In Marianne Vos's words, the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes was something she and her team "couldn't really think or dream about" as she shot to victory and the yellow jersey on the Côte de Cadoudal in Plumelec.
Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot had looked on the road to a famous win herself, going clear with 700 metres to go on the climb to the line before a Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) attack from behind brought a group of favourites close, and with them, Vos.
The Dutchwoman crossed the line for her 258th career victory, with Ferrand-Prévot, having started a potential GC challenge better than the other yellow jersey hopefuls with third place, also saluting as she finished.
Vos's win was the first for both her and Visma since the inaugural Tour de France Femmes back in 2022, a race that saw her take home two stages and with it the green jersey. Another bid at green will be on her mind this week, but in Brittany, it was all about the maillot jaune.
"Of course, wearing the yellow jersey is something really special. It was something I didn't really think about going into the stage," Vos admitted in the post-race press conference. "You just want to do as good as possible and be there in the final and see how far you can get.
"Both me and Pauline wanted to do really well. When Pauline went, that was a really good move, and she nearly made it, but I followed Kim Le Court and taking the win is a fantastic feeling. And as a bonus, taking yellow – I couldn't really think or dream about this."
The win is number three of the season for Vos, adding to two triumphs at the Vuelta España Femenina. She'll have high hopes of adding to that tally in the coming days, with stage 2 offering a similar puncheur-friendly trip west through Brittany to Quimper.
Stages 3 and 4 in Angers and Poitiers should also prove a happy hunting ground for her and her sprint rivals.
While other teams, including an SD Worx-Protime in seeming disarray, fell by the wayside, Visma-Lease a Bike came to the final fully organised and with the strength to back it up. Inside the final 5km, they were massed on the front alongside UAE Team ADQ, before Ferrand-Prévot began the final lead-out just outside the flamme rouge.
With a faltering Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) on her wheel, that lead-out turned into a solo bid for glory halfway up the hill. It wasn't to be for the home favourite, but a one-three finish, and time gained on riders including fourth-placed Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-Sram ondacrypto), fifth-placed Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), and seventh-placed Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) is also very much welcome.
"I didn't really think [about winning]," Ferrand-Prévot admitted after the stage. "I thought, 'Make it to the end, and then we'll see.' I didn't turn around because that's no use. When I saw Marianne come past me, I thought, 'Uff, it's Marianne, not someone else.'
"I smiled when I saw her because I was relieved it was her. I don't remember [if I said something to her], I was going so deep. I was really going hard; I wasn't pretending. The plan played out like a dream, so it's really, really good."
Vos acknowledged that her teammate's move was "part of the tactic" but said that the result at the finish was one "we could not have expected."
Since her last victory at the Tour, beating Marta Bastianelli in Roheim three days short of three years ago, Vos has racked up a series of near-misses, including two second places, a third place, and three other placings in the top five. After breaking that 'duck', she said that both she and Visma had faith that she would do it again, even in year 20 of a glittering career.
"It's cycling. Sometimes you're close, sometimes it doesn't work out," she said. "We all work for it, and it's keeping the faith, but it's also the faith that's put in from the team.
"If they believe, then you also feel a bit of pressure, but you want to finish it off. With what happened today, everything came together."
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