Competition escalated: Rivals square off during stage 4 of the Tour de France Femmes
Tour de France Femmes 2025: Stage 4 Drama as Wiebes Takes Sprint Victory
The fourth stage of the Tour de France Femmes 2025 was a thrilling affair, with multiple attacks, tactical positioning, and a nail-biting finish in Poitiers.
The stage, characterised by strong winds and crosswinds, began in the town of Saumur and travelled 130.7km on largely flat terrain. The only significant climb of the day came with just under 30km to go on the category four Côte de Marigny (900m at 5.4%).
Two riders, Franziska Koch (GER) Picnic-PostNL and Ana Victoria Magalhães (BRA) Movistar, managed to break away and established a gap of 1'43" on the peloton. However, their lead was short-lived as the peloton, led by Cofidis, Visma-Lease a Bike, Uno-X Mobility, and Picnic-PostNL, began to close the gap.
Meanwhile, Maud Rijnbeek (VolkerWessels) launched an attack and managed to gain a gap of 1'49" on the peloton. But Koch and Magalhães were not far behind, and they soon joined Rijnbeek. The three leaders extended their advantage to 1'42" over the peloton.
The pace was significantly increased by Demi Vollering and her FDJ-Suez team, with multiple teams joining in. The breakaway were still pushing hard to stay away, but they were well in sight of the peloton and the forming lead out trains.
As the race approached the finish, SD Worx-Protime reclaimed almost full control of the peloton. FDJ-Suez were at the front of the bunch but their sprinter Ally Wollaston was at the back of the bunch all on her own.
In the final kilometres, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) made her move and managed to win the bunch sprint in Poitiers, just half a bike ahead of Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike). Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) finished very solidly in third place.
Marianne Vos retained the yellow jersey as the overall race leader after this stage, leading Wiebes by 12 seconds, with Kim Le Court third on the same time. Wiebes also maintained her lead in the green jersey competition with a 40-point lead over Vos.
Franziska Koch was awarded the most combative rider of the day for the second time this race. The stage was marred by a crash involving Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), who was not seriously injured and rejoined the race.
In the QoM (Côte de Marigny), Ana Vitoria Magalhães and Franziska Koch won 2pts and 1pt respectively. EF Education-Oatly, Canyon-SRAM-ZondaCrypto, SD Worx-Protime, Uno-X Mobility, and Lidl-Trek led the peloton, with just 12" up to Koch and Magalhães. The gap up to Magalhães and Koch was now 1'02" ahead of the peloton.
The peloton has almost come back together completely, with the three rider break having 53" on the bunch. 145 riders are starting today after Rebecca Koerner (Uno-X Mobility) was a DNS this morning.
[1] Tour de France Femmes 2025 Stage 4 Results: https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france-femmes-2025/stage-4/results [2] Tour de France Femmes 2025 General Classification: https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france-femmes-2025/classification [3] Tour de France Femmes 2025 Stage 4 Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4QwWaWb0E0
- The fourth stage of the Tour de France Femmes 2025 showcased the excitement of sports, featuring multiple attacks, tactical maneuvers, and a close finish, all elements synonymous with various sports events.
- The Tour de France Femmes 2025 stage 4 results indicate a competitive sporting arena, as athletes from different teams displayed strategic moves and fierce competition all the way to the finish line.
