Pieterse wins Tour de France Femmes stage four, Vollering retains lead

Puck Pieterse crosses the finish line first in the fourth stage of Tour de France Femmes

49 minutes ago

Dutch rider Puck Pieterse won stage four of the Tour de France Femmes as overall leader Demi Vollering took second place in a photo finish.

Pieterse finished the 122.7km ride from Valkenburg to Liege in a time of three hours 12 minutes 28 seconds, as she pipped Vollering on the line.

The 22-year-old’s victory was her first in a road race and lifted her to second in the standings – 22 seconds behind her compatriot.

It gave her the best young rider’s white jersey and the polka dot climb jersey.

Kasia Niewiadoma of Poland finished the stage in third and she trails Vollering by 34 seconds in the overall classification, while Olympic road race champion Kristen Faulkner of the United States sits fourth.

Pieterse said: “It’s quite unbelievable, actually. To take the win here, in a sprint against Demi is a dream come true.”

Niewiadoma was with the Dutch duo as they entered the final kilometre of the race and launched the dash early with the trio hitting 57km/h after a hilly day.

However, she peaked too soon which allowed Pieterse to open a small lead as defending champion Vollering left her own charge a fraction too late.

Thursday’s stage five is a 152.5km flat ride from Bastogne to Amneville as the race reaches France after spending the opening three days in the Netherlands and Belgium.