Mavi García triumphs individually in the second stage of the Tour de France Femmes, securing a nail-biting victory in a solo race.
The second stage of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift saw a thrilling sprint finish, with Lorena Wiebes from Team SD Worx taking the victory.
The 110km stage featured two classified climbs and an intermediate sprint. Mavi Garciá (Team UAE Team ADQ) attacked the bunch just inside the 12km mark, creating a challenging race. The two leaders, Aude Biannic (Movistar) and Franziska Koch (Picnic-PostNL), had a little more than a minute's lead over the bunch for much of the stage.
As the race approached the closing circuit, Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) brought back Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) when she bridged to the leading trio with 17km to go. However, it was too late for a serious challenge to Garciá's lead.
Wiebes secured her victory in the sprint finish, confirming her status as a top sprinter in the race that year. It was a significant win for Wiebes, who also went on to win Stage 3 (final stage) of the 2022 edition.
Meanwhile, Garciá's attack moved her into the overall lead after her second-place finish on stage one. Marlen Reusser (Movistar), the team's GC rider, failed to finish stage one due to illness.
The closing circuit had its own classified climb, the Côte du Chemin de Trohéir, which was ridden twice. Maud Rijnbeek (VolkerWessels) was up the front for the second successive stage, but was dropped on the final circuit of the day. Lotte Kopecky, world champion, was one of the riders caught out on the day's third classified climb. Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL) did not start on Sunday due to injuries from a recent crash.
Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) joined the breakaway after the ensuing third category climb. Liane Lippert (Movistar) finished in fifth place on stage two.
The victory was the biggest of Garciá's career, marking a significant milestone in her racing career. The 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift featured multiple teams, including prominent ones such as SD Worx, Lidl-Trek, Team Jumbo-Visma, Canyon//SRAM, Movistar, Trek-Segafredo, and Team BikeExchange-Jayco, among others. These teams have consistently participated since the race's inception.
Sports took a significant turn in the 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift as Mavi Garciá from Team UAE Team ADQ launched an attack, creating a challenging race. Lorena Wiebes from Team SD Worx, confirmed her status as a top sprinter in the race when she secured victory in a thrilling sprint finish during the second stage.
