Van Empel fifth in first stage Tour de Romandie Féminin
Fem van Empel has finished fifth in the first stage of the Tour de Romandie Féminin. The Dutch rider finished a few seconds ahead of her teammate Amber Kraak. Italian Sofia Bertizzolo won the stage in a bunch sprint.
The first stage of the Swiss stage race, which started and finished in Yverdon, got off to a quiet opening phase. When the peloton was twenty kilometres into the stage, the first breakaway appeared. One rider opened up a gap of over three minutes but was caught 45 kilometres from the finish. Team Jumbo-Visma attacked several times in the final. Unfortunately, the efforts of Eva van Agt and Kraak were in vain, and a sprint proved inevitable. Van Empel was in the lead but missed out on a podium place.
"I am very disappointed”, the 21-year-old Van Empel said. "When you're riding for the win, it's disappointing when you can’t finish it off. Although disappointed, I must remember that this is one of the first times I have been competing for the win in a UCI WorldTour race. Riding a final is hectic. But today, I was able to hold my own.”
"Physically, I feel strong"
Van Agt returned to racing today after her crash in the Tour de France Femmes. "It took a bit of getting used to, but as soon as there was real racing, I felt comfortable again. Physically, I feel strong. I am not at my best yet, but I am strong enough to be useful to the team. We have a great group of girls and staff here. So I'm having a lot of fun in and around the race.”
Tomorrow’s queen stage will make for a challenging second stage of the Tour de Romandie Féminin.
