"Going too early is dangerous" - Lorena Wiebes wins Tour de France Femmes sprint but admits mistake

Lorena Wiebes was the woman to beat in Poitiers this afternoon at the Tour de France Femmes but she did not disappoint. However pressure did get to the European Champion who admits having made a mistake in the final sprint - but one that wasn't enough to see Marianne Vos be able to beat her.

"Very nice, I'm happy it worked out again. The team did a good job. Anna and Lotte did a good leadout, and after that, I had to find my own way," Wiebes said in a post-race interview. "That went well, but quite chaotic. I had to start the sprint early again because I was afraid of being boxed in".

The fourth day of the race proved to be more complicated than expected for Team SD Worx - ProTime. After winning stage 3 the pressure was not as much in the shoulders of Wiebes, but the two-rider breakaway proved itself harder to chase down then expected. Ana Vitória Magalhães and Franziska Koch put in a stellar effort and were only caught in the final kilometers, which essentially cost SD Worx it's leadout. 

Lotte Kopecky and Anna van der Breggen still did some strong work but only enough to cover Wiebes from the wind, not deliver her in pole position for the sprint. There, the Dutchwoman had to launch her sprint from far with Marianne Vos straight on her wheel.

"You could see the finish line for a long time; there were still 500 meters left. It was all quite chaotic because no one had a full leadout," she admits. However it was enough still for her to conquer the stage, raising her arms for a second time in glory.

"Then I felt them coming on the right and was able to find my way out. Going too early is dangerous. It was a bit early, but early enough to hold". Wiebes, with this result, consolidated her lead in the points classification whilst simultaneously moving up to second in the overall classification.