Tour de France Femmes 2025: Liane Lippert sprints to fourth place

Quimper. One day after her crash, Liane Lippert made an impressive comeback at the women's Tour de France. The three-time German cycling champion finished fourth on the second stage. On the 110.4-kilometer ride from Brest to Quimper, she was beaten only by Dutch rider Lorena Wiebes and Kim Le Court Pienaar of Mauritius, behind Spanish solo winner Mavi Garcia in the sprint field.

"It's a shame it wasn't about winning. That's why I started a little earlier. I felt good. After yesterday, it was a much better feeling," Lippert, who lost almost seven minutes after a crash in the opening stage, told ARD.

In the finale of the second stage, the stars gambled a bit and didn't decisively close the small gap to Garcia. This allowed the Spanish breakaway rider to celebrate with a three-second lead and, at 41, crown herself the oldest Tour stage winner.

Pienaar took over the yellow jersey from the Dutch winner of the opening race, Marianne Vos. Both are tied in the overall standings, but Pienaar's better placings tipped the scales.

On Monday, the sprinters continue on the third stage, covering 163.5 kilometers from La Gacilly to Angers. The tour ends in Chatel on August 3rd after nine stages. The fourth edition of the revived women's tour featured an additional day compared to last year.

RND/dpa