Tour de France Femmes finally gets its first French stage winner as Cédrine Kerbaol turns the tide

Ever since women’s racing reclaimed the Tour de France name in 2014, first through La Course by Le TDF and now the Tour de France Femmes, it’s been the Dutch who have performed best. Be it Vos, Van der Breggen, Van Vleuten or now Vollering, never has the home nation lived up to the strength of the Netherlands.

But fittingly today, following a Dutch Grand Départ, Cédrine Kerbaol turned the tide with the first French stage win at the revived Tour de France Femmes, emulating the great but controversial Jeannie Longo. The 65-year-old was the last home winner at the women’s race in 1989 before former director Jean-Marie Leblanc decided to scrap the event.