Marianne Vos' well-timed sprint wasn't enough to out-power her winning compatriot and rival Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) in the long run-in to the finish line, where she finished second on stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes in Montignac-Lascaux.
The Jumbo-Visma leader, who won two stages and wore the yellow jersey for five days in 2022, has yet to win a stage at this year's event that started on Sunday in Clermont-Ferrand, where she finished fourth.
"It was not easy being there today, so I was happy to contest it at least and happy with the work," Vos said. "The girls did a great job all day, were attentive for breaks, and were still there for the lead-out in the final. Then, of course, you want to try to give it your all.
"Lorena was the fastest today. It's something you can be satisfied with at least a try."
Stage 3's 147.2km race from Collonges-la-Rouge to Montignac-Lascaux, was almost won by solo breakaway rider Julie van de Velde (Fenix-Alpecin), who was caught with 300 metres to the finish line largely thanks to the efforts of Team dsm-firmenich as they worked for Charlotte Kool.
"At first, there was no organisation. Julie van de Velde had a good moment, and she was really strong. Once there was a chase in the peloton, we gained some time back, but she did a really gutsy ride in the end," Vos said.
"In the last three or four kilometres, it looked like we were not going to make it, but the speed went up, and several trains tried to get up front, but dsm did a lot of work.
"We all tried to be in the mix, stay safe and in front, which wasn't easy."
Vos was down two riders in her lead-out after Eva van Agt crashed on stage 2 into Mauriac. Jumbo-Visma confirmed that Van Agt suffered a bruised lung, a concussion and some abrasions and that she returned to the Netherlands on Tuesday to recover.
Then Coryn Labecki crashed on the roads to Montignac-Lascaux and, although she finished the stage, appeared to have pain in her knee.
Vos noted that she did receive a lead-out from Anna Henderson, who guided her through the peloton and into the final corner and put her in position to sprint for stage 3.
"Although I immediately noticed that Wiebes was passing me with more speed. Then you know it's going to be difficult. The only thing you can do is to keep pedalling until the line," Vos said.
"On the one hand, I can reflect on a good result today, although you always go for the highest achievable. It is not easy to win a Tour stage. It remains the biggest cycling event of the season. Now it is important to recover well from another tough stage. Then hopefully, we can continue to fight for the win."
