'I just had to finish it off' - Wiebes delivers in tricky Tour finish
The European champion was the overwhelming favourite for victory on stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes, but she still had to deliver a winning performance, which she well and truly did.
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) has a frightening aura of invincibility when it comes to bunch sprints, and despite a crash-marred finale on stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes to Angers, the European champion successfully navigated her way through the chaos and into prime position inside the final few hundred metres before the sprint was launched from the reduced bunch.
Victory was never in doubt, with only Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) able to stay within a bike length of Wiebes, who claimed the 4th Tour stage win and 108th professional victory of her career, despite still being only 26 years old - a staggering achievement.
"I just had to finish it off," said a relieved Wiebes to NOS's cameras, having failed to secure any stage wins in last year's Tour despite being the most revered sprinter in the peloton. Sunday's stage two was also an opportunity that passed the European champion, who finished second after winning the group sprint behind solo winner Mavi Garcia.
When asked if she was relieved after the win, having missed out 12 months ago, Wiebes stated, "In a way, yes. Things have been going so well all season. You hope things will fall into place here after last year. It's great to win here."
For Wiebes, there was extra motivation sprinting against stage one winner Vos, as she flashed back to her infamous incident at the Amstel Gold Race in 2024, where she celebrated too early and Vos snatched the win. Wiebes made sure not to make the same mistake this time around.
"I'll never forget that Amstel Gold Race with Marianne. I felt she was on my wheel, but also that she couldn't get past me," Wiebes explained.
The European champion was also quick to credit her teammates for the work that they had done throughout the stage in controlling a dangerous breakaway, as well as for keeping Wiebes in position in the tricky and chaotic finale.
“The team worked hard all day. They chased the early breakaway for a long time. Anna and Lotte then set me up well for the sprint. Anna did a perfect job in the last three kilometres. After that, I followed Lotte, and we were continuously in the top five in the last few kilometres. She set me up very well," Wiebes said.
It was a crash-marred finale, with a big pile-up occurring with just under 4km remaining, which involved the pre-race favourite for yellow, Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), who was clearly in discomfort from the incident but able to cross the finish line alongside her teammates Juliette Labous and Amber Kraak. Wiebes reflected on the tricky finale and expressed her delight at being able to survive the chaos.
"It was quite chaotic in the final. The corners were quite dangerous," Wiebes said. Fortunately, we got through it well, and I was able to finish it off.
Courtesy of the stage win, Wiebes has moved into the lead of the points classification and will wear the green jersey on Tuesday's fourth stage. The European champion sits on 130, 18 ahead of Vos in second, and will have a perfect opportunity to extend her lead in what looks to be another stage for the sprinters in the 130.7km route from Saumur to Poitiers.
I now have the green jersey on my shoulders, and we'll take it day by day. Tomorrow is basically another sprint stage, so that offers new opportunities."
