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4 hours ago
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Key events
Here’s the GC standings after stage two.
I didn’t get to mention Kim Le Court or Demi Vollering much today as it was just so tight in the pack. But both riders hoping/aiming to finish this Tour in yellow had good days – they came through it unscathed with, you suspect, the big tests for both still to come.
1. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
2. Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) +14sec
3. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) +16sec
4. Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) +20sec
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’Imad) +20sec
Lorena Wiebes speaks: “The girls were chasing full, full gas in the final 2km to chase back Riejanne Markus – and it makes it all the more special to finish it in the yellow.”
She praises the hard work of her SD-Worx team, putting her in the position to secure victory. “Every sprint is quite exciting. If you make a small mistake the sprint is over – so I’m still nervous when it comes to the sprint.”
She’s making her rivals pretty nervous too; a sublime display so far in this year’s Tour.
Stage two result
1) Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
2) Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek)
3) Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike)
4) Shari Bossuyt (AG Insurance-Soudal)
5) Letizia Paternoster (Liv-AlUla-Jayco)
Wiebes will wear the yellow jersey again tomorrow, naturally. That’s what happens when you win two stages out of two.
Well, a dramatic finish there – Riejanne Markus made such a bold solo break, but once the pack caught here there was only one likely winner. Lorena Wiebes veered off to the right, finding the space as the best do, and just accelerated for the finish.
Lorena Wiebes wins stage two!
Lorena Wiebes wins her second stage of the Tour! Markus is eaten up in the final kilometre – and in the bunch sprint it was the yellow jersey, the world’s fastest sprinter, who proves it again by rocketing for the line.
1km to go: Markus leads but the gap is six seconds and coming down! What does she have left?
2km to go: The gap to Markus is down to 12 seconds. It’s a truly packed pack – SD Worx have used a lot riders to bring this gap down.
3km to go: Marianne Vos edges towards the front of the peloton, but there’s no many contenders scrapping for position, including Britain’s Zoe Backstedt. The gap to Markus is down to 17sec! She’s getting reeled in.
5km to go: We are looking at a grandstand shootout finish, unless Markus can cling on. It is sooo condensed in the pack with no one rider pulling clear! Markus still has that 30sec edge. For now.
7km to go: Riejanne Markus powers onwards, what a battling display this is, no matter the end result. She’s still 30sec ahead as she glugs some delicious water and pushes again.
9km to go: The peloton really is tightly packed, so we’ll be set for a real sprint finish – if Markus is caught. She gets whoops of support from the Tour fans as she takes a right turn down towards the lake.
11km to go: Markus is a time trial specialist, so perhaps the solo break won’t faze her. The gap is steady for now at just over 30 seconds! When will the peloton start to kick on as we wind our way down towards the lake?
14km to go: Riejanne Markus has a 30sec lead out in front now. The chasing pack are probably timing this right to reel her in, you suspect, as much as she’s digging deep. The Dutch rider has a quick glance back, then gets back to powering forward.
16km to go: Anna van der Breggen takes the lead of the peloton, she’s giving it a bit of welly – with Markus’s lead down to 43sec. Intriguingly poised.
19km to go: Plenty of roadside support for the riders near Lake Geneva, which looks wonderfully verdant beside the blue water. Clear skies. I wonder if we’ll see any bigger gaps emerge in the peloton? It’s still largely just one pack with Markus out in front.
22km to go: Riejanne Markus’s lead comes down to 55sec. The peloton, which is up to around 80 riders, is closing gradually but surely.
It’s hot – well above 30C. No parasols or umbrellas for the riders, of course.
26km to go: Lorena Wiebes is placed close to the front of the peloton, which will be unwanted news from anyone not associated with her SD Worx-Protime team. Markus has a lead of 1min 13sec; head down she’s pushing hard.
29km to go: We’re getting to the business end now. It’s all flat or downhill to the finish at Quai du Mont-Blanc. Riejanne Markus is just over a minute out in front in a solo lead but can the Lidl-Trek rider stay in front of the pack?
