Lorena Wiebes wins Tour de France Femmes fifth stage as Marianne Vos retains yellow jersey – صحيفة الصوت

Dutch rider Lorena Wiebes has won her second stage at the women’s Tour de France with another powerful sprint to finish the 176 kilometre flat ride from Bar-le-Duc to Saint-Die-des-Vosges, the longest stage of the race.

The Team DSM rider launched her sprint with Elisa Balsamo and yellow jersey holder Marianne Vos in pursuit and kept both at bay after winning the opening stage on the Champs-Elysees.

Vos, who nearly took a wrong turn at the final corner, came in third behind Balsamo but the Jumbo-Visma rider retains the yellow jersey.

“I’m really happy, especially because Franzy [team mate Franziska Koch] did such a strong effort with controlling the race from the beginning,” Wiebes said.

“When the [breakaway group of] four went away, Franzy [controlled] the pace of the peloton … She did an amazing effort, so I’m happy to finish it off.”

Wiebes sits just 26 points adrift of Vos’s lead in the points classification after her devastating turn of pace.

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When asked if she was the best sprinter, she said: “I don’t like to say I’m the best sprinter in the world.

“I felt today again strong in the sprint, I’m happy to deliver it after a long stage. It’s still a goal to get the green jersey.”

The stage was also marred by a big crash with about 50km to go, which wiped out more than half the riders in the main group.

However, that didn’t deter Vos, who extended her lead by four seconds over second-placed Silvia Persico (Valcar) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM).

Australian Grace Brown (FDJ Suez Futturoscope) was caught up in the crash, while Emma Norsgaard was forced to abandon the race with her Movistar team saying she had pain in her head, neck and left shoulder. She was taken to the hospital for further assessment.

Fellow Australian Ruby Roseman-Gannon (BikeExchange-Jayco) also crashed around a right-hand turn into the finishing straight, but managed to finish the race.

Reuters/ABC