Mere

Dominant Lorena Wiebes storms to stage four win at Tour de France Femmes

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Lorena Wiebes celebrates win
Lorena Wiebes celebrates winJULIEN DE ROSA / AFP
Lorena Wiebes stormed to her second consecutive stage victory at the Tour de France Femmes on Tuesday, winning the fourth leg with a dominant sprint finish.

The Dutch rider from Team SD Worx launched her move around 250 metres from the line and proved untouchable, sealing another emphatic stage victory. Fellow Dutch rider Marianne Vos took second place, with Ireland’s Lara Gillespie finishing third.

The largely flat 130.7-km stage from Saumur to Poitiers saw the peloton remain tightly packed until the closing stretch before a showdown amongst the sprinters.

Wiebes timed her effort perfectly, leaving her rivals unable to respond before it was too late.

She also triumphed in a chaotic sprint on Monday and now sits second overall, trailing Vos, who retains the yellow jersey.

"Very nice, I'm happy it worked out again," Wiebes said.

"That went well, but quite chaotic. I had to start the sprint early again because I was afraid of being boxed in."

Vos, who tried to edge past Wiebes in the final metres, conceded it had been too much of an ask.

"Nice to get close – but Lorena was very fast," Vos said.

"It’s nice (to still be in the yellow jersey), we knew it would be chaotic, not only in the final... the whole stage was pretty tough, so thanks to the team."