Wiebes has a clear goal today, so her team isn’t letting the gap with the leading group get too big. Blanka Vas is increasing the pace of the peloton, and as a result, the lead is now just under four minutes.
It’s a colorful group in the lead, as three of the four riders are national champions. Alison Jackson (📷) is riding in the Canadian, Sara Martín in the Spanish, and Catalina Anais Soto in the Chilean champion’s jersey. Only the French Clémence Latimier is wearing the ‘normal’ jersey of Arkéa-B&B Hotels.
‘Chute’ (fall) is heard over the race radio, but fortunately, the damage is limited.
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. Here’s the current standings in the mountain classification.
The first hour of the race is now over, and the average speed was 44.8 kilometers per hour. And keep in mind that the riders have already ridden the Côte de la Richardière (1.7 kilometers at 4.7 percent).
The two riders in the chasse patate have been swallowed up by the peloton. It’s 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.
The peloton is comfortable with the situation and is giving the four riders space. The lead is quickly increasing and is now almost three minutes.
Back to the race, there is now a group of four riders with almost a 1.5-minute lead on the peloton. Two riders are still trying to make the crossing, but so far, that attempt seems to be a classic chasse patate.
The question is 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. Yet Kopecky appeared motivated at the start again this morning. “I have little choice,” Kopecky laughed to Sporza. “I hope we can finish this day nicely. It would be a boost for the whole team.”
It’s chaos at the front of the race. Four riders are opening a small gap, and behind them, several riders are trying to make the crossing.
Marianne Vos, at least, has put on a fast helmet. She has certainly set her sights on success today, after already winning the first stage.
The answer comes quickly: no, the attack attempt has failed.
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.
Départ réel! The jury car makes way, and that means we are officially underway.
Why did Kim Le Court actually get the yellow jersey? She has exactly the same time as Marianne Vos but recorded a slightly better ranking over two stages:
The riders are riding through La Gacilly, a city that is mainly known as the birthplace of Yves Rocher’s cosmetic products. The city in the northwest of France is hosting the Tour for the first time.
Départ fictif! The riders are on their way behind the jury car.
After the last statistic, it will come as no surprise that Elisa Balsamo is the most dangerous competitor for Lorena Wiebes. But… if you want to be sure in your predictions, you should bet on Wiebes. In the last twenty sprints where Wiebes and Balsamo participated, Wiebes finished ahead of the Italian nineteen times.
The cycling fan had hoped for a battle between Lorena Wiebes and Charlotte Kool in today’s sprint. The latter would have liked to take revenge for the Dutch National Championships, when she finished second behind Wiebes. But unfortunately, Kool is also among the dropouts in this Tour. The sprinter, who won two stages last year, is suffering too much from an earlier fall.
For Marianne Vos, yesterday was more disappointing. The Dutch rider, who won the first stage, lost the yellow jersey to Kimberley Le Court. Still, she gets to wear a special jersey again, as she is the leader of the points classification. Lorena Wiebes will be watching for a chance to take over the green jersey from the Visma-Lease a Bike rider today.
41-year-old Mavi García became the oldest stage winner ever in the Tour on Sunday. She dethroned Annemiek van Vleuten, who was just over 39 years old in 2022 when she was the best on La Planche des Belles Filles.
In a mass sprint, Lorena Wiebes is of course the towering favorite. The 26-year-old Dutch rider already won the sprint of the thinned-out peloton yesterday. She had to settle for second place, as Mavi García, who had ridden away 11 kilometers earlier, just stayed out of the hands of the group of favorites.
No rider will be afraid of this. There is only one categorized climb on the route from La Gacilly to Angers. The expectation is therefore that the stage will end in a mass sprint.
Bonjour! The men have just finished the Tour, but luckily the cycling party in France is not over yet. The women’s peloton is up to the third stage today.