When Elise Chaby (Canyon-SRAM) attacked just before the summit of the Col de la Croix, one would have thought that the Swiss climber was only aiming for the mountain point. Instead, Chaby continued his attack on the descent, only to be caught 1.3km from the finish and turned it into a 50km solo ride.

When asked about his goal for this stage, Chaby made it clear that the mountains jersey was not on his mind, repeating similar comments he made before last year's Tour de France fam.

"The mountains jersey is not a goal in itself. The plan was always to make an early breakaway and then move on and help the leaders in the end. But I was alone. I was on full throttle on the downhills, and on the flat part I made a gap. So I thought, "Okay, let's go for it," Chubby told Cycling News.

Although she had built quite a gap on her own and was still racing in a support role in her mind, Chaby's thoughts ultimately turned to a stage win.

"When I had three minutes at the bottom of the last climb, I thought, 'I'm going to go as far as I can and help the leaders in case they catch me.' But I didn't expect them to catch me that late, and at the end I really believed I could win this stage," she said

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"So of course I'm very disappointed that I didn't make it, but it was close and I hope I still have a chance in the next few days."

The 31-year-old is in third place overall after the first stage, 46 seconds behind Demi Volering (SD Works Pro Time). However, her mindset has not changed, and she is not looking for a good GC finish in the stage 2 time trial, but rather a stage win.

"For me, the goal was never to make the GC. So even if I finish third, I don't think the TT is for me. I want to aim for a stage win in stage 3 or 4."