Le Cor Wahoo left the first stage of the Tour de France Femme in Paris with both the red number and the white jersey to show their fighting spirit, thanks to a strong solo attack by Gladys Verhulst and a sprint finish in sixth place by Myke van der Duyn.

The UK-based Continental team was one of the wildcards invited to the race, with the goal of a good stage finish and an aggressive race.

French rider Verhulst attacked in the last 20km and built a 40-second lead over the peloton.

"I was happy to be at the front today," he said. I was happy to be at the front today because I proved that I am an attack rider. So I'm proud of that."

"It was a good day for the team. We got the white jersey and the fighting spirit. We worked very hard and we are happy with this award. It was a good day."

Before the race, Verhulst told Cycling News that he would be targeting a stage in the first half of the week.

With Verhulst caught, Myke van der Duyn became the sprinter for Le Cor Wahoo, finishing sixth ahead of world champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo).

The team had options for sprinting in France in Jesse Vandenbroucke and Marjolein Vantgeroof, but as the team's only under-23 athlete, Van der Duyn had a particularly big incentive.

"I'm really happy," she said. I'm really happy that there's a special jersey for the young girls, for the under-23s, because they're the only ones who have the chance to win."

"I had been thinking about this for a week before the start today. Of course, my goal today is to win the sprint, but I know what I can do if I sprint, and hopefully I can go for the white jersey. In the end it worked out really well."

There are 32 riders eligible for the white jersey in this Tour de France femme, and most of them are on teams outside the World Tour.

"There might not be as many [young riders] as there usually are, but we'll just have to take it day by day. Obviously, we'll fight for it every day, enjoy it as much as we can, and see how each day goes."

Le Cor Wahoo will get a chance to test themselves in the sprint stage to Provins on Monday.