Femke Markus impresses in her final race for SD Worx-Protime with solo victory in Eneco Tour
Women's Cycling
Follow IDL Pro Cycling on Google
Stay up to date with the best cycling news by making us a preferred source on Google.
Follow us on GoogleFemke Markus (SD Worx-Protime) won the Limburg stage of the Eneco Tour for women today. At Watersley, she proved to be the best after an exciting race marked by several attacks. Lieke Nooijen retained the leader’s jersey for Visma | Lease a Bike by finishing a strong second.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nooijen defended her leaders jersey
After her second time trial victory of the week, Lieke Nooijen started the stage—which began at the Tom Dumoulin Bike Park in Sittard—wearing the leader’s jersey. The Dutch champion defended a 20-second lead over Nienke Vinke (SD Worx-Protime), while Sandrine Tas trailed by 21 seconds.
Read also
The race covered 87 kilometres, and it was a true race from the very start. Visma | Lease a Bike adopted the motto “attack is the best form of defense,” with Imogen Wolff, Viktoria Chladonova, and Katharina Sadnik riding hard at the front in the opening stages.
Tas lost concentration, falling behind by half a minute. It meant the Belgian was forced to chase hard. After her teammates had given it their all, she eventually closed the gap to the front half of the peloton on her own.
SD Worx-Protime and Visma | Lease a Bike Set the Course
SD Worx-Protime then began launching attacks. Femke Gerritse opened the move but couldn’t break away. Femke Markus succeeded a short time later: with 40 kilometres to go, the fast rider built a half-minute lead.
A short time later, Elena Cecchini of SD Worx-Protime also broke away from the peloton, forcing Visma | Lease a Bike to play defense. Femke de Vries handled the situation, with Nooijen right on her heels. That proved to be the final blow for Tas, who had to let the peloton pull away at that stage.
Nooijen tried to break away on the penultimate lap at Watersley, but couldn't get away. Her teammates then took control, even though future Visma rider Markus made another attempt. It worked, as she still had a 20-second lead going into the final 5 kilometers.
On the technical roads, the strong Markus maintained his lead, while the domestiques behind him seemed to be gradually falling behind. Nooijen then took the lead himself, knowing that Markus was only 43 seconds behind in the stage standings. They came close, but it was just too late.
Stage 3 Results: Eneco Tour - Women 2026
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
Read also
Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
IDL-productions
Track World Championships day 2: A golden day for Team GB, Levreysen goes 2 for 2, and Kopecky eliminates the competition
Rumours, speculation and guesswork: 2027 Tour de France route will be revealed live on October 22 in Paris
Vollering adds the Women’s European Championships road race jersey to her rainbow wardrobe
16-day Grand Tours, AI, VAR, drones and more: The UCI's new document has a potentially major impact from 2029 onwards
Quinn Simmons' Strava shows exactly what it takes to compete at the World Championships: ‘I said, Hey guys, anything is possible'
Latest Cycling News
Lorena Wiebes on severe fall at Track Cycling World Championships: 'It feels like a bowling ball hit me in the ribs'
Iconic scorpion to return to Tour de France after over 30 years: 'History meets the future'
Eneco Tour organisers quickly adjust prize money gap after Charlotte Kool's criticism
Maybe Montmartre is on the menu: 'Tour de France will not change a tried-and-tested formula'
Ex-pro cyclist sticks with Eliud Kipchoge in blistering marathon debut: 'I don't know what my future holds'
Popular Cycling News
The Tour de France responds to the UCI's radical Grand Tour plan; the Giro and Vuelta are also opting out
Evenpoel's 'unflattering' new jersey ridiculed by David Millar and others: 'Just the most absurd display'
Roche adds his voice, speaks out against Picnic PostNL: 'Management isn't cut out for cycling'
Disaster at Picnic PostNL could help Tom Pidcock's Pinarello-Q36.5 WorldTour bid on UCI registration deadline day
Riders who felt afraid and powerless expose 'unworkable' conditions at Picnic PostNL: 'It's like a cult'
Latest Comments
- A self-promoting billboard for the psychologically insecure Evenpoel, who should do as much work on his psyche as he does on his road training. It seems as if he's always looking for and desperately needing acclaim and external validation, and often miserable, as well as argumentative and accusatory unless he wins the race. And even when he does cross the finish line ahead of the pack, he seems to experience relief. more than joy. It's as if he can't win, even when he finishes first, because there's always a trap door, always someone there who will say, 'Not good enough,' or, 'But can you do it again?'rjb15-10-2026
- How does a team actually get a wildcard for a Grand Tour? Is it mainly based on ranking, or do organisers have more choice? I’m still trying to get my head around how the divisions work.andrewf15-10-2026
- The points gap to the top 18 is huge, so Picnic PostNL’s licence situation sounds precarious. Still, the allegations about conditions within the team deserve proper scrutiny, not just transfer-window speculation.cadencekingm15-10-2026
- Pidcock finishing ninth at the Tour as a ProTeam rider is impressive. WorldTour status would give the squad a more settled calendar, though the obligation to start almost every WorldTour race could stretch a team that’s still building.pedalpowe2915-10-2026
- Pinarello-Q5 are making a serious case on the road, and Ciccone is a big signing. But points alone won’t tell the whole story if Picnic PostNL meet the UCI’s financial conditions.michael5415-10-2026
- The article calls the Giro the likely option, but Seixas has said the Tour is his lifetime goal. That seems a bit premature—wouldn’t the team want him back at the Tour after finishing fourth?gearguru3314-10-2026
- Five weeks between the Tour and Worlds sounds like plenty of time to recover and get ready again. I’d love to see him go for both.sprocketspiny14-10-2026
- Why does the Vuelta start just six days after the Worlds? Do riders ever compete in both, or is that turnaround generally too short?davidm14-10-2026
- He’s had an extraordinary season, but there’s no need to rush him into targeting everything at once. A gradual build towards the Tour could pay off in the long run.lindae14-10-2026
- That Worlds course sounds tailor-made for Seixas. Twenty ascents of Domancy is savage, and racing at home could make it a huge day for him.andrewf14-10-2026
Loading