In teh period between the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, the team’s strategy shifted. They decided to prioritize stage victories, which consequently elevated the importance of Wiebes‘ sprinting abilities.
“If we had genuine General Classification (GC) ambitions, we likely wouldn’t have been chasing all day today,” Wiebes explained. “If GC was a priority, we would need to conserve energy for the demanding mountain stages, and that considerably alters our tactics.”
Wiebes added, “Before the decision regarding the GC was finalized, I was aware that my role in this Tour was not to pursue sprint opportunities. Thus, every chance I get now is truly appreciated.”
While SD Worx-Protime may have set aside their aspirations for overall victory in the Tour de France, Van der Breggen remains in seventh place in the general classification, trailing the current leader Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 21 seconds.
Despite a breakaway of four riders securing the maximum points, the intermediate sprint in Vern-d’Anjou saw a contest between Wiebes and Vos. Vos, a previous winner of the Tour de France femmes green jersey in 2022 and 2024, is Wiebes’ closest rival in the points classification.
Although the green jersey is not Wiebes’ primary objective, she is keen to prevent Vos from accumulating more points. “at the intermediate sprint, it wasn’t an all-out sprint. I saw Marianne was about to contest it, so I joined in. We had a relatively short sprint, which was manageable,” Wiebes commented.
With the 13 points earned from the intermediate sprint and the 50 points for winning the stage, Wiebes overtook Vos in the points classification, taking the green jersey. Vos, in turn, claimed the yellow jersey.
Wiebes now leads the points classification with 130 points, ahead of Vos’s 112 points. She is anticipating another sprint opportunity on stage 4.
“I hope the team can recover somewhat for tommorow.If they had to chase for over 100 kilometers with four riders, it will have been a demanding day for them. I know this gives them a lot of motivation to continue their efforts,” Wiebes stated.
