De Vries triumphs in Sondrio after powerful late attack

Femke de Vries (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) won a two-up sprint against Lauren Dickson (FDJ United-SUEZ) to claim victory on stage 1 of the Tour de Suisse Women 2026. The Dutch rider launched the decisive attack on the penultimate climb, forging a breakaway that held to the finish line in Sondrio.

Dickson finished second on the same time, with Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) leading the first group of chasers across the line 29 seconds later to take third place.

The opening stage featured a challenging profile with three categorised climbs. The first major selection came on the Buglio in Monte, where Steffi Häberlin (Team SD Worx-Protime) took maximum QOM points from a reduced front group.

The race-defining move came on the slopes of the Triangia climb with 27.4 km to go. De Vries launched a powerful attack and was quickly joined by Dickson and Urska Zigart (AG Insurance-Soudal Team). De Vries proved strongest on the climb, taking the QOM points at the summit and driving the trio's advantage over the chasers.

Zigart was dropped on the subsequent descent, leaving De Vries and Dickson to work together. They hit the final, brutally steep climb of the Via Bordighi with a lead of nearly a minute. The chase group, featuring riders like Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM), halved the gap over the summit, but the leading pair held on.

In the final kilometre, De Vries led into the finishing straight and launched her sprint from the front with 200 metres remaining. Dickson could not match the acceleration, allowing De Vries to celebrate a dominant victory and pull on the first leader's jersey of the race.

• Femke de Vries's victory was a masterclass in aggressive racing. Attacking on the penultimate climb put the pre-race favourites on the back foot and forced a chase that fell short.
• The time gaps are already significant. While De Vries takes the leader's jersey, GC contenders Elisa Longo Borghini, Marlen Reusser, and Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney finished together 38 seconds down, ceding an early advantage.
• Lauren Dickson's second place is a huge result for the FDJ United-SUEZ rider. She was strong enough to follow De Vries's attack and collaborate effectively, only losing out in the final sprint.
• The short but steep Via Bordighi climb proved decisive. The leading duo lost half their advantage on its slopes, showing how even small, sharp climbs can reshape the race.