Denmark's Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig surged to the lead in Australia's women's Tour Down Under with a powerful finish to take the second stage on Saturday, setting up a thrilling showdown to the WorldTour season opener.

Germany's Liane Lippert mastered the slippery conditions and a puncture Monday to sprint to victory in the second stage of the 2023 women's Tour de France just ahead of Belgian race leader Lotte Kopecky.

The second Tour de France Femmes begins July 23 in Clermont Ferrand and will last for eight days before ending July 30 in the southwestern city of Pau, sitting along the Pyrenees.

Danish rider Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig outmuscled Marianne Vos to win stage three of the women's Tour de France on Tuesday, but the veteran Dutch rider held on to the yellow jersey.

As the men's race finishes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday, the new women's Tour de France takes off with live TV coverage for the first time and ambitions of making the sports' female stars household names.

This Sunday, the Amstel Gold Race returns after its 2020 hiatus. While many eyes will be fixated on 2019 top finishers Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon // SRAM) and Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar Team), there are several riders with a shot at upsetting the two favorites.