"I’m incredibly happy. I still can’t believe it", De Vries said afterwards. "It’s very special to take my first professional victory here and to wear the yellow jersey tomorrow. I felt strong all day, but on the final climb I suddenly had some cramps. At that moment, I just thought: don’t worry about it, keep pushing."

The opening stage of the Swiss stage race immediately put the peloton under pressure. On Buglio in Monte, the first climb of the day, the race was reduced to a select group of around 25 riders, including De Vries and Sarah Van Dam. De Vries was then part of a group that managed to break away from the rest in the valley.

On the slopes of Triangia, the second climb of the day, the decisive breakaway was formed. Urska Zigart, Laura Dickson and De Vries proved to be the strongest climbers and built up a solid advantage. After Zigart was forced to let go during the descent, De Vries and Dickson were left to battle it out for the stage victory.

"In the sprint, I decided to wait as long as possible before launching my attack. Lauren went first, and I was able to come around her. I’m proud that I was able to finish it off this way", said De Vries.

Sports director Jan Boven added: "We were actually hoping that Femke would make the difference on the final descent, but it turned into a sprint after all. That made it exciting. Lauren started her sprint quite early, but fortunately Femke had the legs to finish it off."

"Femke really deserved this victory. I had full confidence that she could do it today. She reconned the course twice and knew exactly how to approach the climbs. When they had a minute and a half advantage with 25 kilometres to go, I knew there was a very good chance they would make it to the finish."

According to Boven, De Vries’ victory carries an extra special story. "Two years ago, she rode her first race for the team here, and we asked her: what would you like to achieve? She said that her dream was to cross the finish line first at least once. The fact that she managed to do that today, two years later, gave me a very special feeling."