Lorena Wiebes knows exactly who to thank after Tour de France Femmes double

Lorena Wiebes currently looks almost unbeatable, whether the route features hills, a punchy finale or a flat finish such as stage two of the Tour de France Femmes. Even so, the Dutch SD Worx-Protime rider acknowledged that her team had been forced to dig extremely deep to deliver the bunch sprint in Geneva, Switzerland.

Wiebes’ team was put under pressure by attackers throughout the day, with several riders sensing an opportunity. That was not necessarily because Wiebes and SD Worx-Protime looked vulnerable, but because the other sprinters’ teams were unwilling to lend a hand whenever the breakaway needed to be chased. It is the inevitable downside of having a rider who is so dominant in sprint finishes.

Despite that lack of cooperation, the Dutch team managed to control an early five-rider breakaway. When the general classification teams began making moves over the final climbs, Wiebes’ teammates continued to keep the situation under control. That changed when Lidl-Trek’s Riejanne Markus launched what appeared to be an almost impossible solo attack with 40 kilometres remaining.

SD Worx-Protime reduced Markus’ one-minute advantage to around 30 seconds, but even with four riders contributing to the pursuit, the gap refused to fall any further. Intended lead-out rider Lotte Kopecky was forced to abandon her primary role and spend several kilometres driving the chase, eventually bringing Markus within striking distance of the peloton.

After Kopecky’s efforts, Wiebes no longer had anyone available to prepare her sprint. However, other teams inexplicably still believed they could win and began organising the run-in themselves. Markus was eventually caught, allowing Wiebes to power clear by several bike lengths and claim her second victory of the race. If ever a stage deserved to be described as a true team performance, this was it.

“This one is special because the whole team worked incredibly hard for it,” said the winner, with only general classification leader Anna van der Breggen spared from chasing duties. “The girls went full gas in the pursuit to bring it back in the finale, so that makes it even nicer to finish it off like this in the yellow jersey.”

The fact that so many of her teammates initially struggled to close the gap to Markus did create some nervous moments for Wiebes. “Riejanne stayed out in front for a very long time, so at a certain point we decided that Lotte also had to start chasing. We needed everyone. Because of that, I knew it was up to me to find my own way through the sprint.”

She did so with authority. The pace never dropped because other teams continued riding, giving Wiebes the opportunity to launch another devastating acceleration. “I found the right wheels and came out with 200 metres to go.” The rest is history.