32km to go: Océane Mahé will wear the polka dots again tomorrow – her eight points overall put her ahead of the big points-gatherers of today: Anouska Koster (seven) and Ema Comte (six) in the QoM stakes. Great news for Mahé’s Ma Petite Entreprise team.
One fan/chump almost gets in the way of peloton as he leans into the road and mugs for the TV cameras, almost getting in the way of the riders. Thankfully they just about steer clear.
35km to go: Riejanne Markus has a 50-second lead on the peloton, which is lead by Paula Blasi. Comte has dropped back after a great effort today. The pack aren’t really trying to chase down Markus (yet).
37km to go: Now it’s Riejanne Markus who makes an attempt a solo break! The Dutch rider overtakes Comte and jumps into the lead. Can she pull away?
Jez Smith emails: “I’m appreciating your updates as I wait with my parents, wife and son for the race to pass. We are at Bellevue, a pretty lakeside village about 5km from the finish.
“It’s 34C here and feels really hot just standing still by the roadside. The riders are doing tremendously well, given the heat. The publicity caravan was a lot of fun. I got my son a laughing cow and king of the mountains T-shirts. Though I suspect I was an embarrassing father to my too cool for skool son Rufus!”
That is certainly pretty toasty, Jez. Now I want a laughing cow T-shirt.
39km to go: Ema Comte takes a turn at going on the offensive. The French rider pulls away for an attempted solo break! There’s no more official climbs but it’s hardly flat, a couple of hills still to come.
41km to go: So Gery, Berton and Amanda Spratt have joined the breakaway group – but they’re unable to pull away from the peloton who are looming ominously behind them! Nina Berton makes another push to build a real gap.
47km to go: Célia Gery goes on the attack! She’s pulled away from the peloton and Nina Berton is going with her.
At the summit of the fifth and final climb, Koster takes the three points again, Comte in second and then Jansen. The exact same order as the fourth.
48km to go: The gap to the breakaway group is under 40 seconds – but they are on the fifth climb. Biriukova has fallen back and been caught by the pack.
“All of Mauritius watching Kim and rooting for her,” emails Marc Hein, Le Court of course starting this stage second.
50km to go: The peloton, about 30 riders in number, is tackling the climb. A brutal one in 30C+ temperatures!
The gap to the breakaway five is 1min 20sec, who are approaching the fifth and final classified climb: Côte de Monts-sur-Rolles, 2.3km at a 6.5% gradient.
52km to go: The breakaway sprint for the summit – and it’s Anouska Koster who times it right this time to pick up three points, Ema Comte is next followed by Eline Jansen in third. The peloton are eating into the lead of the breakaway but let’s see how it plays out after this climb. We have a fast descent to come next.
53km to go: On to the fourth classified climb, Côte de Bougy-Villars. It’s only 900m but it’s a narrow road and steep (with a 10.4% gradient) – the peloton will have to spread out a bit.
55km to go: Wiebes leads the peloton across the line – she’s said she’s not aiming for the green jersey. But you never know. The gap is 2min 50sec to the breakaway but is coming down a bit now.
57km to go: Yuliia Biriukova takes the 25 points (no bonus seconds on offer) for the intermediate sprint. Jansen, Cipressi, Comte and Koster follow her. The Ukrainian Biriukova wasn’t really challenged; the five riders in the breakaway obviously not wanting to disrupt the pace of their group as they look to increase their gap on the chasing pack.
60km to go: The intermediate sprint in Lavigny is imminent – 500 metres to go …
63km to go: We’ve had some race abandonments, alas – three from Lotto Intermarché Ladies. Elisabeth Ebras, Marieke Meert and Sterre Vervloet are all gone, which is a real shame. You have to hope that’s not the sign of an illness going through the team. Laura Molenaar of Volkerwessels has also withdrawn.
