The twelfth edition of the Baloise Ladies Tour kicked off in Yerseke with a prologue. The riders completed an individual time trial of 3.1 kilometers. Alongside Vigié and Fidanza, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women line-up for this stage race includes Sophie von Berswordt, Carlijn Achtereekte, Nienke Veenhoven, and Linda Riedmann.  

Vigié set the first real benchmark time. Thanks to her fast effort, the Frenchwoman remained in the hot seat for quite some time. In the final phase, the top favorites took to the course. British champion Zoë Backstedt and four others eventually managed to beat Vigié’s time. Fidanza also delivered a strong time trial, finishing tenth.  

“It was a tough but solid start to this race,” Vigié said afterwards. “A prologue like this is always a good way to wake up the legs at the beginning of a stage race. We’ve started here with a strong team. This stage race is made for pure sprinters, so there are plenty of opportunities for us to get results. It’s great that we already have two riders in the top ten. We’re looking forward to the rest of the week with excitement.”  

The Baloise Ladies Tour runs through to Sunday. Tomorrow, the first road stage is scheduled, from Jabbeke to Knokke-Heist.