Annemiek van Vleuten: "It was such a roller coaster of emotions, to win here now is amazing"

Annemiek van Vleuten has once again proven to be the best in Tour de France Femmes. She rode fabulously on the seventh stage to secure her first stage victory.

She was struggling with stomach problems during the start of the tour, and now, after healing, she has made a remarkable comeback with a stage victory. "It was such a roller coaster of emotions. I was so sick, to win here now is amazing. It's great to finish here solo. Incroyable,” said Van Vleuten.

She had already lost a lot of time in the tour's starting stages, so she decided to recover all the time in this mountain stage with the help of her powerful legs. "I had to try today because I lost time earlier this week. It's my style to always attack and not wait until the final. I explored the stage, and then I saw that the Petit Ballon was tough. After six days of waiting, recovering, and surviving, I wanted to create the biggest difference, and that meant I had to go there. I knew that if I was fit enough, it would be my day,” said Van Vleuten.

She secured the stage victory, and as a bonus, she also took the yellow jersey from Marianne Vos. "Before this Tour I didn't really have a feeling about the yellow jersey, that was more something for the men. But then I saw Marianne Vos riding in it and now I have to say: it is a beautiful one. It is a beautiful extra to this wonderful victory," concluded Van Vleuten. With a lead of more than 3 minutes in GC, she will try to finish the tour in the yellow jersey.