Marianne Vos has won her third consecutive stage victory in the Tour of Scandinavia. The rider of Team Jumbo-Visma showed once again that she had the fastest legs.

Marianne Vos has won the second stage of the Tour of Scandinavia. The rider of Team Jumbo-Visma closed a gap in the final kilometre and narrowly beat Emilia Fahlin in the sprint.

With Vos in the leader jersey and Amber Kraak in the mountain jersey, the peloton set off from Orust for a 154km stage to Strömstad. On the only two categorised climbs, Kraak took the maximum points thanks to outstanding work by her teammates and extended her lead in the mountain classification.

There was no other spectacle, although the final did provide some nervous moments. After a crash in the final kilometre, several riders created a gap with the rest of the peloton. However, Vos managed to close the gap and got in the wheel of the Swedish Fahlin, who started the sprint early. With fifty metres to go, Vos came alongside. Thanks to a mighty jump, she narrowly beat her competitor and took her sixth season victory. For Team Jumbo-Visma, it meant the tenth victory of the road season.

“It was close today, but I’m happy I was able to take the win”, Vos said. She spoke of a difficult finish. “We entered the town with a lot of speed and because of the many turns, it was quite technical. The ladies of Trek-Segafredo made a good attempt in the last kilometre by escaping just before the turn. They created a gap and I was hesitant to close it, as I knew it would be difficult. I decided to give it a go and it turned out to be the right choice. It’s very nice to win for the second consecutive time.”

Marianne Vos has won the first stage of the Tour of Scandinavia. In the streets of Elsinore the rider of Team Jumbo-Visma was in a class of her own and stayed ahead of her competitors in the bunch sprint. Because of this victory, Vos will start tomorrow in the leader’s jersey.

On the only two categorised climbs of the day, Amber Kraak collected the most points. As a result, the Team Jumbo-Visma rider will start in the mountain jersey tomorrow.

In the final kilometres, Vos was well placed by her teammates, after which she ended up behind the Trek-Segafredo train. At about two hundred metres from the finish line Vos found a gap and showed she was the fastest sprinter in the field. For Vos, who was stripped of victory last Sunday after being disqualified in Vårgårda WestSweden, it was her fifth victory on the road this season and her team’s ninth.

“I am thrilled with this start”, Vos said. “It was a nervous final because everyone wanted to be at the front. As a team we tried to stay together and Linda did a perfect lead-out at the end. She brought me in the wheel of the Trek ladies, after which I launched the sprint at two hundred meters from the finish. I saw an opening on the right and dived into the gap. It was difficult to create more speed, but fortunately I could hold on until the finish line.”

Vos enjoyed the start in Copenhagen but found the course over various terrains quite challenging. “The road kept twisting and turning. I was a little worried at the end, but the only thing you can do at a time like this is to stay calm and hope for the best. Luckily I had Linda with me and she stayed calm too. Now I’m going to rest well to be ready for tomorrow.”

A disqualification has spoiled the Vargarda WestSweden Road Race for Marianne Vos. The Dutch rider of Team Jumbo-Visma seemed to take the victory convincingly but was disqualified after the race because she had briefly rested her forearms on the handlebars.

For a long time, the race seemed to be going in the right direction for Vos and Team Jumbo-Visma. A group of four rode away in the final, including the leader of the yellow-black formation. In the sprint, Vos was too fast for her competitors, after which she put her hands in the air.

After the finish, the joy proved short-lived. “It is a real pity, but that is how it is”, Vos said.

“When I was in that ‘puppy paw position’, I quickly realised it was not allowed. I immediately switched to the correct position. Apparently it was enough for the UCI to disqualify me. We’ll have to accept their decision.”

Despite the disappointment of missing out on victory, Vos remained objective. “It is a pity, but it is a rule and it is strictly enforced. You usually don’t ride in that position. I feel bad about it because I did not benefit from it, but rules are rules.”

The green jersey winner in the Tour was satisfied with the race. “It went well today. It was a bit of a switch to be racing again. The past week was all about recovering from the Tour. Now I suddenly found myself in the hectic of a race again. The team helped me a lot to get back into it. We were alert and had a good position in the front. I’m happy with the way we rode this race.

“I don’t think today’s disqualification detracts from the team performance”, race coach Carmen Small said. She looked back on the race with pride. “Our riders were always in the front and did what they had to do. They rode as a real team. But it is what it is; we have to accept it. This is also cycling. We can go to the next race with our heads held high.”

Team Jumbo-Visma has finished the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes with two stage victories and the victory in the points classification. In the final stage to the Super Planche des Belles Filles, Marianne Vos secured her green jersey.

The final stage from Lure to La Super Planche des Belles Filles took the riders over three categorised climbs. Shortly after the top of the first climb, thirteen riders managed to break away. The group took a two-minute lead, but the group of favourites reeled them in on the Super Planche.

As soon as the final climb reared up, Rooijakkers went on the attack, with Garcia responding, but it was soon clear it wasn’t a breakaway day. After less than a kilometre, Van Vleuten made her move, accelerating out of the saddle while speaking into her radio to tell Patiño to drop and pace her. Her teammate duly provided the springboard, with no one else able to follow. As yesterday, Vollering mustered the best effort but the rest were left floundering.

Van Vleuten reached Garcia just over 5km from the summit and ripped clear with a vision acceleration. From there, she gained on everyone as she rode alone all the way to the top of the mountain, finishing with super steep ramps and gravel tracks. Vollering rode alone to take another second place and cement second overall, crossing the line 30 seconds down.

The next group on the road was soon down to Niewiadoma, Persico, Labous, Ewers, and Ludwig, although the latter started to fade 2.5km from the top. Persico had the edge on the final 24% ramp to take third place on the stage, just ahead of Niewiadoma, who sealed the final spot on the overall podium.

