'If Wiebes is there, nobody has a chance' - Le Court best of the rest in Tour Femmes opener
Kim Le Court had to settle for second place on the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes in Lausanne after Lorena Wiebes delivered a rasping sprint to claim the first yellow jersey of the race.
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The finish line was perched atop the category 4 ascent of the Côte Saint-François, and Le Court’s AG Insurance Soudal squad was prominent in setting the tempo at the base of the climb in a bid to shake off the fastest finishers, and Wiebes above all.
Le Court herself upped the pace with 1.5km to go, splitting the front group in the process, but Wiebes continued to hang tough. The Mauritian was again to the fore in tracking Célia Gery’s move outside the flamme rouge, but Wiebes remained resolutely in contention.
“It was hard. I think everyone thought it was hard. We tried to make it hard and we did,” Le Court told Wielerflits. “I think our team initiated the climb. We did what we could. It’s just unfortunate Lorena was there, we knew there was a big chance she could make it.”
Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) attempted to pre-empt the sprint, but there was nothing to be done against Wiebes once she got a sight of the finish line. The SD Worx-Protime rider delivered a typically emphatic sprint to claim the stage honours ahead of Le Court, who fended off Vollering for second place.
Le Court acknowledged that there was little anyone could have done to derail Wiebes here.
“If she wasn’t there, I possibly had a chance, but we know that if she’s there, then nobody has a chance,” Le Court said.
“We know that she could be tired after a hard climb like this and when she sprinted, she didn’t get a good gap, but it’s Lorena and she’s the best sprinter in the world so I’m still happy to be behind here.”
The result leaves Le Court in second place overall, four seconds down on Wiebes, who will be the clear favourite to win again on the fast run-in to Geneva on stage 2.
Le Court can draw solace from a solid start that augurs well for her Tour Femmes. She enjoyed a fine race twelve months ago, winning stage 5 to Guéret and spending a total of four days in the yellow jersey.
Result: Tour de France Femmes stage 1
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