Tour de France Femmes 2023: Yara Kastelijn claims first WorldTour win with stage four victory

Yara Kastelijn claimed her first WorldTour win with victory on stage four of the Tour de France Femmes.

Lotte Kopecky finished 14th to hang on to the leader’s yellow jersey she earned on the opening stage.

Dutchwoman Kastelijn was part of a 14-rider breakaway and went solo inside the final 20km, finishing 71 seconds ahead of the chasing pack.

“It’s really a dream, I can’t believe it,” the former European cyclo-cross champion, 25, said.

“I think it’s really a team victory because I had to do nothing all day.

“The other girls in the front group were angry with me but my coach told us we are not here to make friends. A victory is what we want and what we have now and I’m super proud.”

Demi Vollering finished second after breaking away from the peloton and shaving 16 seconds off Kopecky’s overall lead, to move into second place in the general classification.

Fellow Dutchwoman Annemiek van Vleuten, who won the Giro Donne earlier this month, was two seconds behind Vollering, moving to joint third in the general classification along with three other riders.

The 177km stage from Cahors to Rodez was the longest in this year’s tour.

Stage five of the eight-stage race takes place on Thursday, from Onet-Le-Chateau to Albi