Tour de France Femmes stage 1 Live – The sprinters fight for the first yellow jersey

Mechanical

Yara Kastelijn (FED)

The stage winner in the last year’s race just having her bike looked at after her crash. 

Crash in neutral!

A few riders go down in the neutral zone. 

Yara Kastelijn (FED)
Puck Pieterse (FED)
Natalie Grinczer (CGS)
Thalita de Jong (LTD)
Maureen Arens (LTD)

Unfortunately, Italian star Elisa Longo-Borghini (LTK) is not at the start of the race after a training crash. Read more by clicking the link below…

>>> Elisa Longo Borghini to skip Tour de France Femmes following training crash 

Neutral start

The riders have set off in the neutral zone. Around 14km of neutral. 

Just half an hour before the start in Rotterdam with the race taking on a rather pleasing distance of 123km to Den Haag… Or… In French, Le Haye. 

The riders have completed sign on as we get our first photos from the stage and a very sunny Rotterdam.

The Dutch team come to the race starting in their home nation with just three Dutch riders. Defending champion, Demi Vollering. The rider with the most stage wins at this race, Lorena Wiebes. And European champion, Mischa Bredewold. 

Niamh Fisher-Black is a back-up rider for Vollering. Blanka Vas comes with good form after her fourth place at the Olympic road race. Barbara Guarischi and veteran Christine Majerus complete the squad. 

There’s no time to dwell on Olympic blues. The sporting calendar accelerator is pushed to the floor and we move on to one of, if not the, biggest race on the women’s WorldTour calendar. 

Vollering (SDW), Niewiadoma (CSR), Labous (DFP), Realini (LTK), Garcia (LAJ) and many more besides will be hoping to pull on the coveted yellow jersey on Sunday atop Alpe d’Huez. 

Are you ready for the TDFF?

Kirsten Frattini and James Moultrie are on the race for Cyclingnews, ready to capture all the news, interviews and the unique atmosphere.

This is what to look out for this week as…