66km to go: The gap to the breakaway five at the front is just under two minutes. The average speed for the second hour of stage two is 38.8km/h, which is brisk enough.
Plenty of bumps to come – we’ve got some undulating road before the next official climb: Côte de Bougy-Villars, which is short but very steep.
71km to go: This “flat” stage certainly does look pretty hilly to my non-expert eyes. Merciless, the Tour, even in these early stages.
Confirmation that Ema Comte picked up two points for being first across the line on today’s third climb, pipping Anouska Koster who picks up a point for second.
73km to go: A reminder that the five-rider breakaway (now up to 2min 20sec) is Eline Jansen, Yuliia Biriukova, Carlotta Cipressi, Anouska Koster and Ema Comte.
The last two contest the sprint at the at the summit of the Côte de Cossonay. Did Comte just nick it ahead of Koster? TBC, it was very close. We await confirmation.
77km to go: The gap from those breakaway riders to the pack is up to two minutes. We’re past halfway through the stage and the Côte de Cossonay is about to begin – the third of today’s climbs with a 5.66% gradient.
“If she sees a finish line, she explodes,” warns Danny Stam, team manager of SD Worx‑Protime, of his star sprinter Lorena Wiebes. But he’s realistic about the aim of a second successive stage win. “It’s really hard to control the race. I don’t want to build the team too early … we hope we can create a bunch sprint but it will not be easy.”
84km to go: We’re going through Assens – downhill with a way to go before the next climb: the category four Côte de Cossonay midway through the stage. Océane Mahé is back up with the peloton. Good to see.
89km to go: Eline Jansen, Yuliia Biriukova and Carlotta Cipressi are the trio of riders leading a breakaway – Ema Comte and Anouska Koster are aiming to stay with them. One minute and seven seconds is the gap to the peloton.
A spectacular view for these two Tour fans in Chexbres – known as the “Balcony of Lake Geneva”. You can see why.
95km to go: The pack still very much together, although Mahé is now around 40 second back in the polka dots … As I type that Eline Jansen goes on the attack! The young Dutch rider is attempting to make the day’s first decisive break. Who will go with her?
Jeremy Boyce emails, in praise of Ma Petite Entreprise – well said. It was a great story from stage one.
“Had a lovely ride myself this morning (need to get out early, I live in the south of France, it’s 36C now), now following the women on Eurosport and your pages. How great a concept is Team Ma Petite Entreprise?
“It takes vision to come up with that kind of idea, then the energy to make it work. As you say, their Tour is already made after yesterday, they can enjoy themselves now. They’ve just interviewed the MPE Race manager and he comes across as a very switched on guy, he was very complimentary about Océane Mahé, she’s still studying alongside her MPE rides.
“I wish them luck, I wish the Tour Femmes luck too, if the dosh was there MPE might not exist, but they’ve done a great job creating LTF in its new/current format. A lot of this is down to Marion Rousse, and the willingness of Le Tour management to get behind her and the rest of the women.”
100km to go: The second climb of the day is won by Marion Bunel, ahead of Maëva Squiban. A few more contenders for the QoM. In other news, Lorena Wiebes in the yellow jersey has managed to stay with the peloton in the hills, which could be bad news for her rival sprinters. We shall see! This race is rarely predictable.
105km to go: We’re on to the second climb, the category four Côte de Savigny – the pace remains pretty high, any attempted breakaways still being swallowed up. Océane Mahé in polka-dot jersey has dropped back, however. Possibly paying for yesterday’s immense effort.
108km to go: The average speed is 38.6kph for the first hour. Not too slouchy, all things considered, on a hot day. So Kerbaol picks up three points for that first climb, the EF Education-Oatly rider might be targeting the Queen of the Mountains jersey.
111km to go: I told you what a tightly packed peloton it was in the early going – as you can see for yourself.
That said, it’s starting to spread out a bit now, with Cédrine Kerbaol first to the top of the opening climb on Côte de Chexbres, followed by Puck Pieterse in second and Sara Casasola in third.