Vos secured the green jersey in the final stage and looked back on the Tour de Femmes’ first edition with pride. “It was an incredibly beautiful week. As a team, we wanted to win a stage and succeeded twice. As a bonus, we were able to ride in yellow for five days and take the green jersey, which makes me very happy. I am grateful to the whole team for helping me so much every day. I could not have wished for a better first edition of the Tour.”

Marianne Vos has again sprinted to a podium in the Tour de France Femmes. During the fifth stage, the Dutch rider was well-positioned in the final kilometre in Saint-Dié-Des-Vosges, but could not prevent Lorena Wiebes from winning.

Because of her third place, Vos defended her yellow leader’s jersey superbly. She even took some bonification seconds at the finish. The sprinters teams and Team Jumbo-Visma, which kept Vos well in front, controlled the longest Tour stage, almost 176 km, for a long time. The peloton never gave the four-rider leading group much space and caught them a few kilometres from the finish.

Some forty kilometres earlier, Anna Henderson had been involved in a massive crash, but she could continue quickly and did not suffer much damage.

Vos spoke of a fair but hectic sprint afterwards. “From the last climb, we had to sprint. The speed was very high. The last kilometres were chaotic, but we did well as a team. Lorena had more speed in the last metres. I tried to follow her, but she was faster.”

“It was a good day because I also grabbed some seconds”, she continued. “It was a long and challenging stage. Every team had to fight to stay out of trouble.” The green jersey is also a goal for Vos. “I have a nice lead and want to keep it. That is a nice thing to achieve.”

Marianne Vos has sprinted to second place in the third stage of the Tour de France Femmes. In the uphill finish in Epernay, the yellow-jersey wearer had to acknowledge her superiority in the Danish Cecile Ludwig. Vos retains her lead in the general classification of the Tour.

The race broke open early in the Champagne region. There was a fierce battle to get into the day’s leading group. Team Jumbo-Visma, among other teams, even attempted to break away. The yellow and black brigade tried to keep Vos at the front of the race on the hilly roads throughout the stage. They kept control and positioned Vos perfectly in the hilly final.

“Cecile had the best legs on the last hundred metres. I gave everything but couldn’t beat her”, Vos said. “But I’m not disappointed because I kept the yellow jersey. I had to go deep because the pace was high on the climbs. The team dropped me off perfectly, but it was a grueling final.”

The stage two winner complimented her teammates: “The team positioned me well throughout the stage. I’m glad I could close the gap after getting dropped off. In the sprint, I couldn’t do more than I did. I could not accelerate anymore. Cecile deserved this victory.”

Marianne Vos has scored a superb double victory in the Tour de France Femmes. In the second stage from Meaux to Provins, the 35-year-old rider of Team Jumbo-Visma beat her breakaway companions and captured the yellow leader’s jersey.

About twenty kilometres from the finish line Vos and five other riders escaped from the peloton. The six worked well together and saw their lead on the peloton increase. In the slightly uphill final kilometre, Vos demonstrated her sprinting skills and beat all her breakaway companions.

“This is a beautiful day. I still have to let it all sink in”, Vos said. “It is extraordinary to win a stage in the Tour de France and to take the yellow jersey. We knew it would be difficult to take a stage win here, but I am thrilled it worked out. Now I will try to enjoy it as long as possible.”

Vos thanked her teammates for their work. “We knew we had to be alert and focused all day because of the wind and the narrowing roads. While the team did a perfect lead-out on the Champs Elysées yesterday, I was brought to the intermediate sprint perfectly today. Subsequently, Elisa went on the attack and that was the right moment.”

In the final sprint, Vos did not want to get ahead of herself and count on a win. “I knew there were several fast girls in the group and we had already wasted a lot of energy trying to stay ahead of the peloton. My legs felt okay and all I had to do was stay calm and sprint as well as I could. And luckily, I did.”

Marianne Vos has just missed out on winning the Tour de France Femmes opening stage. On the Champs Elysées, the rider of Team Jumbo-Visma had to acknowledge the superiority of Lorena Wiebes.

The first edition of the Tour de France Femmes started under the Eiffel Tower. From there, the riders rode twelve laps through the streets of Paris. During the race, several riders tried to avoid a bunch sprint, but due to Team Jumbo-Visma’s high pace, everything pointed to the expected sprint.

Vos, who launched her teammates well, was the first to go for the sprint but could not keep Wiebes from a historic stage victory. “I can’t blame myself. Lorena deservedly won today”, Vos said. “We all know she is hard to beat. The fact that I came so close gives me a good feeling.”

Vos was grateful to her teammates for their hard work. “In the last two laps, they kept me in the front, so I stayed out of trouble. We did everything we could to win, but unfortunately, it was not enough.”

Despite the second place, Vos enjoyed the atmosphere. “It was a great day. I was focused on the race, but at the same time, I was enjoying it.”

At 53 kilometres from the finish, the peloton caught the early breakaway riders. The black and yellow formation worked hard and Coryn Labecki put Marianne in perfect position at the front of the group.

Several attacks followed. They were all unsuccessful, so at twenty kilometres from the finish the peloton was still complete. When Lotte Kopecky attacked, Vos followed with six other riders, including Demi Vollering and Elisa Longo Borghini. Together they rode towards Via Santa Caterina in Siena. Vos had to let go just a few kilometres from the finish, resulting in seventh place after 136 dusty kilometres.

“As a team, we rode a good race, but I would have liked to do better”, sighed a slightly disappointed Vos. “We worked together well, we were in front all the time and we never really got into trouble. I never felt unsafe. But in the final the pace was high and at the decisive moment I could not keep up anymore. I hoped I could recover and manage to come back, but it was not enough.”