WICKLOW’S LARA GILLESPIE has made history with a third-place finish on stage four of the Tour de France Femmes.

The UAE Team ADQ rider delivered a sprint finish to secure her place on the podium and move into 106th in the general classification.

It’s the first time an Irish rider has taken part in the women’s edition of the Tour de France and two of Gillespie’s compatriots were also in action.

Kilkenny’s Mia Griffin was 25th today to place 109th overall, while limerick’s Fiona Mangan is 97th in the general classification after finishing 28th.

Dutch cyclist Lorena Wiebes won the fourth stage, outpacing her compatriot and yellow jersey-holder Marianne Vos at the end of that bunch sprint.

Just as in the previous day’s stage, the SD Worx team sprinter once again beat the overall leader by a wheel to claim her second consecutive stage victory.

Gillespie completed the podium at the end of a stage which was thankfully much cleaner than Monday’s in Angers, when several riders found themselves caught up in a mass crash.

The main victim of that crash, Dutch rider Demi Vollering, appeared apprehensive at the start in Saumur on Tuesday.

But the overall favourite for the Tour finished in the peloton in the same time as Wiebes.

Vollering sits sixth overall, 25sec behind leader Vos and 13sec behind second-placed Wiebes.

Tuesday’s stage was led by Franziska Koch of Germany and Brazilian Ana Vitoria Magalhaes, after they made a break just over an hour into the day’s racing.

They were caught 3km from the finish line by the SD Worx team, who catapulted Wiebes to her 16th victory this season and the 109th of her career.

Wednesday will be the longest stage of the 2025 edition with its 165.8km run between Chasseneuil-du-Poitou/Futuroscope and Gueret, complete with a slog to the finish featuring three climbs inside the final 35km.

- Additional reporting The 42 staff

– © AFP 2025

Written by AFP and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.