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42km to go:<\/strong> C\u00f4te de Locronan begins! The road is so, so narrow and the peloton do well to negotiate a tricky left-hand corner, with only Elena Cecchini coming off! That could have been so much worse. Rijnbeek, Chabbey and Smulders are still out in front, about 45 seconds ahead, and are being cheered on by the healthy Brittany crowds.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 44km to go:<\/strong> Am told the imminent C\u00f4te de Locronan climb is actually more like 1.4km, at 7%. The leading trio \u2013 Rijnbeek, Chabbey and Smulders \u2013 now have a lead over the peloton of 53 seconds.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 47km:<\/strong> This is a bit of a holding pattern as the riders weave the last 4km towards Locronan, immediately after which comes the first Cat. 4 climb, 0.8km at 8.9%. A short, sharp ascent that could be decisive come the end.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 51km to go:<\/strong> One rider, Maud Rijnbeek, has broken away from the peloton to reach our leading pair of Chabbey and Smulders. Now now the leading group numbers three. Impressive stuff from the Dutch rider to breach the gap on her own. The peloton is now around 35 seconds off the leading trio.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.09 EDT<\/p>\n 55km to go:<\/strong> Smulders and Chabbey are our new leaders and as they fly down the descent, they open up and retain a 15-second lead over the chasing pack. That Cat. 3 climb was just three kilometres but has really separated the peloton. There are now two distinct groups, but GC prospects Niewiadoma, Vos, Vollering and Gigante and France\u2019s Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot, winner of the women\u2019s Paris-Roubaix are all in the first group, which numbers around 50 riders.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Silke Smulders takes the KoM points!<\/p>\n 59km:<\/strong> Smulders digs to pull away from the peloton, with only Elise Chabbey for company. But Smulders holds the front and reaches the top of M\u00e9nez Quelc\u2019h to beat the polka dot jersey and take three points. Chabbey still leads the KoM standings, though, having earned two there.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.57 EDT<\/p>\n Koch and Biannic are caught by the peloton!<\/p>\n 60km:<\/strong> The first real climb of the day, a Cat. 3 climb to M\u00e9nez Quelc\u2019h, a 3km climb at 6.2%. Both Koch and Biannic are caught, and now it\u2019s going to be a race to the top for those KoM points.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.50 EDT<\/p>\n 63km to go:<\/strong> Crash involving Ane Santesteban of Laboral Kutxa – Fundaci\u00f3n Euskadi! She comes off after failing to negotiate some cobbles. Santesteban\u2019s chain comes off but she gets going again after some help.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Intermediate sprint results<\/p>\n 65km to go:<\/strong> Koch takes the intermediate sprint ahead of Biannic and as the peloton comes in behind the leading pair, there\u2019s a great contest between Vos and Lorena Wiebes for the third place. Wiebes is such a strong sprinter and pips the yellow jersey, earning 17 points in the green jersey standings. Vos takes 15 points.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.45 EDT<\/p>\n 70km to go:<\/strong> The gap to the front two is down to 50 seconds. Koch and Biannic are pushing but are slowly getting sucked back towards the peloton.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 75km to go:<\/strong> A reminder of who holds which jerseys at today\u2019s stage. Vollering is actually wearing the green jersey today, with Vos in yellow and the second placed rider, Kim Le Court, opting to wear her national Mauritian jersey today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 79km to go:<\/strong> While we\u2019re on the subject of EF Education\u2013Oatly riders, just catching up on a little crash in the peloton involving Kristen Faulkner, the 2024 Olympic champion. It looks as though Faulkner is OK and back on her bike but has lost valuable time, around 40 seconds behind the peloton.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 81km to go: <\/strong>Brest-born C\u00e9drine Kerbaol, who finished sixth overall in last year\u2019s race and won stage six, enjoyed a fine send off in her hometown at the start today. She is tucked just at the front of the peloton, alongside her EF Education\u2013Oatly teammates. I wonder if she might be an outside bet for the GC standings this year if she can have a good day today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Early breakaway!<\/p>\n 88km to go: <\/strong>Franziska Koch was given the the combativity prize for attacking time and time again on stage one, and the German is at it again on day two! Koch and Aude Biannic are the two riders out in front, around 1min08secs ahead of the peleton.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Koch had to say overnight, after the combative stage one. She is obviously fired up.<\/p>\n I was hoping to get into the break, but sometimes it takes 10 tries before the 11th one finally works. I\u2019ll keep trying, and the good thing is that we have plenty of options in this team. The vibe is really positive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.13 EDT<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth flagging<\/strong> that this is a particularly early start for the riders, after a relatively late finish (6.38pm BST) yesterday. That is a tight turnaround, for the riders and the support staff to get their meals, massage and rest in, especially as the finish in Plumelec is over 200km from today\u2019s start in Brest.<\/p>\n Stage two, though, is the second shortest stage of this year\u2019s race, clocking in at 110km.<\/p>\n The peloton cross a bridge in the early kilometres. Photograph: Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.08 EDT<\/p>\n This is our report from the first stage<\/strong>. Vos made a point of praising her Visma Lease a bike teammate, Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot, who herself had made a late break for the finish, before being overhauled.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t now if Pauline was still hanging [on] in the finish, but in the end I sprinted a bit with Kim,\u201d Vos said after the hilly 78.8km route from Vannes. \u201cI\u2019m really grateful to the team and to Pauline,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n