Lorena Wiebes defies the odds, follows Vollering and takes Tour de France Femmes win and yellow

Lorena Wiebes has won the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes. The Dutch sprint star from SD Worx-Protime surprisingly managed to stay in contention when even the general-classification riders began making their moves on the final climb. Over the less demanding final 600 metres, Wiebes then produced a sprint that nobody else could match.

With the Tour starting in Switzerland, the riders already knew for sure that they would not be given a flat opening stage around Lausanne. The race covered 138 kilometres, and the profile contained perhaps two flat valleys and a level approach towards the final 2.6-kilometre climb to the finish. That ascent averaged 4.6 per cent, although the average did not tell the full story.

The final 600 metres were almost completely flat, but before that, the road climbed at seven to eight per cent through the streets of Lausanne. It made for a tricky opening stage, which began in Lausanne at 2.40 PM in temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius. The finish was expected at around 5.50 PM, with three third-category climbs also included along the route.

Attacks came almost immediately after the start, and following a stop-start opening, a four-rider breakaway eventually formed. Maud Rijnbeek of VolkerWessels, Idoia Eraso of Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, Nikola Nosková of Cofidis and Océane Mahé of Ma Petite Entreprise quickly established an advantage of around three minutes.

No team in the peloton felt compelled to take control immediately, allowing the race to continue at a relatively steady pace over the Côte de Châbles and Côte de Villars-le-Comte. Mahé collected the maximum number of mountains points on both climbs. After also crossing the Côte de Vulliens in second place, the French rider knew she would be heading to the podium to receive the race’s first polka-dot jersey.

There was little interest in forcing a hard race or fighting for the mountains points in the peloton, and the nervousness contributed to several crashes. Two significant incidents each left around 12 riders on the ground. Several riders suffered injuries, although only Uno-X Mobility’s Laura Tomasi was forced to withdraw.

The race truly came to life, both at the front and in the peloton, on the day’s third climb, the Côte de Vulliens. Nosková proved to have the strongest legs in the breakaway and was able to continue alone. Mahé, Rijnbeek and Eraso gradually slipped to around half a minute behind, making their chances of success appear increasingly slim.

Several major names in the peloton also decided to try their luck on that third climb. Riejanne Markus of Lidl-Trek and Femke de Vries of Visma | Lease a Bike were among the attackers, which even prompted Demi Vollering to respond and bring the move back under control. FDJ United-SUEZ were certainly making their presence felt, but the French team never wanted to set the pace for too long. The same applied to the other leading teams.

The activity in the peloton had reduced Nosková’s advantage to less than two minutes, and by the time the race entered its final 20 kilometres, only one minute remained. No single team took full responsibility at the front. Instead, the various leading squads combined to ensure that the speed remained high.

Nosková was caught again by her three former breakaway companions as they approached the final ten kilometres, allowing the quartet to remain clear for quite some time. The peloton was already travelling quickly, however, and Marlen Reusser of Movistar faced a long chase after sliding out on a corner.

With six kilometres remaining, the early breakaway’s day was over, beginning the major fight for position before the final 2.6 kilometres. AG Insurance-Soudal launched Kim Le Court, while Vollering briefly had to move back through the group after two riders crashed directly in front of her. Despite the activity, nobody managed to escape on the steepest sections of the finishing climb.

That brought the riders to the final 600 metres, where the road was almost completely flat towards the line. It was perfect for Wiebes, who had survived the climb and could now compete for victory. Vollering had other ideas, however, and launched a surprising attack. Wiebes had to grit her teeth to close the gap before opening her sprint with 300 metres remaining. It proved more than enough to secure the stage victory and the yellow jersey.