On the first stage of the Tour de France women's race, Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo-Visma) finished fourth after a difficult stage in which Lotte Kopecký (Team SD Works) attacked on the Côte de Doultre and finished alone. Vos knew from the moment Belgian champion Kopecký attacked that it would be difficult to reel her back in.

"I saw the attack but nobody could react. I went into a group two back and tried to get back to the front group," Vos told Cycling News after the finish.

On the fast descent to Clermont-Ferrand, Vos joined forces with sprinters Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Walks) and Charlotte Kuhl (Team DSM-Filmenig), and with the help of Kuhl's teammate, Pfeiffer Gheorghi, they closed the gap to the GC They worked hard to close the gap to the group of riders.

"I could see that Vives and Cool were there too, and Pfeiffer Georgi was pulling me toward the second group. But I heard on the radio that Kopecky was taking time.

When Vos and the other sprinters reached the first chase group with 1,800 meters to go, the stage win was gone. Vos took the steering wheel of Wiebes, led by Demi Vollaring, but Wiebes was faster and was passed by Kuhl just before the finish line, leaving Vos to miss out on third place.

"In the sprint, Vives was too strong and Kool passed us. It was a hard sprint and these girls are fast."