Wiebes doubles up in yellow as Markus denied late on Tour Femmes stage 2
The pre-stage favourite Lorena Wiebes lived up to the billing, though was almost denied by a bold move from Riejanne Markus.
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Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) sprinted to victory in the yellow jersey on stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes in Geneva ahead of Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike).
After claiming victory on the opening stage in an uphill sprint, stage 2 presented a flat finish that favoured a bunch sprint, and Wiebes was the heavy favourite to double up.
Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) launched a bold move with just under 40km remaining, following the catch of the original breakaway, which threatened to throw a spanner in the works for Wiebes and SD-Worx.
The Dutch rider quickly opened an advantage of over a minute, which forced a strong and committed chase from Visma | Lease a Bike but predominantly SD Worx-Protime, with even Lotte Kopecky and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) contributing to the chase, bringing the gap down to 30 seconds with 10km remaining.
Markus pushed the SD-Worx riders to their limit, but the Dutch rider was agonisingly caught inside the final 500m.
Wiebes initially looked to be boxed in, but quickly found a gap and didn’t look back to take yet another commanding victory.
The 27-year-old now has seven Tour stage victories, more than double any other rider in the modern era of the race. Additionally, Wiebes is now up to 133 career victories on the road, with 15 in 2026.
In terms of the GC, Wiebes leads Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) by 0:14, while Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) remains third at 0:16.
How it unfolded
A high-speed opening phase delayed the day's main move. The elastic finally snapped when five riders escaped: Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels), Yulia Biriukova (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación), Carlotta Cipressi (Human Powered Health), Anouska Koster (Uno-X Mobility), and Ema Comte (Cofidis).
Cooperation shattered on the steep, category 3 Côte de Bougy-Villars with 53km remaining. Comte, Jansen, and Koster dropped their companions and pushed clear. Behind, a charging peloton began rapidly slashing their advantage.
The breakaway's demise accelerated on the Côte de Mont-sur-Rolle with 48km left. French champion Célia Gery (FDJ-Suez) attacked from the pack, immediately followed by Nina Berton (EF Education-Oatly). The duo quickly swept up a distanced Jansen.
A formidable chase group formed as Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike), Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek), and Sara Casasola (Fenix-Premier Tech) bridged across. However, the group were unable to cooperate. After attacking one another, the group stalled and was reeled in by the peloton with 39km to go.
Sensing an immediate lull after the catch, Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) launched a stinging counter-attack. The Dutch rider quickly established a solo lead, opening an advantage of over one minute in just a handful of kilometres.
Markus’ dangerous move triggered a committed response. SD Worx-Protime and Visma | Lease a Bike contributed to the chase, and with over 30km remaining until the finish, Markus had plenty of work still to do in order to deny the sprinters.
Result: Tour de France Femmes stage 2
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