Dutch rider Lorena Wiebes repeated her opening-stage success with a sprint win on stage two of the Tour de France Femmes in Geneva to extend her overall lead.
Wiebes of Team SD Worx-Protime was first to attack from the bunch coming to the end of the 147.9km ride from Aigle, and the 27-year-old easily held off her rivals with time to raise her arms in celebration before the line.
“I knew that it was up to `me to find my own way,” said Wiebes, whose seventh Tour de France stage win was her first while wearing the yellow jersey. “I found some good wheels and I could come out I think around 200 metres to go and then I just could launch my sprint.”
Italian Elisa Balsamo of Lidl-Trek came in second ahead of 39-year-old Marianne Vos of the Netherlands.
Wiebes earned a 10-second time bonus for the stage win and now holds a 14-second lead over Kimberley Le Court of Mauritius, with 2023 winner Demi Vollering a further two seconds back in third.
The stage got its anticipated sprint finish but Riejanne Markus made a brave bid for solo success only to get reeled in with less than 500 metres left, and last year’s points classification winner Wiebes was always favourite to triumph at that stage.
The peloton was about to catch an earlier breakaway with 40km remaining when Markus stole a march on the bunch and managed to get one minute ahead but the Dutchwoman’s efforts came to nothing.
“Winning in yellow makes it for sure special but also because, `again, our team worked really hard for it,” Wiebes said. “The girls were chasing full, full gas in the final to bring back Riejanne Markus, so it’s even more beautiful to finish it off in the yellow.”
Monday’s stage three is a 156.5km ride from Geneva to Poligny in France.