A reminder that while scenic Switzerland is home for the entirety of this stage, next year the Grand Départ for both the men’s and women’s race is the UK.
The Tour de France Femmes races from Leeds to Manchester, then to Sheffield and also includes a central London stage. Allez! Or as we say in Blighty: go!
115km to go: We’re into the hills now, the first of the five climbs well under way as the riders head up to the summit of the Côte de Chexbres (3.2km at a 5.6% gradient). We’re in the hills for the next 70km or so.
117km to go: Several more attacks, Alison Jackson pushing again and Idoia Eraso (wearing the green jersey) also involved in a few moves. But once again; nothing decisive. It’s all still very tight in Vevey.
France’s Océane Mahé is wearing the polka dot Queen of the Mountains jersey today. An incredible result for the Ma Petite Entreprise team, who will be delighted – their Tour made on stage one, in fact!
125km to go: Still very few gaps in the peloton. Alison Jackson is part of a group that eke out a small opening, but the Canadian and her compadres are soon caught up. No major moves as yet!
Lorena Wiebes on her win yesterday: “The sprint was hectic and it was mostly about staying upright. The last kilometres were a real fight for position and quite technical along the canal. In a sprint you can never be sure, you have to find the right gap …
“I got in a good position and from there I could ride my own sprint. It’s nice to already have a stage in my pocket. I hope to be able to strike again.”
Ominous words! Let’s see if Wiebes can indeed strike a second time – you wouldn’t bet against her if she’s lurking at the finish.
135km to go: The pack largely together in the early going – despite a few moves – nothing decisive so far. We’re still around 15km from the first climb.
A quick reminder of what happened on stage one as today’s action gets properly under way. Jeremy Whittle was on the scene for us in Lausanne.
Lorena Wiebes took the first yellow jersey of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes after climbing the Côte Saint-François and outsprinting race favourites Kim Le Court and 2023 champion, Demi Vollering.
“The team worked super hard today,” Wiebes said. “When Demi attacked, I knew I had to follow. It was a long sprint, but I’m super happy.”
It was the Dutch rider’s sixth stage win in the Tour de France Femmes. The 27-year-old also won the opening stage of the 2026 women’s Giro d’Italia in May but was disqualified because her bike had an illegal weight, an outcome which left her team considering legal action against cycling’s governing body, the UCI.
So at a tick before 1.30pm (BST) the racing begins! The 143 riders are officially in competitive action in Switzerland.
Top 10 GC after stage one
1) Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) 3hrs 29min 01sec
2) Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) +0:04sec
3) Demi Vollering (FDJ United–Suez) +0:06sec
4) Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) +0:10sec
5) Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) +0:10sec
6) Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’Imad) +0:10sec
7) Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) +0:10sec
8) Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) +0:10sec
9) Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) +0:10sec
10) Marlen Reusser (Movistar) +0:10sec
How the riders shape up after stage one. You might not think it matters too much in GC terms, but a reminder that Vollering lost the 2024 Tour de France Femmes by just four seconds. So every small advantage counts.
Preamble
Welcome to stage two of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes – Aigle to Geneva – and officially categorised as flat but containing five categorised climbs on the route. Just cruel if you ask me. That said, the final climb is more than 40km from the finish, so we’re likely in for a bunch sprint.
That, of course, could play into the hands of one Lorena Wiebes – your race leader after her victory on stage one. The Dutch sprinting ace finished ahead of Kim Le Court and the pre-race GC favourite Demi Vollering, who are second and third respectively after a dramatic day.
Stage two is 147.9km and the route passes close by the UCI headquarters and the World Cycling Centre, then heads along Lake Geneva, before the finish on Quai du Mont-Blanc. It should look wonderfully picturesque. For us, if not for all of the riders toiling away in the heat. The first climb comes about 30km in with the Côte de Chexbres.
The neutralised start is at 1.20pm (2.20pm CET) before they reach kilometre zero and the racing begins. Stay with us for updates!
