The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift started in Switzerland on a rolling route around Lausanne, with Thalita de Jong racing to 21st place on the hilly finale to the 138 km stage.
The team’s XXRAY SpongeBob SquarePants-inspired Factor ONE aero bikes dominated much of the morning’s discourse at the start paddock, turning many heads to see the stunning custom paint jobs.
It was then to the racing. After a day-long breakaway, the crux of the stage was the 2.6 km at 4.6% final Ouchy climb. Having been positioned by her teammates, De Jong followed multiple attacks on the ramp, rolling over the line in 21st place, 16 seconds behind stage winner Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime).
“Well, the finish was quite hard, quite spicy, let’s say,” the 32-year-old said afterwards. “That was expected after a whole day with the breakaway in front.”
De Jong was positioned expertly inside the finale but was dogged with a hand of bad luck as the group bulked.
“I had some help from Marit and especially Lily in the last chase,” she explains. “She brought me right up to the front. With one kilometer to go, someone crashed into my wheel in the back, which scrubbed some momentum.”
With a start list that reflects the fact this is the biggest race in the world, de Jong was then in the fight for the first Maillot Jaune of the week.
“Unfortunately, my legs exploded when I needed to stand up, but this is normal because the toppers [a Dutch colloquialism for the race favorites] went all out, and I just could not stand up anymore. So it is what it is, but we did our best, and I think we had a good start with the team. We rode well together, and I think that’s what’s most important.”
Tomorrow’s stage 2 starts at the UCI headquarters in Aigle and winds through the Swiss hills. Though five small climbs pepper the day, the final 40 km are flat, suiting the sprinters.
