Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility) skirted disaster and sprinted to second place in the opening stage at the Tour de France Femmes after a touch of wheels left Lorena Wiebes' (SD Worx-Protime) bike without a derailleur and a hanging chain unable to sprint in The Hague.
The Finnish Champion sprinted to second behind stage winner Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and is now positioned second overall and, at just 20 years old, is also leading the young rider competition.
While she was pleased with her results on the day, she spoke about the hectic nature of the final sprint and how her front wheel accidentally touched Wiebes' back wheel with 500 metres to go, just as Wiebes' drifted to the right side of the road, ending the Dutch rider's chance to sprint for a potential stage win.
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"I think it was me who somehow touched her back wheel. I think I rode into her derailleur, so something went wrong with her gear and chain. For sure, she was one of and maybe even the fastest in the bunch, so things could have been different," Ahtosalo said at the finish line.
SD Worx-Protime executed their lead-out to perfection, and Wiebes was in a position to sprint just before the touch of wheels with Ahtosalo caused the mechanical.
Ahtosalo was able to manoeuvre around Wiebes and continue her sprint, and while Kool had already gained a bike length on the run-in to the finish line, she sprinted in for second place on the day.
"I was right behind her, but it was alright," she said. "I could get passed. I was far enough in the front that it didn't cause any danger. I think it was me touching her derailleur. I was a bit surprised that I was so far up."
She thanked her Uno-X teammates, particularly Maria Confalonieri, for her initial lead-out into the final of the 123km race from Rotterdam to The Hague.
"Today, we thought it was a good chance for me and to get the young rider's jersey. Maria has good stages coming up for her; she's in really good shape, so we are looking to ride for her in the harder stages," Ahtosalo said.
"It went better than I expected, so I'm happy with it. It got hectic but it's the type of final that I like. We nailed the lead-out. It was the best I could do with the win going away, but I'm happy with the lead-out."
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