Wiebes wins on the Champs Elysees as the Women’s Tour returns, #Wiebes #wins #Champs #Elysees #womens #Tour #returns Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
PARIS (AP) — Lorena Wiebes of the Netherlands sprinted to victory on Sunday in the first stage of the women’s Tour de France, returning after a 33-year absence.
The Team DSM rider struck in the last 150 meters of the 82-kilometer circuit in Paris, beating former Olympic champion Marianne Vos to the finish on the Champs-Elysees.
Wiebes slapped the air to celebrate.
Tour of Flanders champion Lotte Kopecky came in third.
It is the first women’s edition of the Tour de France since 1989. Tour de France organizer Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) previously hosted La Course, a one-day race in Paris that coincided with the Men’s Tour.
The first leg started from the Eiffel Tower and finished on the iconic avenue just hours before the end of the men’s race.
The “Tour de France Femmes” ends on July 31 in the east of France in La Super Planche des Belles Filles, a spectacular uphill finish often visited by the Men’s Tour.
The eight-stage race should become a permanent fixture on the cycling calendar of the women’s world tour. A Tour stage race took place from 1984 to 1989, parallel to the men’s edition, only to be shortened later. Several other versions were tried, but they were mostly underfunded.
Online fitness platform Zwift has signed on with a four-year sponsorship after riders argued for years for a women’s version of the race. Some rode every leg of the men’s race to raise awareness of the issue until ASO announced the new event.
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