Tears of joy for Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig after Tour de France Femmes stage win

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig won stage three of the Tour de France Femmes, from Reims to Epernay, after out-sprinting overall race leader Marianne Vos on the final steep ramp to the finish, overlooking the champagne vineyards of the Marne.

The Dane, in tears of despair after crashing and losing time on stage two, was in tears again, but this time of joy after her explosive acceleration took her clear of Vos in the last 100m. It is hard to imagine a more exuberant winner in the long history of the Tour de France.

“It feels like a such a good comeback after what, I have to say, was a fucking shit day yesterday,” the 26-year-old FDJ Suez rider said, emphatically. “I just love how the team kept the fighting spirit and we knew that today was a super-good day [for us].

“If I had the legs, I could try and go for the win, but to actually do it and be a Tour de France stage winner, in this Danish national champion’s jersey – hh my God, it just doesn’t get better.”

The succession of short, sharp climbs through the hills overlooking Epernay whittled down the lead group on the approach to the sharpest of all, the Côte de Mutigny, 15kms from the finish and famously the platform for Julian Alaphilippe’s spectacular stage win in Epernay, in the 2019 men’s Tour.

But Giro Donne winner and pre-race favourite, Annemiek Van Vleuten, again had a fatiguing day, having lost 50 seconds to Vos on stage two and then forced to chase back to the peloton after a mechanical issue with 30kms to race. Worse came on the final climb, Mont Bernon, with pitches as steep as 14%, when she lost contact with the front group of favourites and was forced to pursue alone.

Although the Dutch rider chased back to the rear of the select front group, she again lost ground