On Friday morning, the third edition of the Tour de Romandie Féminin kicked off in the Swiss La Grande Béroche. After a calm start, the race heated up on the climb of Saint-Cierges. Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women missed the initial break, later tried in vain with Van Agt, but to their great relief, the breakaway was eventually caught. A bunch sprint became inevitable, with Italian rider Balsamo taking the stage win.

“It’s good that Eva and Riejanne finished in the front group, but overall, it wasn’t a great day for us”, says sports director Jos van Emden afterwards. “The day started off quietly, but the pace picked up later. Although we couldn’t fully keep up at that point, Eva recovered well and came close to the lead group. We would have liked to make our mark on the race earlier.”

The sports director knows that there is still a tough weekend ahead in Switzerland. “Tomorrow we finish uphill after a long climb. Eva has already shown today that she has good plans for the weekend. Tomorrow, heading towards Vercorin, she wants to see what she can achieve. It’s a different story for Riejanne. She has been ill, after a disappointing Tour de France Femmes. We are happy that she can make the necessary kilometres in racing again here”, Van Emden concludes.