Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx-Protime) has today claimed the opening stage, and first yellow jersey, of Tour de France Femmes 2023 after a clinical attack on a climb with 10km to go. Once the Belgian champion got clear - powering away from the remains of the peloton on the last section of the climb - she put her head down and drove all the way to the finish.
By the time she took the chequered flag she still had 41 seconds on the chasing group, which was led home by her team mate, and European champion, Lorena Wiebes. Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich), who may challenge Wiebes in the sprint finishes in the week ahead, came through with a late charge for 3rd, relegating Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo-Visma) to 4th.
That trio was two seconds up on the next section of the group, numbering 18 riders, with the rest of the field scattered well back the road, such was the damage done by the final climb, the Cote du Durtol. Though that ascent was just 1.7km, averaging 7.1 per cent gradient, it split the field. The speed over the top ensured there was very little regrouping during the frantic 9km run in to the finish.
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Kopecky made her decisive and powerful solo move about 500m from the crest of the climb and the speed she completed the ascent was visibly much faster than the group she left. Once she had jumped clear, the pace ramped up in the group over the top of the ascent, with a select group of about eight riders some 30 seconds behind Kopecky.
However, there was some confusion in that group about whether they should cooperate and drive home their advantage on the riders they had dropped. That ensured Kopecky quickly pulled out an advantage of just over 50 seconds and allowed a second chasing group, of about 10 riders, to catch the eight who were closest to the lone leader.
While Kopecky's advantage came down a little before she reached the finish - after 123.8km of racing starting and finishing in Clermont-Ferrand - she always looked like the stage winner once she had established her gap.
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While the Belgian rider is not a contender for the general classification, as she is not a top climber, she holds the yellow, points and climbers' jerseys after her efforts of today. Tomorrow's stage - some 151.7km from Clermont-Ferrand to Mauriac - is a harder day out.
It features six categorised climbs, including a testing cat 3 - of 3.4km averaging 5.8 per cent gradient - to finish. And that should mean the general classification riders come out to play, with the field expected to split significantly tomorrow.
Ireland was due to have one rider in the race - Megan Armitage of Arkéa Pro Cycling. However, the Offaly woman crashed just days before the race, when she was hit head-on by a bus driver. As she suffered concussion, she was ruled out of the race. That was a major blow for her as she was due to become the first Irish rider ever to compete in the women's Tour.
