Veteran Spanish rider Mavi Garcia claimed victory in a demanding second stage of the Tour de France Femmes on Sunday, attacking solo in the closing kilometres to secure a dramatic win in Quimper after a 110.4km ride from Brest.
The 41-year-old Liv-AlUla-Jayco rider launched her decisive move with 10km remaining, opening a gap of around 20 seconds on the chasing pack.
She held on through the explosive final climb, crossing the line three seconds ahead of her pursuers.
Behind Garcia, Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) sprinted to second place, with Kim Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) of Mauritius finishing third and taking the overall leader’s yellow jersey.
Dutch star Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), who wore the leader’s jersey after winning Saturday’s opening stage, finished fifth and surrendered her overall lead to Le Court Pienaar.
France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prevot took eighth after featuring prominently in the finale for the second day in a row.
The final climb was lit up by attacks from local favourite Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez), the first to surge on the second ascent of the Cote du chemin de Troheir.
Her teammate Demi Vollering, one of the overall favourites, countered with a strong acceleration 5km from the finish, ultimately placing seventh, just behind defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon/SRAM).
The Tour continues on Monday with stage three, featuring more rolling terrain before the mountain battles later in the week.
