Lorena Wiebes won stage three of the women’s Tour de France in Montignac-Lascaux as breakaway rider Julie Van De Velde suffered heartbreak within a couple of hundred metres of the line.
Wiebes got a lead-out from race leader Lotte Kopecky to deliver a second stage win of this Tour for the SD Worx-Protime team, beating Marianne Vos on the line as Kopecky came in third to keep the yellow jersey.
Van De Velde had gone solo with 60km remaining of the 147km stage from Collonges-la-Rouge, looking to defy the accepted wisdom that this was a day for the sprinters.
The Felix-Deceuninck rider built a lead of more than two minutes. Although it tumbled to 30 seconds with around six kilometres to go, the Belgian found a second wind to maintain the gap almost to the flamme rouge as the peloton furiously chased behind, denying her at the last.
It was a third career Tour stage win for Wiebes following her double last year, who credited Kopecky with the “perfect” lead-out.
“The breakaway was of course still gone with one kilometre to go and we took the corner well,” she said. “I stayed with Lotte, the plan was that she would deliver me and that was exactly what she did.
“I think Marianne started the sprint on the right and I was able to catch her.”
It was a 50th victory of the season for the SD Worx-Protime team, head and shoulders above the rest so far.
“It’s a great start,” Wiebes added. “We are really happy with this and we hope to continue in this way.”
The Tour continues on Wednesday with a 177km stage – the longest in the Tour – from Cahors to Rodez which is expected to ignite the fight between the overall contenders.