Balsamo frustrated after Tour Femmes crash: 'It's always the same person'

Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) criticised unnamed riders for repeatedly making the same mistakes after a late crash disrupted the opportunity for some during the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes, overshadowing Lorena Wiebes' (SD Worx-Protime) victory in Lausanne.

"There are riders who make the same mistakes. If we look at past races, it's always the same person," Balsamo told Eurosport after the finish. 

The incident came during the decisive uphill finale of the Côte Saint-François, where Wiebes managed attacks from her rivals before producing a trademark devastating sprint to beat Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez).

Lotte Kopecky, who rode in support of Wiebes, highlighted the impact of the heat during the stage.

"It was quite hot, and it wasn't the right moment to go fetch bottles. When you go 40 minutes without water in weather like this, your body temperature rises quickly," Kopecky told Sporza.

Kopecky acknowledged that Wiebes was always going to be very difficult to stop if in contention in the closing stages, a sentiment that some of her fellow competitors shared, including stage runner-up Kim Le Court.

"These are finishes that suit her perfectly. Once she smells the finish line, there's little anyone can do."

Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) also made a positive start to her title defence, finishing eighth on the same time as Wiebes.

"I felt good during this first stage; it was really fast and a bit twisty, with lots of traffic islands in the villages. It was quite a nervous race, but I was always well-positioned. It was great because my teammates really protected me all day long. I loved the day," Ferrand-Prévot told L'Équipe.

Ferrand-Prévot said the Dutch team's plan was to support Marianne Vos (Vimsa | Lease a Bike) in the sprint, but Vollering's late attack changed the finale. Vos ultimately finished 18th. 

"At the end, our mission was to lead out Marianne for the sprint. I’d been asked to try setting a pretty hard pace, like last year, but the pace was already really high; if I’d gone any faster, I risked getting countered and losing time, so I tried to hold back a bit."

Stage 2 from Aigle to Geneva is expected to favour the sprinters, with Wiebes the favourite to double up in stage victories while in the yellow jersey.