As it happened: Late drama on the line for stage 1 of the Tour de France Femmes 2025

Bonjour and welcome to our live page for the opening stage of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes.

Today's stage is 78.8km long starting in Vannes and finishing with an uphill kicker to the line in Plumelec. The riders have already signed on and are ready to roll in this year's race starting in Brittany.

Last year the race was loaded with drama. Especially when the yellow jersey of Demi Vollering went down in a crash and saw her lose the jersey to eventual winner, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.

Niewiadoma-Phinney was pushed all the way by Vollering and held on by just 4" over Vollering and 10" over Pauliena Rooijakkers.

Just over half an hour until the official race start but roughly 15 minutes to the neutral start in Vannes with huge crowds out to see the race.

The stage today is meant to be short and sharp with just two hours of racing expected today.

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) will definitely be an interesting rider to watch at this race.

She came back to road racing with this race as her main focus, but is she capable to beat the likes of Vollering, Reusser, Niewiadoma-Phinney, Van der Breggen and the rest in the GC fight?

Five minutes from the start.

Neutral start

The riders start the neutralised zone and the first stage of the Tour de France Femmes 2025.

Early mechanical for Aude Biannic (Movistar) in the neutral, this might delay the start.

Crash!

Several riders down including Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez). Everyone looks to be back on their feet and waiting for bikes. We haven't reached kilometre zere yet.

Daniek Hengeveld (Ceratizit) is off the back and the last rider on the road. This means that the riders will stop at KM0 and it will be a standing start.

After the crash, Labous is changing her helmet.

78.8km to go

Immediately the attacks come from Laboral Kutxa launching first.

The lone attacker is Laura Tomasi of Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi.

VolkerWessels now sending one of their riders on the attack to try and join Tomasi.

Maud Rijnbeek (VolkerWessels) is the chaser and is slowly closing the gap to Tomasi.

Rijnbeek joins Tomasi but they only have 13" on the peloton led by UAE Team ADQ, Visma-Lease a Bike and FDJ-Suez.

70km to go

Rijnbeek and Tomasi have around 20" on the peloton that sees all the main GC teams on the front spread across the road.

The gap jumps up to almost 40" between the two rider break and the peloton. Just around 20km until the first QoM of the day.

The first climb of the day is the category 4 climb of the Côte de Botségalo which has 2 and 1 point(s) available. The only other climb comes much later on the 2nd ascent of the Côte de Cadoudal, which is also the finish climb.

Rijnbeek goes solo with 55km to go as Tomasi is distanced. She is now riding hard for the QoM points.

Tomasi has been caught by the peloton. Just 28" up to Rijnbeek.

Almost onto the first climb of the Tour de France Femmes 2025, the Côte de Botségalo, goes Rijnbeek.

Extremely technical and crowded roads at the base of this climb.

50km to go

Rijnbeek is going to take the first QoM points with a 25" gap on the bunch.

QoM (Côte de Botségalo)

1. Maud Rijnbeek (NED) VolkerWessels 2pts
2. Imogen Wolff (GBR) Visma-Lease a Bike 1pt

Caught

Rijnbeek is caught and it is all together again with 45km to go.

Some riders just off the back as the race is stretched out a bit with 18km to the first Intermediate Sprint of the race.

Peloton led by SD Worx-Protime, Visma-Lease a Bike, EF Education-Oatly, FDJ-Suez and UAE Team ADQ.

40km to go

The pace is quite high on these narrow country lanes. But the racing hasn't brought any excitement. Tomasi and Rijnbeek attacking is the only bit of action the race has seen so far.

However, once they go onto the circuit, the racing is likely to become far more selective.

Crash!

A handful of riders down including Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) and a few from Winspace-Orange-Seal among others.

All back riding again after that spill. Just 10km to the intermediate sprint.

Fenix-Deceuninck also now joins the teams on the front as Flora Perkins works hard for Puck Pieterse, who has a great chance today.

Average speed so far, 41.07kph.

Some riders starting to be dropped with Elena Hartmann (Ceratizit) unable to follow the wheels as they go through the feed zone.

First look at the new British national champion's jersey, Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck), as she hits the front of the peloton.

Just 4km to the intermediate sprint.

The riders are now onto the finishing circuit around Plumelec.

The pace is extremely high now as multiple teams are flat out to keep their leaders and sprinters well positioned and safe.

Crash!

Liane Lippert (Movistar) goes down with Marlen Reusser also involved for Movistar. Mavi Garci (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) also involved. All back riding.

