Date: Tuesday, July 13
Distance: 70km
Start location: Dordrecht
Finish location: Rotterdam
Start time: 9:50 CEST
Finish time: 11:35 CEST
Once upon a time, split stages were a regular feature in bike races. In the Tour de France they were introduced in 1934, when stage 21 was split into 21a (an 81km road stage) and 21b (a 90km individual time trial). The split stage days were then evident in other races as a way of testing the rider’s ability to recover between stages, encouraging teams to develop strategies to ensure their riders could handle the extra physical and mental stress of back-to-back stages on one day.
However, over the years, split stages have fizzled out of the world’s biggest races with the last split stage in the Tour taking place in 1991. Until this year that is, when Marion Rousse has decided to bring an almost split stage back for the Women’s WorldTour peloton. On the second day of the 2024 edition of the Tour de France Femmes, the peloton will take on a short, flat 70km route from Dordrecht back to Rotterdam where the race began, followed by an individual time trial of 6.3km around the Dutch city. However, these will labelled stages two and three respectively, rather than stage 2a and 2b.
Dordrecht, the starting point for the second stage, is also the birthplace of Lucinda Brand, rider for Lidl-Trek. The two-time national road champion (2013 and 2015) and cyclo-cross world champion (2021) will be lining up in her hometown and will have the advantage of cycling on home roads. Brand is a rider who has an attacking style and the short distance of this stage calls for aggressive racing all the way to Rotterdam. With only 76 metres of elevation across 70km, there are no climbs slowing the peloton down, only wide, exposed Dutch roads that’ll make crosswinds a danger as well as constant twists and turns. But with a straight flat into Rotterdam, edged with high rise buildings, a bunch sprint finish is the most likely outcome.
Stage profile sourced via ASO
Contenders
With this first stage of the day being much shorter than other stages we will see this race, as well as being completely flat, we expect racing to be full gas from the very start. It is another opportunity for the sprinters of the peloton, who will celebrate victory in the city centre of Rotterdam before having to recover as much as they can before tackling stage three that afternoon.
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) is one of the fastest in the bunch and will be looking to secure as many stage wins as she can, especially before the roads start to rise as the week goes on. She looked strong in the opening stage but suffered an untimely slipped chain in the final hundred metres of the opening stage. She has the green jersey in her sights and getting as many points as she can in the sprint finales will be a priority for this sprinter who will be hoping for better luck on this stage.
With this being a short and flat day, opening stage winner Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL) will be a real contender. Being a pure sprinter, she will suit these parcours, and with a well-dialled team, including lead-out Pfeiffer Georgi and Rachele Barbieri, this could see her take her second stage win of this race and strengthen her grip on the green jersey. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) are strong contenders for the stage as is Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility).
Chloe Dygert (Canyon//SRAM) will also be able to rival those with a fast finish, however, she will most likely be saving her legs for the individual time trial coming up a few hours later. Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Jayco Alula) could be a rider looking for the stage win – she's an aggressive rider and may look to attack on this short course. She demonstrated her aim for the green jersey in the opening intermediate sprint, where she came second and secured points towards the green jersey classification. The same could be said for a rider like Marthe Truyen (Fenix-Decuninck), who came third in the intermediate sprint on the opening stage.
Stage two winner prediction
We think Lorena Wiebes will take stage two. She'll be disappointed after the opening stage, adding fuel to the fire for this next sprint opportunity.
