Dutch sprinter Lorena Wiebes won Stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes in Geneva, Switzerland, catching a late attacker inside the final 500 meters to record back-to-back stage victories and extend her overall race lead.
Riejanne Markus, riding for Team SD Worx-Protime, attacked with roughly 40 kilometers remaining on the flat run into Geneva and forced the peloton into a prolonged chase across the closing stretch. Markus was caught with just 500 meters to go, setting up a bunch sprint that Wiebes won ahead of Elisa Balsamo and three-time Olympic champion Marianne Vos. The victory followed Wiebes's uphill sprint win in Lausanne on Stage 1, which had already put her in the race's yellow jersey.
The ten-second time bonus awarded for Monday's stage win pushed Wiebes's overall lead to 14 seconds over Mauritius's Kim Le Court, riding for AG Insurance-Soudal, at the top of the general classification. Wiebes, primarily known as one of the peloton's premier sprinters rather than a general-classification contender, has now opened the toughest edition of the women's Tour to date with two consecutive stage wins, a result that has surprised many given the race's mountainous route.
This year's Tour de France Femmes began outside France for the first time, with a Grand Depart split across the Swiss cities of Lausanne, Aigle and Geneva before the race crosses into France later in the week. The nine-stage route covers 1,175 kilometers and roughly 19,000 meters of elevation gain, including a summit finish atop Mont Ventoux, and features a deep general-classification field that includes defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and two-time former winner Demi Vollering.
Wiebes's hold on the yellow jersey is widely expected to be temporary once the race reaches its mountainous middle stages, where climbers and time-trial specialists are expected to take over the general classification battle. Stage 3 continues the route through the Swiss and French Alps, with the race's first major test for overall contenders looming later this week.
