Baloise Ladies Tour: Zoe Bäckstedt smashes prologue to claim first leader's jersey

Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) was the fastest in the 3.1km prologue that opened the Baloise Ladies Tour on Wednesday in Yerseke.

The 20-year-old covered the distance with a winning time of 00:04.06, beating Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) and Charlotte Kool (Picnic PostNL) by one second to take the stage win and the event's first leader's jersey.

The Baloise Ladies Tour is a six-stage race held over five days from July 16 to 20. The event kicked off with a 3.1km prologue in Yerseke, treating the peloton to a pan-flat and fast race against the clock to determine the stage winner and first overall leader.

Femke Markus (SD Worx-Protime) set the early benchmark covering the course with a time of 4.11, and only a fraction of a second faster than her teammate Barbara Guarischi.

Other mid-race fast times were posted by Rachele Barbieri (Picnic PostNL), Sophie von Berswordt (Visma-Lease a Bike), Elizabeth Holden (UAE Team ADQ) and Ava Holmgren (Lidl-Trek), all within a second of Markus.

As the time trial progressed, Martina Findaza (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (Lidl-Trek) crossed the finish line with times fast enough to slot into the top 10.

But closer to the end of the event, it was Margaux Vigié (Visma-Lease a Bike), who was the first rider to break through Markus' early benchmark with a new fastest time.

Her time in the hot seat was short-lived, however, as Bäckstedt raced through six seconds faster.

Then came Van Dijk and Kool, Marthe Goossens (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Marie Schreiber (SD Worx-Protime), all slotting in just behind Bäckstedt in the top five.

Bäckstedt will lead the Baloise Ladies Tour into stage 1's 127.2km from Jabbeke to Knokke-Heist on Thursday.

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