Lorena Wiebes sprints to second place in the second stage of the Tour de France Femmes

Lorena Wiebes: “On the penultimate climb, five kilometres from the finish, I realised that I might be able to get close to the victory. The pace was high on that climb, but I felt that I was doing well. On the descent, I stayed close to Blanka Vas, after which Lotte Kopecky and Anna van der Breggen took the initiative on the final climb. I was a little behind, which was perfect because it allowed me to respond to Kasia Niewiadoma’s attack. I knew I had to push myself over that steep section because from there it would level out. They wouldn’t be able to drop me there. There was a bit of hesitation in the group about continuing, and in the end that cost us the chance to go for the win. But we can still be very satisfied with today’s second place.””For me, it was not a certainty that I would survive this climb and be able to sprint for the win. Given the race situation, we achieved the best possible result. Mavi Garcia won because she was very strong and stayed ahead of the peloton. It’s great that she’s showing this at the age of 41. Just like Marianne Vos, who won the opening stage at the age of 38.”It’s great that they are still at the top at that age. I have enormous respect for Marianne in that regard. How long she has been at the top. She has been winning since her junior days and she is there every year, taking important victories. To this day, she is the poster child for this sport. And Mavi also shows that she is still very strong.‘Tomorrow, I’m hoping for a sprint, of course. Last year, I didn’t manage to win. For me personally, the Tour de France Femmes has already started better than last year. I’d like to continue that trend. Hopefully tomorrow I can become the youngest stage winner so far in this edition (laughs). I’m already super motivated to try and finish it off tomorrow if it comes down to a sprint.’