish line one minute ahead of the rest of the pack. For Labbousse, this was no surprise.

"I already knew it was going to be a little bit hard, so I expected a little bit," he said. But mostly I think tomorrow and Sunday will be the most time difference. I still think there will be a lot of changes."

The 23-year-old is hoping that these changes will work in her favor, and is targeting a top five finish as her goal for the remainder of the race.

"I think a top five is most realistic," she said. But of course I'd like to aim directly for the podium, but that might be a bit difficult. But I'll fight to the end to see what I can do."

Labouse, who won the Giro Donne at the summit of the 1,743-meter-high Passo Maniva, is looking forward to the long climbs she favors over the weekend. But her victory in Italy means she could be in the spotlight in the final two stages.

"I think I have a little less freedom," she said. Anyway, in the Giro, the only time I really wasn't allowed to do anything was when my time dropped in the GC."

Stage 8 will be followed on Sunday by the Tour de France finale, the Planche des Belle Filles, but stage 7 has three big climbs and in some ways may be the hardest day of the weekend.

"It's (difficult) to combine both. On paper, I think Saturday is a lot harder than Sunday, and having actually run it, I found it really tough. But on Sunday, after Saturday, you're going to be tired and I think you're going to feel the Saturday stage a little bit more. I think they're both really hard."

In addition to his good result, he praised the crowd and their support for the local riders at the much-anticipated Tour de France Femme.

"It's special. You look around and there's no one on our buses, but now there's always a lot of people, and there are signs along the way like "allez Juliette," and you see a lot of people.

"It's definitely motivating. There's a lot of pressure, but I actually like it.