Marianne Vos surges to opening stage win in Tour de France Femmes
The three-time road world champion, 38, prevailed at the top of the Cote de Cadoudal (1.7km at 6.2 per cent) after her Visma-Lease a Bike team-mate Pauline Ferrand Prevot cracked in the final metres to finish third behind Kim Le Court of Mauritius.
While Ferrand Prevot could not convert, she showed impressive strength when she attacked 700 metres from the line, a move that underlined the mountain biking Olympic champion's title credentials.
Vos, who will wear the yellow jersey in Sunday's second stage, surged past in the final 50 metres and raised her arm in celebration, just like Ferrand-Prevot.
READ MORE
After a dozen riders were involved in a crash as the peloton rolled towards the start of the stage, Maud Rijnbeek and Laura Tomasi formed the day's breakaway. Rijnbeek went solo after 23 kilometres before Tomasi was swallowed by the peloton.
Swiss rider Marlen Reusser was involved in another crash at the foot of the Cote de Cadoudal, a 1.7-km ascent at 6.2 per cent.
Reusser, who finished second in the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta, later abandoned with stomach problems, her Movistar team said.
Defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, who beat Demi Vollering by just four seconds last year, finished fourth in the same time as the winner. Vollering was fifth, three seconds behind.
Fiona Mangan was best of the three Irish riders who made history by becoming the first participants in the race from this country.
Mangan placed 74th, four minutes and six seconds behind stage winner Vos. Lara Gillespie and Mia Griffin came home seven minutes and 40 seconds behind the winner.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Tour de France final stage neutralised after slippery road conditions
The final stage of the Tour de France saw its competitive element largely neutralised on Sunday after organisers decided to freeze the times with about 50 kilometres left due to hazardous road conditions. Following a pre-stage check, officials identified several sections of the course as dangerously slippery. The stage goes up the cobbled roads of the Butte Montmartre three times. 'After a reconnaissance carried out before the stage, and after noting that certain sections had slippery road conditions, it was decided, in agreement with the president of the commissaires' panel, that the times would be frozen at kilometre 82, that is, on the 4th crossing of the finish line,' organisers said in a statement. 'A stage classification will be established, but it will not affect the general classification.' READ MORE The overall standings will therefore remain unchanged, preserving the yellow jersey leader's position. Slovenian Tadej Pogacar will, however, still need to cross the finish line to be declared winner of the race.
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Mavi Garcia takes Tour de France Femmes stage two as Kim Le Court Pienaar grabs yellow
Veteran Spanish rider Mavi Garcia claimed victory in a demanding second stage of the Tour de France Femmes on Sunday, attacking solo in the closing kilometres to secure a dramatic win in Quimper after a 110.4km ride from Brest. The 41-year-old Liv-AlUla-Jayco rider launched her decisive move with 10km remaining, opening a gap of around 20 seconds on the chasing pack. She held on through the explosive final climb, crossing the line three seconds ahead of her pursuers. Behind Garcia, Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) sprinted to second place, with Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) of Mauritius finishing third and taking the overall leader's yellow jersey. Dutch star Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), who wore the leader's jersey after winning Saturday's opening stage, finished fifth and surrendered her overall lead to Le Court Pienaar. READ MORE France's Pauline Ferrand-Prevot took eighth after featuring prominently in the finale for the second day in a row. The final climb was lit up by attacks from local favourite Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez), the first to surge on the second ascent of the Cote du chemin de Troheir. Her team-mate Demi Vollering, one of the overall favourites, countered with a strong acceleration 5km from the finish, ultimately placing seventh, just behind defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon/SRAM). Fiona Mangan is the best of the three Irish riders in the field, in 98th position overall. Lara Gillespie and Mia Griffin are also competing. The Tour continues on Monday with stage three, featuring more rolling terrain before the mountain battles later in the week.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ireland's Alex Dunne goes top of Formula 2 standings after third win of season in Belgium
Ireland's Alex Dunne stormed to the top of the Formula 2 standings as he mastered the rain in Belgium to secure his third race victory of his debut season at Spa Francorchamps on Sunday. The 19-year-old Rodin Motorsport driver started from pole position and was forced to hold off challenges from Ritomo Miyata and Roman Stanek before winning the race. Campos Racing's Arvid Lindblad came through to finish second, with Stanek taking the final spot on the podium for Invicta Racing. 'Third feature race win of the year, very happy to take back the championship lead,' said Dunne, who now leads Dutch driver Richard Verschoor by 15 points with just two races to come. 'It was a very difficult race, definitely the hardest one of the year. I felt like there was never a moment where I got to relax so definitely happy to have had a hard fought win.' READ MORE
