1/5 Femke Gerritse rides 4 stages in the polka dot jersey (photo: Frank Gerritse).
The parents of cyclist Femke Gerritse from Rosmalen can no longer stop beaming. Their daughter will ride in the polka dot jersey in the Tour de France for women on Saturday for the fourth day in a row. “It was already exciting whether she got a starting permit, she is young and is not yet a big name. It is great that she rides in the polka dot jersey. It is a succession of highlights,” says Frank Gerritse.
This weekend the last two stages will be ridden and those are both mountain stages. “In theory she could keep the polka dot jersey today. She just needs to make sure she is the first to reach the top of the first col. Then she has enough points to keep the jersey,” says father Frank. In total there are three mountain climbs on the program on Saturday.
For Femke it is the first time that she participates in the Tour. There are significantly fewer matches for women than for men, let alone long matches of days in a row. “It’s tough for all ladies,” says father Frank. “Few ladies have experience with racing for so many days in a row. Femke still looks very fresh and mentally she is strong. If she wants something, it will happen.”
According to her father, her BMX past helps to remain resilient. Until six years ago, Femke was a successful BMX rider. “She has learned to deal with disappointments in this way. The fact that it is now only a party gives her enormous energy.”
Due to the successes of the Dutch ladies or even more Brabant ladies, Marianne Vos is riding in yellow, the Tour for women is a spectacle like never seen before. Femke’s parents also took the bikes with them with the idea of making some trips before and after the stage.
“But nothing comes of it. After the finish, Femke has to appear on the podium, give interviews and before the start the jersey wearers must also show themselves.”
Femke does speak to her parents. “It’s a bit awkward in all the hustle and bustle, sometimes it’s a few sentences between the fences,” says Frank. “We will call in the evening. We will not go to the finish soon either, that is completely closed. We are now on the last mountain, ten kilometers before the end.”
This time there are no texts for Femke chalked on the road on that last mountain. “No way Femke indeed,” says Frank. “The gendarmerie has warned me that I can lick it off myself if they catch me,” says Frank a bit crestfallen.
ALSO READ: Femke Gerritse goes for a polka dot jersey and her father is filling the road