Vos grabs yellow jersey next to second stage win in Tour, Van Vleuten loses time again | NOW

Yellow jersey wearer Marianne Vos just failed to book her second stage win in the Tour de France Femmes on Tuesday. The Brabant woman was beaten by the Danish Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig after a hilly stage of 133 kilometers at the ascending finish in Épernay. Annemiek van Vleuten lost time again.

In the last 7 kilometers of the third stage, a leading group of eleven riders remained, including Vos, Van Vleuten and Demi Vollering. The Polish Katarzyna Niewiadoma was the first to sprint on the steep part. Vos reacted, but Ludwig went over it and sprinted to the stage victory with ease.

The 35-year-old Vos, who took the yellow jersey on Monday by winning the second stage, crossed the line two seconds behind Ludwig and retains the lead in the general classification. The podium was completed by South African Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio.

Van Vleuten lost half a minute on Monday against some rivals and also had a hard time on Tuesday. The 39-year-old Movistar rider conceded twenty seconds to Ludwig. Van Vleuten said shortly after the third stage in conversation with the NOS that she has been ill, but is now on the mend.

Vollering was unharmed on Tuesday. The Team SD Worx rider, one of the candidates for the overall victory, crashed hard more than 10 kilometers from the finish in the descent of the Côte de Mutigny. She escaped unscathed and finished eighth, eight seconds behind Ludwig.

The first Tour de France Femmes since 2009 continues on Wednesday with a new hill stage. The peloton departs from Troyes and arrives 126 kilometers further in Bar-sur-Arbe. The eight-day stage race will last until Sunday.

Peloton keeps pace high, Vollering falls in the final phase

After two flat stages, the peloton was presented with some serious climbing for the first time in the first hill stage on Tuesday. The third stage took the riders along five climbs, with the Côte de Mutigny at 15 kilometers from the finish as the biggest obstacle (900 meters of climbing with an average gradient of 12.2).

The course again offered opportunities for yellow jersey wearer Vos, not coincidentally one of the riders who tried to escape. Due to the high pace in the peloton, all escape attempts were unsuccessful and the large group on the Côte de Trépail was still together. Not much later, the French Pauline Allin and polka dot jersey wearer Femke Markus were quickly swallowed at 74 kilometers before the finish.

Most of the action came from Femke Gerritse. The Dutch took the most mountain points on the Côte de Trépail, the Côte de Vertus and the Côte du Mesnil-sur-Orge and secured the polka dot jersey at the expense of teammate Markus. Shortly afterwards, a successful flight finally formed: the Belarusian Alena Amialiusik escaped at more than 40 kilometers from the finish and virtually even rode in the yellow jersey, but was caught just before the Côte de Mutigny.

On the toughest climb of the day it got more hectic. Moolman-Pasio increased the pace and got Van Vleuten, among others, with him, while Vos had to release. In the descent Vollering also lost the connection due to a crash in the descent, but she was able to continue ‘normally’. Vos and Vollering even managed to rejoin the leading group 7 kilometers from the finish, consisting of, among others, Van Vleuten, Niewiadoma, Moolman-Pasio and Elisa Longo Borghini.

On the Mont Bernon, the last climb of the day, Van Vleuten surprisingly had to let go as the first favourite. On the steep lock towards the finish a sprint was inevitable and Vos seemed to have the best papers to win again. The Jumbo-Visma rider gave everything she had, but had to acknowledge her superiority in an unleashed Ludwig.