German über-sprinter takes 21st victory of the season as Annemiek Van Vleuten seizes the race lead
Ina Teutenberg (HTC-Columbia) took her 21st win of the season so far with victory in the first stage of the Route de France, between Guincamp and Locmine. The 35-year-old German outsprinted Italian Giorgia Bronzini (Gauss-RDZ-Ormu) and Dutchwoman Annemiek Van Vleuten (Nederland Bloeit) at the end of the 116.4km stage.
"I wanted to lead out Adrie [Visser, her HTC-Columbia teammate], for the sprint but I actually went too hard with 300 metres go and we lost contact," Teutenberg said after the stage. "I ended up closing a gap on some other riders, and then could hold off Bronzini to get the win. It was a pretty flat finish, fairly straightforward, but I didn't feel too great doing the sprint. The sprint hurt a lot more than it usually does. I haven't raced since the Giro [in early July] and I was suffering a lot on that last hill. I was about to get dropped."
The stage was dominated by a number of attacks, including a solo effort from French champion Mélodie Lesueur (ESGL 93-GSD Gestion) that earned her the most aggressive rider award. None was able to stick though, with the most powerful teams of the race wanting it to finish in a sprint.
One final attack on the final climb before the finish was neutralised by Teutenberg’s HTC-Columbia teammate Judith Arndt, before the fast dash to the line.
After finishing yesterday’s prologue just a fraction of a second slower than winner Sarah Düster (Cervélo TestTeam), 4 seconds bonus for third place on the line gave Van Vleuten the orange race leader’s jersey.
Tomorrow’s stage will cover 129km between Saint-Fort and Lavare.
Result stage 1
1. Ina Teutenberg (Ger) HTC-Columbia
2. Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Gauss-RDZ-Ormu
3. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
4. Monia Baccaille (Ita) Team Valdarno
5. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
6. Adrie Visser (Ned) HTC-Columbia
7. Elizabeth Armitstead (GBr) Cervélo TestTeam
8. Rasa Leleivyte (Ltu) Safi-Pasta Zara
9. Kirsty Broun (Aus) Australian National Team
10. Martine Bras (Ned) Guass-RDZ-Ormu
Standings after stage 1
1. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
2. Sarah Düster (Ger) Cervélo TestTeam @ 4s
3. Olga Zabelinskaya (Rus) Safi-Pasta Zara @ 11s
4. Judith Arndt (Ger) HTC-Columbia @ 13s
5. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit @ 15s