Lidl-Trek’s Riejanne Markus made SD Worx-Protime work for it in the run-in, but when it came to the sprint, the yellow jersey was simply unstoppable.
Cor Vos
Stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift looked, on paper, like absolutely the best chance for the sprinters on the startlist, but with so many others motivated to get something out of the race, it was expected to be an all-day duel between SD Worx-Protime and, well, everyone else. And in the end, that’s exactly what it was – even though, in the end, all attempts to stop Wiebes from taking her second consecutive win were in vain.
Lidl-Trek is owed a massive pat on the back for its efforts today. Though the German WorldTeam was by no means the only outfit to throw something at the wall – i.e. SD Worx and its dominant sprinter in yellow – it was Riejanne Markus who posed the greatest threat to the favourites.
After going solo 39 km from the finish, Markus gained over a minute’s advantage at one point, and with SD Worx getting no help until the last 3 km, the lone leader was not neutralised into the last half-kilometre. Liv-AlUla Jayco had been instrumental in the run-in, with EF Education-Oatly also well tuned in the finale, but Wiebes was still embedded in the first 10 riders, so it was already a race for second.
[race_result id=15687 stage_id=89768 count=5 gc=0 year=2026]
[race_result id=15687 stage_id=89768 count=5 gc=5 year=2026]
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