GENEVA, Switzerland – Dutch cycling star Lorena Wiebes delivered another masterclass in sprinting on Sunday, claiming her second consecutive victory at the 2024 Women’s Tour de France on the event’s second stage. The win marked Wiebes’ seventh overall Tour de France victory, extending her legacy as one of the race’s most dominant sprinters.
The second stage of this year’s edition unfolded across a flat 147.9-kilometer route, stretching from the Swiss town of Aigle to the finish line in Geneva – the second consecutive stage held entirely on Swiss soil. Wiebes crossed the line in a total time of 3 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds, launching her decisive attack with just 250 meters remaining in the stage to outpace the peloton.
This dominant performance came just one day after Wiebes claimed victory in the Tour’s opening stage, delivering back-to-back wins in equally commanding fashion. Speaking after her victory, Wiebes credited her SD Worx-Protime team for the strategic support that made the win possible. “It’s special to win in the yellow jersey, but also because again, my team worked really hard for this,” she said. “The girls were chasing full gas in the final to bring back Riejanne Markus. That makes it even more beautiful to finish it off.”
Markus, who had held a solo breakaway for nearly 40 kilometers across the latter half of the stage, was caught by the chasing peloton just 500 meters short of the finish line, ending her bid for a stage win. Following Wiebes across the finish line, Lidl-Trek’s Elisa Balsamo secured second place, while Marianne Vos of Team Visma-Lease a Bike rounded out the top three.
With two stages complete, Wiebes holds a 14-second overall lead over second-place rider Kim Le Court Pienaar. 2023 Tour champion Demi Vollering sits two seconds further back in third place, keeping her within striking distance of the overall lead as the race moves into its third day.
On Monday, the peloton will face a 156.5-kilometer hilly stage, kicking off in Geneva before crossing the French border to finish in the town of Poligny. This year’s edition, the fifth running of the modern Women’s Tour de France, covers a total distance of 1,175 kilometers over nine days of racing. The Women’s Tour comes just one week after Tadej Pogacar claimed his fifth overall title at the men’s Tour de France.