The final stage from Lure to La Super Planche des Belles Filles took the riders over three categorised climbs. Shortly after the top of the first climb, Markus and twelve other riders managed to break away. The group took a two-minute lead, but the group of favourites reeled them in on the Super Planche. Markus passed the finish line in sixteenth place, just behind winner Annemiek van Vleuten.
“I’m really happy with how it went today. I wanted to be in the breakaway, but I didn’t expect it would work. It is always tough to do something like that”, the Dutch road cycling champion said. “We rode away at a very difficult moment in the race. We had just reached the top of the first climb when a group broke away. The cooperation was not perfect, but fortunately, we could stay ahead for a while.”
On the steep final climb, it was every rider for herself, Markus said. “I tried to ride my own pace to see where it would take me. I’m delighted that I moved up one place in the general classification. I hadn’t expected anywhere near the twelfth place, so I am very happy. The first six days were fantastic and adding these two days as a bonus is super cool.”
Vos secured the green jersey in the final stage and looked back on the Tour de Femmes’ first edition with pride. “It was an incredibly beautiful week. As a team, we wanted to win a stage and succeeded twice. As a bonus, we were able to ride in yellow for five days and take the green jersey, which makes me very happy. I am grateful to the whole team for helping me so much every day. I could not have wished for a better first edition of the Tour.”