Liane Lippert wins second stage of the Women's Tour

Liane Lippert has won the second stage of the Tour de France Femmes. The 25-year-old from Friedrichshafen defied the heavy rain in places and won the sprint final ahead of Belgian Lotte Kopecky in the yellow jersey and Silvia Persico from Italy.

Kopecky, who won the first stage, defended her overall lead on the 151.7 kilometres between Clermont-Ferrand and Mauriac, while Lippert is now in second place, 49 seconds behind.

The stage was overshadowed by several crashes. While last year's winner Annemiek van Vleuten from the Netherlands was able to continue the race after a crash, her compatriot Eva van Agt came off the rain-soaked road a few kilometres before the finish and crashed into a crash barrier. There was initially no word on her state of health.

The second edition of the women's cycling tour started on Sunday in Clermont-Ferrand. The eight-stage tour leads through the south-west of France and ends next Sunday in Pau.

Copyright 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved