A lone attack on the Côte de Doultre allowed Belgian champion Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Works) to win the first stage of the Tour de France women's avec Zwift and take the yellow jersey. In addition, her teammate and European champion Lorena Wiebes won the field sprint, led by women's World Tour leader Demi Volering in the purple jersey.

At the winner's press conference, Kopecký confirmed that winning the yellow jersey would not change the team's plan to win the overall with Vollering.

"We will talk about it tonight, but it is clear that our best chance is GC with Voerling. If I have to sacrifice this yellow jersey, I will not hesitate. I will do whatever is necessary for the final GC. But of course, I would be happy to wear the yellow, even for a few days," Kopecky said.

For Kopecký, the stage win and the yellow jersey meant more because he had been under a lot of pressure heading into the 2022 edition and had not done as well as he had hoped. But the bad feelings of the previous year did not bother her in her preparation for the Tour.

"I think something went wrong last year in the preparation phase. It was the worst week for me. But I never looked back at last year. This year's preparation was better, there was less pressure this year, and I was confident that I had to believe in the team and in myself," Kopecky said.

This confidence paid off, as Kopecký crossed the finish line and punched the air, visibly overjoyed at his victory.

"Sports are emotional. When you cross this finish line, your shoulders relax and you feel relief. This is the Tour de France. Winning this first stage and wearing yellow tomorrow is special," Kopecký said of his emotions.

Kopecký is also proud to be the first non-Dutchman to wear yellow in the Tour de France Femmes, bringing visibility to the race in Belgium.

"I am happy to be the first and I am very proud to be Belgian and to wear this yellow jersey as a cycling powerhouse," she said.

Kopecký's attack was cleverly set up by a team that made a perfect lead-out to the climb. The last rider on that train was Marlen Reusser, whose pace reduced the peloton to less than 20 riders.

"I tried to set a steady pace. I worked for the team and I'm very happy to get first and second, it's great," Reusser told Cycling News after the stage.

Reusser was in the third group on the climb. Reusser, the reigning Swiss champion, could not hide his surprise that Kopecký was able to break away.

"In the group behind me were GC riders, not sprinters. And it's always game for them to look at each other. Lotte is not a GC rider, so that was her big advantage," Reusser said.