Lorena Wiebes crossed the finish line with her arms raised in victory, a bike's length ahead of her closest rivals, to claim the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Dutch sprinter, riding for Team SD Worx-Protime, now wears the yellow jersey as the race leader — and she admitted she barely believed it when it happened.
"I cannot believe it," Wiebes said after her win. "Ferrand-Prevot went to the front and then Demi attacked so I knew I had to follow. It was a long sprint but I'm super-happy with it."
The 27-year-old had to fight for this one. Though she was the favourite to win the 85.5-mile route that began and ended in Lausanne, Wiebes faced serious pressure on a steep climb just before the finish — 1.5 miles uphill at a 4.1% grade. She held on with a small group of about 20 riders and then burst ahead in the final 200 metres.
Wiebes finished ahead of Mauritius' Kim le Court-Pienaar and Dutch 2023 champion Demi Vollering. Last year's overall winner, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot of France, also finished in that leading group, keeping her in contention for this year's title.
This victory was Wiebes' sixth stage win at the Tour de France Femmes, making her the rider with the most stage wins in the race's history since it returned to the top tier of women's cycling in 2022. She will wear yellow for just the second time, having spent one day in the leader's jersey four years ago.
The race includes a record-breaking moment on stage seven: the first-ever ascent of Mont Ventoux, the famous mountain climb in France that has challenged the world's best cyclists for decades. For now though, sprinters like Wiebes have more chances ahead. Stage two runs 91.9 miles from Aigle to Geneva on Tuesday — another flat route where fast finishers typically thrive.
Overall, 147 riders from around the world are competing across nine stages.