CYCLING: Norway's Haugset wins Tour de France Femmes stage, takes yellow jersey

GENEVA — Sigrid Haugset became the first Norwegian rider to win a stage at the Tour de France Femmes after securing a solo victory on Monday, taking the overall lead from Dutch rider Lorena Wiebes.

Haugset, riding for Uno-X Mobility, held off Belgian cyclist Lotte Kopecky, who finished 1 minute and 24 seconds behind after a late chase. Dutch rider Marianne Vos crossed the finish line third in Poligny.

The 27-year-old Haugset now leads the general classification by 2 minutes and 22 seconds over Mauritius' Kimberly Le Court. She also became the first Norwegian to wear the yellow jersey in the women's Tour de France.

"I never thought it was possible ... it's unreal," Haugset said after the race.

"I thought (Kopecky) would catch me. I thought, should I drop down to her? Because second is good... but I thought of everyone cheering from home and I had to give it all."

The race's first mountain stage saw several riders crash during the category-one climb to Col de la Faucille, including reigning world champion Magdeleine Vallieres and former Tour de France winner Demi Vollering. All riders were able to continue, and no breakaway attempts followed during the remainder of the 11.4-kilometer ascent.

Haugset launches solo attack

During the climb to Col de la Savine, Haugset broke away from the main group. Kopecky began chasing after the halfway point of the 156.5-kilometer stage, but the Norwegian maintained her advantage as the race crossed into France.

Wiebes, who started the stage wearing the yellow jersey, was more than 13 minutes behind Haugset with 20 kilometers remaining. Le Court and Vollering, who were second and third overall before the stage, remained with the peloton more than two minutes behind the leaders.

Kopecky continued to close the gap as Haugset battled fatigue, cutting the deficit to just 10 seconds with 10 kilometers left.

However, Haugset found another burst of energy in the closing kilometers and extended her lead to nearly a minute with three kilometers remaining. She maintained her pace until the finish line, securing a historic victory.

Despite her triumph, Haugset did not celebrate immediately after crossing the line.

"I know my boyfriend will be so angry at me for not celebrating, but I could not even lift my arms off the bike," she said with a smile. -Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Ken Ferris/Reuters