Stage 1: The Yellow Jersey, the Nerves and simply...the MAGIC of the Tour !
Lausanne delivered today. Properly.
There was something in the air from the moment we arrived...crowds three-deep along the barriers, fans gathered around the team buses hours before the start, the kind of atmosphere that reminds you this race means something now. Not just to us. To a lot of people.
We said it from the start...today was more than a sprint stage.
Stage 1 was never going to be straightforward, whatever the road-book said. The course was hillier than expected, and the question everyone was asking from the gun: could Lorena Wiebes make it over the climbs and still have the legs to sprint?
Personally, I never doubted her.
After the Giro d'Italia Women - where she crossed the line first, only to lose the stage and the pink jersey because her bike was found to be under the minimum weight - she had every reason to arrive here with something to prove. An altitude camp over the winter and a very motivated SD Worx-Protime team around her told you everything about where her head was at.
All images by photographer: Jess Meniere
The opening kilometres were exactly what you'd expect from Stage 1 of a Grand Tour. Nervous. Scrappy. The breakaway took longer than usual to establish itself, and I was surprised by how much rope the peloton gave them ... I personally expected the sprint teams to be more aggressive from the start.
Then the road tilted up, and everything changed. FDJ-SUEZ raised the pace, the gap evaporated in minutes, and suddenly riders were being shelled. A few crashes made things even more stressful - Marlen Reusser and Isabella Holmgren both got caught up - but by the time the road flattened out again, the bunch had come back together.
AG Insurance–Soudal had clearly done their homework. Kim Le Court was alert all day, never caught out of position — and Laetitia Paternoster and Shari Bossuyt both emptied themselves on the front to keep her safe. It was impressive, cohesive racing.
If anything, though, I think they may have spent just a little too much, a little too soon.
When the pace stalled in the final few hundred metres, everyone hesitated for a fraction of a second. Lorena didn't. She read it perfectly, timed her launch to the metre, and by the time anyone reacted she was already gone. Kim held on for second, but there was no catching that acceleration.
It was exactly the kind of win she needed.
My highlight of the day:
The racing was brilliant. But honestly, what I keep thinking about is what happened after Lorena crossed the line.
The crowds didn't leave. They stayed, they cheered, they banged on the barriers for every single rider (not just the podium finishers)... all the way to the very last wheel over the line. That's something you don't always see in sport. Every rider celebrated. Every effort acknowledged.
That's what makes this race feel different.
It's why we're here - not just to follow the results, but to try and bring you inside it. The atmosphere, the people, the stories that don't make the broadcast.
Watch my reel on what Follow the Femmes is all about 👇
Tomorrow, Stage 2. We'll be back to do it all over again!
— Ashleigh
Dress for the Conditions
One of the biggest surprises for new cycling fans is how often riders change what they're wearing. A race can start in cool mountain air and finish in scorching heat. Riders often begin with arm warmers, gilets or rain jackets, then remove layers as temperatures rise.
The trick isn't staying warm - it's staying at the right temperature without overheating.
Takeaway: Dress for the whole ride, not just the weather at the start.
All images by photographer: Jess Meniere
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