Marianne Vos of the Netherlands has won the inaugural women's version of the Tour de France, an 89km circuit on the famous cobblestones of Paris's Champs-Elysees.
"I felt quite good," the Rabobank-Liv team rider said after Sunday's race.
"My team was upfront all the time - we were in every breakaway so I could stay relaxed. It gave me extra motivation to be there in the final sprint and to push maximum power."
Vos's teammate Kirsten Wild finished second and Leah Kirchman of Canada was third.
In this first edition of La Course by le Tour de France, 120 women from 20 teams raced thirteen laps of Paris' broad tree-lined boulevard.
"It's fantastic to be here, on the Champs-Elysees and to have this opportunity for women cycling to show ourselves in front of this crowd and in front of the whole world," Vos said.
In the crowd, cycling fans were equally enthusiastic.
Tour de France Director Jean-Francois Pescheux said he was already looking to the future.
"The next step will be, first to consolidate as much as possible this race, to make it sustainable in the long run, and then to try and organise a race with different stages which would really respond to the demands of professional female cyclists."
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