About twenty kilometres from the finish line Vos and five other riders escaped from the peloton. The six worked well together and saw their lead on the peloton increase. In the slightly uphill final kilometre, Vos demonstrated her sprinting skills and beat all her breakaway companions.
“This is a beautiful day. I still have to let it all sink in”, Vos said. “It is extraordinary to win a stage in the Tour de France and to take the yellow jersey. We knew it would be difficult to take a stage win here, but I am thrilled it worked out. Now I will try to enjoy it as long as possible.”
Vos thanked her teammates for their work. “We knew we had to be alert and focused all day because of the wind and the narrowing roads. While the team did a perfect lead-out on the Champs Elysées yesterday, I was brought to the intermediate sprint perfectly today. Subsequently, Elisa went on the attack and that was the right moment.”
In the final sprint, Vos did not want to get ahead of herself and count on a win. “I knew there were several fast girls in the group and we had already wasted a lot of energy trying to stay ahead of the peloton. My legs felt okay and all I had to do was stay calm and sprint as well as I could. And luckily, I did.”