Garcia had a very long wait for her spare bike. She will be a long way out of the back now with 28km to go. Just 1km to go to the intermediate sprint.

Intermediate sprint (Plumelec, Côte de Cadoudal)

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) takes the maximum points of 25pts with Franzi Koch (Picnic-PostNL) getting 20pts in 2nd.

Koch went straight over the top but that isn't allowed to go anywhere.

Attack by Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) and Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike) but they are brought back by Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) and Wiebes.

Marlen Reusser (Movistar) is well off the back with the broom wagon and is likely to leave the race when she gets to the team buses.

Quite a large group off the back including Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez).

20km to go

Francesca Barale (Picnic-PostNL) has launched a solo attack.

Barale has now been dragged back again by the peloton with 16km to go.

Big GC news is that Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) are off the back by around a minute in the group of around 35 riders.

Onto the Côte de Cadoudal for the penultimate time today with 3, 2 and 1 point(s) available in the QoM battle as French champion, Marie Le Net (FDJ-Suez) is dropped after working very hard for Demi Vollering.

Multiple attacks going off the front with Aline Jansen (VolkerWessels), Franzi Koch and many others all looking to get away and get some points.

QoM (Côte de Cadoudal)

1. Elise Chabbey (SUI) FDJ-Suez 3pts
2. Eline Jansen (NED) VolkerWessels 2pts
3. Silke Smulder (NED) Liv-AlUla-Jayco 1pt

Chabbey will wear the polka dot jersey tomorrow.

Attack!

Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ)
Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-SRAM-ZondaCrypto)
Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez)
Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels)
Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck)
And a rider from Visma-Lease a Bike.

They are being chased down frantically with Włodarczyk going solo now as the rest are caught.

Abandon

Marlen Reusser (Movistar)

That is devastating for one of the biggest stars of the year. But she just didn't recover from the illness she got at the Giro d'Italia Women a couple of weeks ago.

10km to go

EF Education-Oatly and SD Worx-Protime work together to drag Włodarczyk back.

Koch attacks yet again in the German national champions jersey. She sprints out of the bunch and no-one can follow.

Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ) is left to do the chasing alongside Vas.

Franziska Koch has been extremely aggressive since they reached the finishing circuit.

Inside 6km to go and Visma-Lease a Bike come to the front en masse for Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot with Lidl-Trek and Liv-AlUla-Jayco battling them for control.

It appears that Wiebes is working for world champion, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime).

5km to go

Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Team ADQ lead the peloton at extremely high speed.

Visma-Lease a Bike have taken full control of the peloton now for Vos. Even Ferrand-Prevot is getting involved in the leadout for the greatest of all time, Vos. 3km to go.

Elisa Longo-Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) is just a bit far back in the peloton and not with her team but she manages to move through the bunch like it was nothing and is now perfectly placed with 2km to go.

Visma-Lease a Bike lad onto the Côte de Cadoudal for the final time but several favourites are ready and waiting to launch.

Flamme Rouge!

Lucinda Brand of Lidl-Trek hits the front for Elisa Balsamo. She doesn't last long as Visma-Lease a Bike comes back to the front for Vos.

500 metres to go and Ferrand-Prevot leads Balsamo, Vos and the rest. Wiebes is still there.

Attack!

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot goes hard and no-one can follow! Anna van der Breggen chases but she is growing the gap with 300 metres to go.

Marianne Vos of Visma-Lease a Bike wins stage one of the Tour de France Femmes 2025 ahead of Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Vos' teammate, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot in third.

Le Court was closing in on Ferrand-Prevot rapidly with Vos on the whel.

Vos tried her best to let her teammate take it but Le Court was coming with too much speed so Vos took the stage and yellow for Visma-Lease a Bike.

Stage one top 10

1. Marianne Vos (NED) Visma-Lease a Bike 1:53'03"
2. Kim Le Court (MAU) AG Insurance-Soudal +4"
3. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (FRA) Visma-Lease a Bike +6"
4. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (POL) Canyon-SRAM-ZondaCrypto +10"
5. Demi Vollering (NED) FDJ-Suez +13"
6. Puck Pieterse (NED) Fenix-Deceuninck +15"
7. Anna van der Breggen (NED) SD Worx-Protime
8. Eline Jansen (NED) VolkerWessels
9. Pauliena Rooijakkers (NED) Fenix-Deceuninck
10. Pfeiffer Georgi (GBR) Picnic-PostNL all S.T.

Big GC news is that Elisa Longo-Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) lost 52", Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) lost 1'04", Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) lost 1'33", Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike) lost 3'40" and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM-ZondaCrypto) lost 4'06".