‘You have to be realistic’: Marianne Vos under no illusions on keeping yellow jersey at Tour de France Femmes

Tour de France Femmes race leader Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo-Visma) has said that “you have to be realistic” about how long she can stay in yellow, and that the brutal gravel on Stage 4 is “a part of cycling”.

Vos is top of the standings after winning one stage and finishing second in two more, but speaking after a tough Stage 4 she admitted that it wasn’t likely she would stay in the lead ahead of the climbing in the mountains over the weekend.

“Of course, you have to be realistic, and with the climbs coming up this weekend, normally, the GC riders are very strong and will take a lot of time,” Vos said.

“It’s a different kind of racing on the weekend, but I’m very happy to wear the yellow jersey now.”

“It’s part of cycling,” said Vos.

“It’s always hard to tell. If you get through it nicely then you would say, ‘this is quite nice’. So, for me it was okay today. We spent a lot of energy to stay in front with the team, to fight for position, especially before the gravel sections and climbs. You need a little luck.

“I can imagine that for the riders that go for general classification, it was a difficult day, and for the riders it can be stressful. But, it’s part of cycling as well, and I hope that everyone came through okay.”

On Thursday, the race will have its longest stage on the way to Saint-Die-des-Vosges and is ahead of the UCI limits for what they think a women’s race should be.

Unsurprisingly, Vos has no concerns about breaking past those limits, citing the quality within the peloton.

“It’s a very long stage, but I don’t think it will make much of a difference because of the length. All the riders are well trained at the highest level and they can cover this distance. After some days of racing, it is in the legs, and maybe on the final [stages] it will make a difference,” she said.

“It’s a long race and a lot can happen. There might be sprinter teams interested in sprints and other teams interested in a breakaway. I don’t expect an easy stage tomorrow.”

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