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An attack at the top of the Cote de Durtol and a ten-kilometre solo effort by Lotte Kopecky saw the Belgian national champion claim the stage win and the opening yellow jersey.
Kopecky exploded away from the peloton and was barely sighted by the main bunch after that, with only a handful of riders present and willing to chase.
"Sport is emotion and this is such a big win, on the first stage of the Tour de France, claiming the yellow jersey… It was on my mind for quite some time already," said Kopecky. "When I first saw the course, I thought it would be for the sprinters. But then my sports directors did a recon and they immediately texted me saying this is for me.
"When I saw the climb for myself, I was very happy. We’ve been joking with some friends, texting each other every day saying “10 kilometres to go” with yellow hearts."
"We had several options with the team, Lorena Wiebes could also have won in a sprint, Demi [Vollering] is very strong… I’m very happy the team gave me my chance and I took it. I just went full gas to the top and I never hesitated. When I heard the gaps, I knew that if I was able to maintain my power no-one could come back."
Kopecky has a margin of 45 seconds over her teammate at the head of the standings now, with the classics specialist considered unlikely to challenge the pure climbers on the Col du Tourmalet on Stage 7.
"I have no idea how long I can keep the jersey," said Kopecky. "It’s up to the team. It’s clear to me that the biggest goal is the overall victory with Demi.
"If we need to sacrifice the jersey tomorrow, we won’t hesitate. Whatever needs to be done will be done but it would be nice to wear yellow for a few days, for sure."
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Stage 1 - Full Replay - Tour de France Femmes 2023
Sunshine and fine conditions greeted the start of the Tour de France Femmes in Clermont-Ferrand, with a sedate start to the race not seeing much in the way of attacking.
There was a moment of significant concern as Mireira Beniot (AG Insurance-Soudal QuickStep) crashed off to the side of the road, not moving voluntarily. The race medical team rushed to her side, and her team later confirmed that she was conscious when taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Typhaine Laurance (Lifeplus Wahoo) had a short-lived time at the head of the race, attacking with 97 kilometres remaining before being caught 20 kilometres later.
It was a sleepy start for the race, and Marta Lach (Ceratizit-WNT) injected some life into proceedings with an attack 46 kilometres remaining.
An open section of road impacted by the wind saw the pace increase in the peloton, with a number of small crashes, including one seeing pre-race favourite Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) caught up briefly.
The peloton caught Lach, and set to preparing for the Cote de Durtol, the category 3 climb summiting with ten kilometres remaining in the stage.
The climb was taken hard, with SD-Worx setting the tempo, then capitalising on that pace with Kopecky attacking the much-reduced group and immediately getting an advantage. After the descent, she already had 16 seconds lead, and with no teams with extra riders to commit to the chase, she pushed out her advantage on the flat.
She pushed out her lead and what would turn into her yellow jersey margin all the way to the finish line, saluting over the finish and then waiting 41 seconds for her SD-Worx teammate Lorena Wiebes to cross for a memorable 1-2, with Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich) in third.
