Wiebes Sprints to Victory on Chaotic Tour de France Femmes Stage 4,Vos Extends Overall Lead
The fourth stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift delivered another day of thrilling,albeit unpredictable,racing,culminating in a powerful sprint victory for lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime).While the stage was marked by challenging conditions adn a dynamic breakaway, Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) maintained her grip on the overall lead, extending her advantage by a crucial twelve seconds.
“also quite chaotic with lots of curves and speed bumps again, but luckily there was no fall,” said Brauß on the ARD microphone, perfectly encapsulating the day’s demanding parcours.
Vos Consolidates Yellow, Other Classifications Remain Tight
In the overall classification, Vos now leads by twelve seconds over her closest rival, Wiebes, further solidifying her position at the top. This also allows Vos to expand her leadership in the points classification. Simultaneously occurring, Kim Le Court (AG Insurance - Soudal) from Mauritius sits in third place overall. In the mountain classification, Swiss rider Elise Chabbey (FDJ – Suez) continues to hold the lead. As the best young rider, Frenchwoman Julie Bego (Cofidis) proudly continues to wear the white jersey.
How Stage 4 Unfolded: A Day of Breakaways and Tactical Racing
Maud Rijnbeek (Volkerwessels) initiated the day’s drama,breaking away from the peloton after approximately 30 kilometers and establishing a critically importent lead of 1:45 minutes. Despite the efforts of three French soloists who attempted to bridge the gap,Rijnbeek remained out front.Though, the race dynamics shifted dramatically when the peloton hit a windy section 80 kilometers from the finish line, causing Rijnbeek’s lead to rapidly diminish.
The chase was then taken up by Koch and Ana Magalhaes (Movistar), who closed in on the solo leader, reducing her advantage to a mere 30 seconds.Together, Koch and Magalhaes managed to build a 1:30 minute lead, but this was halved during another gusty section of the peloton. This crucial moment saw several prominent riders, including Liane Lippert (Movistar), Cerdrine Kerbaol (EF Education - oatly), and Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance – Soudal), miss the front group’s move. Fortunately for them, they were able to rejoin the main bunch after a couple of kilometers.
