Kopecky wins first mass stage after time trial, Knaven 80 kilometres in the breakaway
Czech national rider Julie Kopecky won the second stage of the Tour de Feminin. After Thursday's opening time trial, the Belgian AG Insurance NXTG rider also triumphed in the first mass finish stage with start and finish in Krásná Lípa, securing the yellow jersey of the leading rider ahead of the weekend's two stages. The hero of the stage, however, was her teammate Mirre Knaven, who spent 80 kilometres alone in the breakaway and ended up exhausted at the finish line under the care of paramedics.
Second in the stage was Dutchwoman Femke de Vries of GT Krush Rebellease, who beat Britain's Eilidh Shaw of the Alba Development Road Team in the spurt, 17 seconds behind.
Kopecky, 19, decided her triumph six kilometres before the finish of the 109-kilometre stage, when she broke away from the main part of the starting field in Staré Křečany and reached the finish in the square in Krásná Lípa with a safe lead.
"I hadn't planned to go this early, but because I sat in the pack the whole stage and let the other teams work, I had enough strength at the end," Kopecky said in an interview after the stage.
Going into the second half of the race, Kopecky secured the yellow jersey of the race leader and became the biggest favourite for the overall win. "We'll see. Of course I would like to keep the yellow jersey and keep it in the next stages," added the Dutch-based racer.
But the biggest applause went to Kopecka's teammate Mirre Knaven, who spent 80 kilometres in an independent breakaway. She won two sprinters' premiums and three of the four climbers' premiums. She will wear the polka dot jersey of the top female climber for Saturday's stage.
However, the 19-year-old could not wear the trophy jersey. She ran out of energy after a hard race and ended up in the care of paramedics while waiting for the ceremony. "Mirre is my best friend and I'm so proud of her (for what she has done) and I hope she will be okay and we will all be at the start tomorrow," the victorious Kopecky encouraged her teammate.
The cyclists of Prague Dukla did very well in the stage. Barbora Nemcova, as the second Czech, rounded out the elite ten, Nela Slaníková finished two places behind her. The matador Jarmila Machačová, 49th, finished sixty-sixth. Nicole Hartychová. Before both of them, Nikola Bajgerova, riding for the Polish Mat Atom Deweloper team, was 33rd.
Saturday's stage will start and finish in Rumburk. It starts at 3 pm and covers 110.7 kilometres. There are 4 climbing and 2 special stages.
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