Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez) fought an army on Sunday, and nearly won. And while that points up her status as a likely favorite for July's Giro d'Italia Women, what should make the rest of the peloton quake is that this performance came from a rider who is just one of FDJ's lieutenants. While men's racing has long had so-called "super-domestiques" – riders otherwise capable of leading teams who instead race in service of a teammate's aspirations – it's relatively new to the Women's WorldTour era and poses a major challenge for rival teams.
Anatomy of a one-woman wrecking crew
But before we get into that dynamic, it's worth looking at Labous' stunning ride. Last Sunday, May 18, 10 teams and one solo woman lined up for a flat 38.5 km team time trial event. It was the second round of the French Cup, or La Coupe de France, a series of races in which French club teams can accrue points across a series.
Labous' time as an individual would have been good for fourth – but her result was not included in the results sheet. On one hand it's perhaps not surprising that a top WWT pro beat most of the field in a club team race. But it's also worth noting that those teams were six riders each (and mostly riding current, high-end TT bikes), while Labous had no one with whom to share pulls. Let's have a closer look at her Strava activity.
Labous, like many pros nowadays (I, myself, am guilty of it) did not make her power data public. This decision is typically made to hide the fact the rider is either absolutely flying, or absolutely creeping. And the data here suggest that Labous falls into the former category.
I relied on knowledgeable sources working with active WorldTour riders (men and women) for some 'back of the envelope' calculations to arrive at a ballpark of Labous' power output.
Labous' position appears to have changed slightly from 2024. This season, she's adopted a more "high hands" position and her head is notably tucked. Last year (shown at right at the World Championships), her armrests were lower, with a larger gap between arms and head. Specialized's Shiv TT model has a lower stack and longer reach than the Scott Plasma RC. Photo at left © Louiscrsport
Based on rough calculations using Labous' weight, speed, and CdA (coefficient of drag multiplied by frontal area – a measure of aerodynamics where lower is better – we can guess her power output to be ~4.72 W/kg. (Again, these are estimates; we think they're close but without power data from other riders to compare, they're not to be taken as gospel.)
Riders typically output 10-15% less power on the TT bike, depending on familiarisation with the discipline. For a comparison, Labous' output pacing FDJ leader Demi Vollering up the Alto de Cotobello climb in the Vuelta a España Feminina the week before was 278 W (5.1 W/kg) for roughly 35 minutes. In short: Juliette Labous is in serious form. Army-squashing form.
The rise of the women's super-domestique
Labous was no doubt using this TTT as a tune-up for her A-category race of the season: the Giro d'Italia Women, which has a 13.6 km ITT in stage 1. (First, she'll race this weekend's Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, which features the first ITT of the WorldTour season.) Labous will likely line up at the Giro with her compatriot Évita Muzic, but FDJ won't bring its typical trump card: Demi Vollering. The likeliest assumption is the team will try to win all three Grand Tours this year, while giving those loyal lieutenants a stab at the top result.
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