Lorena Wiebes wins Tour de France Femmes opener in Lausanne, takes first yellow jersey

Wiebes conquers the Côte de Saint-François

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) opened the 2026 Tour de France Femmes with a commanding sprint victory on the uphill finish of the Côte de Saint-François in Lausanne. The 27-year-old Dutch rider covered the 138 km stage in 3 hours 29 minutes 11 seconds, beating Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) to the line. It was her sixth career stage win at the Tour and her 14th victory of the season.

It was a long sprint that required a big effort. I held on in the steepest gradients of the final climb, 1,500 metres from the finish. And in the last kilometre I convinced myself I could do it.

Favourites mark each other

Only 10 riders finished on the same time as Wiebes, forming an elite group that included several overall contenders. Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) crossed eighth, 2024 winner Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) was seventh, and Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) took sixth. Demi Vollering, the 2023 champion, collected four bonus seconds for third place, giving her an early edge among the GC favourites. Ferrand-Prévot, who has said she focuses on one objective a year, told local media that the Tour is that goal.

I only think about one objective a year, and this is the Tour.

Blasi takes white amid team tension

Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) finished 12th, eight seconds behind the winner, and pulled on the white jersey as best young rider. The Spanish rider, winner of the Vuelta a España, had been assigned a domestique role for her team's designated leaders, Dominika Wlodarczyk and Elisa Longo Borghini. Blasi was seen fetching water bottles during the stage, a task usually reserved for support riders, underlining her subordinate status within the squad.

Wlodarczyk crash reshuffles UAE hierarchy

UAE's plans unravelled in the final kilometre when Wlodarczyk crashed 1,300 metres from the line. Because the finish was classified as a fourth-category climb, the crash did not fall within the protected zone that applies to flat stages, and she lost 37 seconds. After one day, the Polish rider trails Blasi by 29 seconds, complicating the team's leadership structure.

Crashes and time losses

Marlen Reusser (Movistar) hit the ground with 22 km remaining on a descent but was paced back by teammates Francesca Barale, Sara Martín and Tota Magalhäes, finishing in the front group. Other pre-race favourites lost ground: Niamh Fisher-Black conceded five seconds, Anna van der Breggen and Marianne Vos gave up eight seconds, and Lotte Kopecky, second overall in 2023, lost 1 minute 5 seconds, effectively ending her general classification ambitions.

What comes next

The Tour continues on Sunday with stage 2, a 138 km route from Aigle, the headquarters of the UCI, to Geneva. With the first skirmishes already reshaping team hierarchies, the race remains wide open.