Another day, another wearer of the maillot jaune in the Tour de France Femmes as Marianne Vos, one of the all-time greats of women’s road cycling, rose above carnage in the peloton to stamp her mark on this race.
Her win, however, was overshadowed by a series of horrific crashes as the peloton snaked through the Seine-et-Marne region in strong crosswinds.
The worst pile-up occurred when Amanda Spratt (Team BikeExchange Jayco) and Italian Marta Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope) hit the ground 25km before the finish, with the former abandoning the race. As Australian Nicole Frain hurtled towards the pair at 73km/hour, she was sent flying through the air over her handlebars and sprawling onto her back.
Disturbing footage of the incident shows one unidentified rider wandering off into a nearby field, seemingly in complete shock.
Away from the carnage, after being pipped in Sunday’s opening stage in Paris by sprinter Lorena Wiebes, Vos seized her moment in this sleepy medieval town famous for its rose-petal jam. It was a victory made sweeter by the fact the Dutchwoman opened up a healthy 10-second lead at the top of the general classification after outsprinting Silvia Persico (Valcar Travel and Service) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon–SRAM) at the finish. Wiebes finished 29 seconds behind, in sixth place.
In front of scores of schoolchildren who lined the street, kitted out in oversized polka dot T-shirts which hung off them like tents, Vos navigated a steep climb towards the finish. At 35, perhaps she thought this moment would pass her by.
“Nine years ago, we were talking with the ASO about the opportunity to race [a Tour], it went really fast to get La Course going,” said Vos. “When we raced for the first time on the Champs Elysees it felt like a milestone. To be here back for a stage race in a real Tour de France, that’s another milestone.”
She crossed the line punching the air, suggestive of how she will savour this victory, which remarkably, was the 241st of her road-racing career.
“I went to the Tour de France as a kid to watch and of course I saw all the guys riding,” said Vos, who was embraced by her parents, Henk and Connie, afterwards. “But at that time, there was no Tour de France for women so that hadn’t been a dream. We know it’s there, it’s something big. It will be very special to wear the yellow jersey in the race.”
Urska Zigart, a two-time Slovenian time-trial champion, was watched by fiance, Tadej Pogacar, from the roadside, a day after he finished on the podium in Paris.