QUIMPER, France — Mavi Garcia became the oldest rider to win a stage at the women’s Tour de France on Sunday.

The 41-year-old Spaniard secured victory in the second stage on Sunday with a remarkable solo breakaway. She glanced back twice, confident she wouldn’t be caught, and triumphantly raised her arms as she crossed the finish line.

Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten was 39 when she won a mountain stage on the 2022 women’s Tour, organizers said.

Garcia launched her attack with around 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) remaining on the 110.4-kilometer hilly route through Brittany, concluding in Quimper. It seemed she might be reeled in near the finish as the peloton drew nearer, but she surged ahead, achieving victory by three seconds.

Dutchwoman Lorena Wiebes was second and Kim Le Court of Mauritius took third place in a sprint to the line.

Le Court managed just enough to claim the race leader’s yellow jersey from cycling legend Marianne Vos, who narrowly won Saturday’s opening stage and finished fifth on Sunday.

Le Court and Vos have the same overall time after two stages, but Le Court now leads overall courtesy of her better combined stage finishes over the first two days.

Stage 3 on Monday is a flat stage for sprinters, ending in the western city of Angers. The nine-stage race ends on Aug. 3.

Last year provided the smallest winning margin in the history of the women’s and men’s races, with Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma beating 2023 champion Demi Vollering by four seconds, and Pauliena Rooijakkers only 10 seconds off the pace in third place. 

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