Lorena Wiebes won the third stage of the Tour de France Femmes on Monday. Marianne Vos finished second and reclaimed the yellow jersey. Top favorite Demi Vollering crashed badly in the final phase.
Wiebes was clearly the fastest in Angers. After excellent lead-out work from her team SD Worx-Protime, the top sprinter held off Vos, who finished second. Australian Ally Wollaston finished third.
For Wiebes, this is her fourth stage victory ever in the Tour. In 2022, the Dutch and European champion won two stages. In 2023, she won one stage. Earlier this year, Wiebes also won two stages in the Giro d’Italia.
Vos lost her yellow jersey to Kimberley Le Court from Mauritius on Monday. But due to a strong final sprint and second place, Vos took six bonus seconds, while Le Court finished outside the top three.
In the general classification, Vos has a lead of 6 seconds over second-placed Le Court. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is in third place. Vollering is in sixth place despite the crash.
Vollering crashes in chaotic final kilometers
The third stage took the peloton over 163.5 kilometers from Le Gacilly to Angers. In the longest stage so far, a breakaway of four riders formed with 147 kilometers to go: Alison Jackson, Sara Martín, Clémence Latimier, and Catalina Anais Soto.
The quartet was given a lot of space by the peloton and was only caught six kilometers from the finish. With the finish in sight, the unrest in the peloton increased. The many roundabouts in the final kilometers caused a chaotic final phase.
In that chaos, a significant crash occurred, involving Vollering and Puck Pieterse, among others. Vollering crashed in the last 5 kilometers. Due to the so-called five-kilometer rule, time losses due to a crash are not counted in the general classification.
Wiebes also top favorite on Tuesday
Many teams, including those of Wiebes and Vos, fought for the best possible position after the crash on the way to the finish line. After excellent lead-out work by the struggling world champion Lotte Kopecky and the rest of the SD Worx team, Wiebes was clearly the best in the mass sprint.
Vollering crossed the finish line with a slight smile despite the crash. With two teammates at her side, she waved to the audience, but it remains to be seen what the physical damage is for the Dutch rider from FDJ-Suez.
Wiebes seems to be able to take another shot at the stage victory on Tuesday. There is another flat stage from Saumur to Poitiers on the program, with only 780 meters of altitude gain. The Tour lasts until next week Sunday.