Elise Chabbey has won the overall title at the Tour de Romandie Féminin, the first stage-race general classification victory of her career. She sealed it on home roads in Switzerland. The Swiss rider had never won a stage race before.
A late attack on Antagnes decides the title
On the final stage, a hilly loop starting and finishing near the UCI headquarters in Aigle, Chabbey struck 12 kilometres from the line. She unleashed a rapid burst of speed on the Antagnes climb, taking only Paula Blasi with her. Overnight leader Urška Žigart and Yara Kastelijn struggled on the steepest pitches.
Blanka Vas closed the gap with a fast descent and later won the three-up sprint. Chabbey finished third on the stage, enough to hold the lead. Žigart, hampered by a mistake on the descent, chased hard but fell short.
The yellow-jersey group came in 11 seconds behind the leading trio. Žigart took second overall, with Kastelijn third.
A breakthrough after the Tour de France climb prize
The win came two weeks after Chabbey took the polka-dot climbers' jersey at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Along the way in Romandie she also claimed stage two, a summit finish at La Tzoumaz, for her maiden WorldTour victory.
FDJ-Suez raced short-handed, with leader Demi Vollering out through illness and only five riders left. Over three stages and 249.7 km, Chabbey's winning time was 6h 53'02". She had long served as a climber and super-domestique before this.
For a rider built to help others, the title stands as a first win of her own.
