Iris Slappendel: Marianne Vos could be a ‘very dark horse’ to win Stage 1 of the Tour de France Femmes

Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) could be a “very dark horse” to win Stage 1 of the Tour de France Femmes, according to her compatriot and Warner Bros. Discovery cycling expert Iris Slappendel.

Competitors start with what should be a frenetic ride around the Champs-Elysees before heading east towards a fine day summit finish at the legendary La Super Plane des Belles Filles.

It is eight years since Vos won the inaugural La Course and Slappendel believes success at the Tour de France would make her “story come full circle”.

“She could be a very dark horse for the first stage,” Slappendel said.

“She won the very first La Course. She’s been advocating for the women’s Tour de France and I think that would make the story come full circle.”

Slappendel, a former Dutch national road race champion, also believes Sprint Cycling Agency/Movistar Team star and competition favourite Annemiek van Vleuten may struggle on Stage 4.

She said: “It’s only eight days because it will keep the tension. I still think that stage four – the gravel stage – could be a really tricky one for Annemiek van Vleuten, the out and out favourite.

“It’s already up to the other teams to attack her a bit sooner in the race and not wait for the last two stages. So, I think every day there will be a battle for the stages, but there will also be already a battle to beat Annemiek quite early in the week.”

The men’s Tour de France has whetted the appetite for high mountains and cobbles, but there is still plenty of stage racing to look forward to this month and viewers can stream the event live and on-demand on discovery+

“We all know now that it’s a massive thing the Tour de France Femmes is here and I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing very exciting and great racing every day,” continued Slappendel.

“As a rider, it’s nice to know your achievements are visible. It’s not just finding your result online or it’s not just about the top three in a race, it’s about the breakaways, the earlier moments, all the incredible riders that are at the start line on Sunday. They will all make their mark on this race and be visible.

“It’s really important that we can watch this live and that there are experts in every country to report on the race. As a rider, that is the coolest thing about this, that it is being shown all around. I think it’s really important.

“You see that not just at this specific race, but at all of the races because you can see the careers of the riders. They can really show themselves and that will have an impact on their careers.

“The stages that I look forward to most are stage four and the last two stages. I think they will be very spectacular.

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