'I somehow touched her back wheel' - Anniina Ahtosalo skirts disaster after touch of wheels with Lorena Wiebes in Tour de France Femmes sprint

Uno-X Mobility team's Finnish rider Anniina Ahtosalo celebrates on the podium with the best young rider's white jersey after the first stage (out of 8) of the third edition of the Women's Tour de France cycling race a 123 km individual time trial between Rotterdam and The Hague, on August 12, 2024. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)
Uno-X Mobility team's Finnish rider Anniina Ahtosalo celebrates on the podium with the best young rider's white jersey after finishing second on stage 1 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility) skirted disaster and sprinted to second place in the opening stage at the Tour de France Femmes after a touch of wheels left Lorena Wiebes' (SD Worx-Protime) bike without a derailleur and a hanging chain unable to sprint in The Hague.

The Finnish Champion sprinted to second behind stage winner Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and is now positioned second overall and, at just 20 years old, is also leading the young rider competition. 

Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.