'Just a little too far' - Markus reflects on nearly stunning the sprinters at Tour Femmes

Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) admitted she never expected to come so close to winning stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift after her bold solo attack nearly denied the sprinters in Geneva.

The Lidl-Trek rider launched her move with just under 40km remaining after the original breakaway had been caught, quickly building an advantage of more than a minute and forcing SD Worx-Protime into a committed chase.

Markus remained out front until the final 500 metres, when the charging peloton finally brought her back before Lorena Wiebes sprinted to a commanding second successive stage win. 

Despite being denied in cruel fashion so close to the finish, Markus was able to reflect on her performance with pride.

"When you come that close in a race that ends in a sprint, it’s definitely worth a congratulations," Markus told Wielerflits. "Personally, I hadn't expected to get that close."

The Dutch rider admitted there was a moment when she believed she could hold on, although she always knew the challenge would be significant after spending so long alone at the front.

"Maybe once in the final kilometre," Markus said when asked if she thought she could win. "But I knew with 10km to go and a one-minute gap that it was still going to be a very close call.

"The peloton picks up so much speed at the end, and when you’ve been riding solo out front for 40km, you realise just how hard it is. But yeah, I got close; it was just a little too far in the end."

Markus explained that the attack was planned, and that her execution of it gives confidence ahead of the days to come. 

"That was the plan from the start,” explained Markus. "I feel great. We tried for two days and didn't quite pull it off, but we’ll keep trying, and who knows, maybe next time we’ll get even closer."