Brilliant tactics from Visma pay off: Vos outsprints aggressive Ferrand-Prévot to take yellow in Tour de France Femmes

Earlier on Saturday, we had already seen a spectacular race from France. In the penultimate stage of the men's Tour de France, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was ultimately the strongest in a fascinating spectacle.

Cycling fans didn't have much time to catch their breath, as the women's race started just over an hour after the men's finish. The Tour de France Femmes began with a 78.8-kilometer stage that included two short climbs. The final kilometer was quite challenging, making it a race with multiple possible outcomes.

There are a lot of Dutch riders participating in the Tour de France Femmes, so it was no surprise that the first breakaway came from the Netherlands. Maud Rijnbeek (VolkerWessels) was joined by Italy's Laura Tomasi (Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi). It was a short stage, of course, so the pair didn't have much room to play with. When the riders were about 30 kilometers into the stage, Rijnbeek broke away.

Rijnbeek rode alone to the first points for the polka dot jersey. However, the peloton was close behind, so she dropped back when she realized it would be a difficult task. This brought us back to a full peloton. SD Worx-Protime and Visma | Lease a Bike kept control, while Movistar struggled. Leader Marlen Reusser was at the back the whole time and even lost ground several times.

It was nervous in the peloton. There was a crash approximately 40 kilometers from the finish, but later, a more serious crash occurred. Liane Lippert (Movistar) lay on the ground and had to be pulled out of a tangle of other riders. Reusser handed over her bike, making the balance clear. It all happened before an intermediate sprint, which was on the final finish line: it was easily won by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime).

The roads became increasingly hilly, which encouraged attacks. Picnic PostNL was eager: after an attack by Franziska Koch, it was her teammate Francesca Barale who went on an adventure. However, this was short-lived, partly due to the mountain points coming up: in Plumelec, the points went to Elise Chabbey (FDJ-SUEZ). There were more attacks, but the teams of the day's favorites didn't let anyone get away.

Visma | Lease a Bike and UAE Team ADQ set the pace as the last 5 kilometers approached, but SD Worx and Lidl-Trek also joined the front group. We would not see Reusser again: she withdrew. The speed was blistering until the final climb. Marianne Vos was brought there in a comfortable position.

Vos then chose Elisa Balsamo's wheel. Things settled down a bit in the last kilometer, but it was Pauline Ferrand-Prévot who ultimately turned a lead-out into an attack. Anna van der Breggen reacted, but couldn't close the gap. Vos was sitting pretty just behind. Kim Le Court was the first to sprint, but the Frenchwoman could only be beaten by Vos, who passed her. Le Court finished second, ahead of Ferrand-Prévot.