Vollering is back on her bike, but with a grimace. The favorite for the overall victory did not emerge from that crash unscathed.
Yellow for Vos! Vos finishes second and crosses the line well ahead of Le Court. The Dutch rider thus regains the yellow jersey.
Wiebes wins! Kopecky sets Wiebes up perfectly, while Vos has to come from the outside. Wiebes goes first and Vos can’t catch up. Wiebes takes her fourth stage victory ever in the Tour!
1.5 km to go – Phew, it doesn’t matter for the timekeeping, but it doesn’t look good for Vollering. We’ll probably hear more about that soon. Now first the battle for the stage victory. Vos and Wiebes are still well positioned at the front.
2 km to go – Demi Vollering has also crashed, just like yellow jersey wearer Le Court.
3 km to go – Crash! Ouch, it goes wrong in a corner. One of Wiebes’ challengers seems to be involved: Balsamo.
5 km to go – Demi Vollering reports to the front and Lotte Kopecky also shows herself. In her wheel is top favorite Lorena Wiebes.
6 km to go – No, the peloton is just in time to catch the leaders. We’re going to have a mass sprint!
7 km to go – Catalina Anais Soto attacks from the leading group! Can she stay out of the clutches of the oncoming peloton?
9 km to go – This is more exciting than we expected beforehand. While the leading group has zoomed under the arch of the last 10 kilometers, the lead is still 27 seconds.
14 km to go – With the ten minutes, I estimated the peloton a bit too quickly. The lead of the leading group is still 32 seconds.
17 km to go – The finish place is already almost in sight, the lead of the four leaders: 38 seconds.
23 km to go – The lead is only 1 minute. It is not a question of if, but when the peloton catches the leading group. I guess within ten minutes.
Phew, the most beautiful photo of the day is in. Or will the finish photo top this later?
29 km to go – It’s going fast now with the lead of the leading group: still 1 minute and 47 seconds.
Wiebes in the footsteps of Cavendish?Lorena Wiebes hopes to follow in the footsteps of Mark Cavendish in finish place Angers. He won the third stage of the Tour de France in that city nine years ago, although André Greipel thought he was the lucky one. Cheered too early. Cavendish made history last year by booking his 35th stage victory, a record.
34 km to go – Ouch, that looks bad. A few riders crash into the motorbikes riding alongside the peloton. Bujak seems to be the worst off, but gets back on the bike.
36 km to go – Vollering on an adventure?! The favorite for the overall victory accelerates from the peloton, but she doesn’t really get away.
37 km to go – Wiebes is doing good business and easily takes the thirteen points, ahead of Marianne Vos. The green jersey wearer has only two points lead over Wiebes in the points classification.
39 km to go – The intermediate sprint is a prey for the leading group. There is no real sprint. Jackson crosses the line first and thus takes the full loot of 25 points. For the riders in the peloton, there are still a maximum of 13 points to earn.
This is another nice statistic from Pro Cycling Stats. All previous editions of the Tour de France were won by the rider with number 11:
Guess who is riding around with number 11 this edition…
55 km to go – Mischa Bredewold takes the lead of the peloton and thus the lead is now only 2 minutes and 38 seconds. In 15 kilometers the intermediate sprint, so the full loot for the green jersey will in any case go to one of the leaders.
Then it is also nice to report the current standings in the points classification:
72 km to go – Team SD Worx-Protime increases the pace, so that the lead of the leading group is still 3 minutes and 14 seconds. Over 30 kilometers there is a lot to gain, namely 25 points in the battle for the green jersey. At the finish there are another 50 points for the stage winner.
Wiebes a leopard? ‘Hope I have that speed’Since there is not a lot to report about the race now, we are making it a party in the live blog with all the interviews before the start. Lorena Wiebes cannot be missed, of course. She is the top favorite for the victory today and was compared to a leopard by compatriot Lonneke Uneken. “That’s nice to hear. I hope I have that speed today. I believe I can win,” she said to the NOS.
Le Court expects to lose yellow again todayLe Court is realistic about the duration of her yellow adventure. If Marianne Vos finishes ahead of Le Court today, the Dutch will take over the yellow again. Since Le Court does not have impressive sprint legs, that scenario is very likely. “I don’t think I’ll still have the yellow jersey around my shoulders tonight,” said Le Court.
Kimberley Le Court has unpacked for her first day in yellow. Even her bike has gotten a new color in the late hours. “It almost feels like too much. It feels like I don’t deserve it, but it’s great,” said Le Court before the start. “I am very grateful for this.”
95 km to go – Wiebes has a clear goal today and so her team does not let the gap with the leading group get too big. Blanka Vas increases the pace of the peloton and as a result the lead is now slightly less than four minutes.
106 km – It is a colorful company in the leading group, because three of the four riders are national champions. Alison Jackson (📷) rides in the Canadian, Sara Martín in the Spanish and Catalina Anais Soto in the Chilean champion’s jersey. Only the French Clémence Latimier has the ‘normal’ jersey of Arkéa-B&B Hotels on.
108 km – ‘Chute’ sounds through the race radio, or a crash. But the damage is fortunately not too bad.
Elise Chabbey will start again in the polka dot jersey tomorrow. There were also only a maximum of two points to be earned today. Alison Jackson took those points on the only categorized climb. The current standings in the mountain classification.
117 km – The first hour of the race is now over and the average speed was 44.8 kilometers per hour. And to think that the riders have already ridden the Côte de la Richardière (1.7 kilometers at 4.7 percent).
119 km – The two riders in the chasse patate have been swallowed by the peloton. High time to introduce the leading group, which now has almost a 3.5 minute lead: Alison Jackson, Sara Martín, Clémence Latimier and Catalina Anais Soto.
129 km – The peloton is happy and gives the four the space. The lead is increasing rapidly and is now almost three minutes.
139 km – Back to the race, there is now a group of four riders with almost a 1.5 minute lead over the peloton. Two riders are still trying to make the crossing, but so far that attempt seems to be a classic chasse patate.
It is questionable to what extent Lorena Wiebes can count on her teammate Lotte Kopecky. The world champion indicated yesterday that she wants the Tour to be over as soon as possible. Still, Kopecky appeared motivated at the start again this morning. “I have little choice,” Kopecky laughed at Sporza. “I hope we can finish this day nicely. It would be a boost for the whole team.”
147 km – It is a chaos in the front of the race. Four riders take a small gap and behind that several riders try to make the crossing.
Marianne Vos has at least put on a fast helmet. She has definitely set her sights on day success, after she already won the first stage.
151 km – The answer comes quickly: no, the attack attempt has failed.
154 km – Three riders are trying their luck, including the Dutch Anneke Dijkstra. The lead is only 5 seconds, so it is questionable whether this attack attempt will succeed.