A day after Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory in the opening stage of the Tour de France Femme, she had the opportunity to go head-to-head with the fastest sprinter in the world in Rotterdam on Tuesday. However, despite a perfect leadout and a perfect bike from SD Walks Pro Time, Wiebes was forced to settle for second place by yellow jersey Charlotte Kuhl (DSM-Firmenich Post NL).

“It was a close race and the important thing is that I was able to sprint. Maybe we started the sprint a little too early. These things happen in sprints,” Vives said from across the finish line.

“Not every sprint is won by just one sprinter, like in the men's race. More opportunities come and parkour becomes a little more difficult.

Vives has the most wins this year, with 18. Leading up to this week, she has beaten Kool in every sprint the two have fought this season.

She is also the most victorious rider in the Tour de France Femme, with three stage wins in the last two events. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]