Frenchwoman Coralie Demay spent more than a third of the fourth stage at the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift, home of her Continental team, "Saint-Michel-Obert 93."

Dumay said he had never experienced such amazing roadside crowds and fanfare, and that his day in the breakaway group was unforgettable.

"A lot of people were shouting my name. I thought, it's the Tour de France, I have to enjoy it," Dumay told Cycling News.

Demay joined a three-rider breakaway at the 40km mark of the 126.8km stage from Troyes to Val-sur-Aube. She joined Laura Ascencio (Serratigit-WNT) and Valérie Demay (Liv Racing-Exstra) to tackle four gravel sections and a steep climb.

She explained that her teammates had tried to play a part in the day's moves, but after a series of relentless attacks went awry, it was her turn to challenge.

"The other girls on the team were supposed to be part of the escape, but by the time I got there they had already tried several times. "A big group went without one of the girls on the team, and I could tell they were pretty tired, so I had to make the next try. The first time it went well, the second time it didn't.

"I didn't push too hard in the first kilometer, I rode in a good rhythm. The peloton gave us a gap."

As they approached a steep hill, Demay pulled away from first Demay, then Asensio and two others. Her solo run came to an end on three of the four sections of gravel road at Bar-sur-Aube, 37 km from the finish.

"The gravel sections were tough for me. When the favorites for the win came back, I was really struggling. At the front I was able to ride at my own pace, but with the favorites it wasn't possible. It was partly because of the breakaway group, but also because I overworked my legs for four days.

Dumay had planned to spend the rest of the Tour de France supporting teammate Simone Boirard, but said he will now look for more breakaway opportunities as the race has not gone as planned for the Canadian.

"Our leader Simone Boirard had a lot of ambition, but she crashed a lot. Now I want to take it one day at a time and do my best. If I could compete again, I would. We are new to World Tour racing and we have to prove that we deserve to be here and that we can do it."