What seemed to be an orderly bunch sprint stage with 25 km to ride turned into a chaotic, crash-filled conclusion on Monday’s second stage of the inaugural Tour de France Femmes. After coming runner-up in Sunday’s historic first stage, Marianne Vos took the day’s flowers and plucked the yellow jersey from Stage 1 winner Lorena Wiebes’s shoulders. Simone Boilard was the top Canadian.
You can watch the first ever Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift at FloBikes.
The Course
It looked like another sprinter’s route on Monday, 136 km from Meaux to Provins with a single categorized climb soon after the start. A 19-km circuit around Provins capped off the day and a long uphill drag led to the finish line. After three weeks of stifling heat in the men’s race, the women had cloudy skies for Monday’s course.
🚲 Stage 2 / Étape 2 🚲
🚩 @Villedemeaux
🏁 @villeprovins📏 136,4 km
⏰ 12:50 CEST > 16:15 CEST
⛰ 1x 4⃣c
💚 km 116,7#TDFF #WatchTheFemmes pic.twitter.com/OUpxxxIcdI— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 25, 2022
Tadej Pogačar, fresh off his Tour de France runner-up performance, stopped by to support his partner Urška Žigart.
👀 Look who came to visit us this morning.
👀 Regardez qui est venu nous voir ce matin.
👋 @TamauPogi #TDFF #WatchTheFemmes pic.twitter.com/AGdVBHDHyV
— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 25, 2022
A quartet of fugitives broke away soon after the start. Three Dutch women–Sabrina Stultiens (Liv Racing Xstra), Femke Gerritse (Parkhotel Valkenburg) and Marit Raaijmakers (Human Powered Health)–and an Israeli, Rotem Gafinovitz (Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad), rolled up a 3:00 lead. Jumbo-Visma, Team DSM, FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope and Trek-Segafredo vied for position at the front of the peloton in the crosswinds. After 58 km the first breakaway was caught.
The peloton was tense for the run in into the intermediate sprint at Provins. When the road narrowed, the best young rider, Maike van der Duin (The Netherlands/Le Col-Wahoo) attacked. It prompted three crashes, the second of which put Amtel Gold and La Flèche Wallonne winner Marta Cavalli in some trouble. Wiebes was second in the intermediate sprint.
Immediately after the sprint, WorldTour leader Elisa Balsamo made a move that Vos, Elisa Longo Borghini, Katarzyna Niewiadoma and two others joined.
Movistar and SD Worx powered the…
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