Dutch rider Marianne Vos claimed a jaw-dropping 258th career victory when she prevailed in the first stage of the Tour de France Femmes, a 49-mile hilly ride from Vannes to Plumelec on Saturday.
A three-time road world champion, Vos prevailed at the top of the Cote de Cadoudal (1.1 miles at 6.2%) after her Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot cracked in the final meters to finish third behind Kim Le Court of Mauritius.
While Ferrand-Prevot could not convert, she showed impressive strength when she attacked less than a half-mile from the line, a move that underlined the mountain biking Olympic champion’s title credentials.
Vos, who will wear the yellow jersey in Sunday’s second stage, surged past at the end and raised her arm in celebration, just like Ferrand-Prevot.
“I didn’t now if Pauline was still hanging in the finish, but in the end I sprinted a bit with Kim,” Vos said, praising her teammate’s effort. “I’m really grateful to the team and to Pauline.”
After a dozen riders were involved in a crash as the peloton rolled toward the start of the stage, Maud Rijnbeek and Laura Tomasi formed the day’s breakaway.
Rijnbeek went solo after 14 miles before Tomasi was swallowed by the peloton.
Swiss rider Marlen Reusser was involved in another crash at the foot of the Cote de Cadoudal.
Reusser, who finished second in the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta, later abandoned with stomach problems, her Movistar team said.
Defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, who beat Demi Vollering by just four seconds last year, finished fourth in the same time as the winner.
Vollering was fifth, three seconds behind.
The nine-stage race, which ends Aug. 3, began a day before the end of the men’s Tour, set to be won for a fourth time by Slovenian star Tadej Pogačar by a comfortable margin.
Sunday’s second stage from the port city of Brest to Quimper stays in Brittany and is slightly more hilly and longer at 68.6 miles.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
