With 258 wins on her palmarès, Tour de France Femmes leader, Marianne Vos, certainly knows how to win bike races, but after taking second place for the second day in a row behind Lorena Wiebes, the Dutchwoman conceded, "I don't think I have seen a sprinter like her before."
It's high praise coming from Vos, who racked up win number 258 in Plumelec on Saturday and is widely considered a living legend among the modern peloton.
Stage 3 to Angers was a show of domination from European champion Wiebes, who hit the front and never looked back, with Vos unable to jump out of her slipstream and everyone else a mile behind.
On stage 4, it was closer, with Vos able to hit the wind and almost pull alongside the double stage winner, but still, her efforts weren't enough, and so the day ended with another second place.
"I don't think I have seen a sprinter like her before – not in the 20 years I've been sprinting," Vos said in the post-race press conference.
"She's hard to beat, and she shows that every time. Of course, you always try. She's nice competition. She's fair, but she's really, really fast and powerful – and eager to win."
Visma-Lease a Bike directeur sportif Jos Van Emden, who told Cyclingnews after stage 3 that Wiebes is "by far the fastest" while conceding she would win again on Tuesday. She did, but it was closer than he expected, he said in Poitiers.
"She came close. Closer than I expected. This shows that she is beatable," Van Emden told Cyclingnews.
"Tomorrow is a bit harder. I don't know exactly what we're going to do, but maybe there are some chances."
Wednesday brings a tougher challenge – a 165.8km run from the Futuroscope theme park to Guéret featuring 2,000 metres of climbing and three categorised climbs inside the final 35km.
The third-category hill at Le Maupuy (2.8km at 5.4%) poses the final test of the day, peaking just 7km from the finish. Would it be a day to drop Lorena Wiebes and win again? Or would it bring some more gaps in the general classification?
Vos and Van Emden gave differing answers, so we'll have to wait and see.
"Riders will get dropped, and I think it will be a nice final to watch, but it's too short and not steep enough to be decisive. It can be decisive for the stage win but not for GC," Van Emden said, adding that he also doesn't expect Wiebes to drop.
Vos, meanwhile, turned the focus to her teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Visma's GC hope, who lies 18 seconds off her own yellow jersey.
"Obviously, with the team we're also here with the goal to get Pauline into the best position," she said. "Until now, she's doing really well, and the team is also doing a good job to keep her in position and keep her safe. That's also an aim.
"I think it's going to be a tough final with some climbs right after each other, it will definitely get in the legs, so I don't think it's just about Lorena Wiebes tomorrow."
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