Demi Vollering was penalised 20 seconds after slipstreaming behind her SD Worx’s team car during stage 5 to Albi, meaning she dropped to seventh overall, 12 seconds behind her overall rival Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) before the decisive mountain stages of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Vollering suffered a rear wheel puncture with 65km to go. She was serviced by her team mechanic and then jumped into the slipstream of the SD Worx car for at least a minute as she chased back to the peloton.
At one point the SD Worx team car, apparently driven by Directeur Sportif Danny Stam, veered onto the grass on the left to avoid another team in the convoy, sparking concerns about Vollering’s safety as she tucked up close to her team car.
A race commissaire on a motorbike whistled a number of times, to dissuade Vollering and Stam. When the commissaire caught up to the team car, they pointed at the driver and gesticulated they would be reported.
With the Video Assist Referee (VAR) also active during the Tour de France Femmes, the stage results soon indicated that Vollering had been penalised 20 seconds.
Vollering finished in the front group in the same time as race leader and SD Worx teammate Lotte Kopecky. However she dropped from second place at 43 seconds to seventh at 1:03 down on Kopecky, and 12 seconds down on Van Vleuten.
“I have no clue why I get this penalty,” Vollering said when Cyclingnews’ Women’s Editor Kirsten Frattini asked her about the 20-second time penalty.
“For the first part I went behind the car, then I assumed Danny was in his place in the caravan and I went directly around, also because there was no place at first. He was on the left side and I could not pass when there are two lines of cars next to each other. I dare not to pass because it’s so dangerous.
"I never knew that this was forbidden, to come after a mechanical. The last part I did all by myself so I don't understand, because later Danny came more to the front for a bottle and I took two bottles. Then I jumped together with Christine Majerus back to the bunch. I need to discuss this with Danny because I don’t see everything.”
The punishment saw Vollering plummet from second in the yellow jersey competition to seventh - now 1:03 behind her teammate Lotte Kopecky. Crucially, she is also 12 seconds behind major Tour de France Femmes favourite and defending champion Vleuten.
Kopecky remains in the yellow jersey, and now holds a margin of 51 seconds over Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep) in second place, who shares the same time with Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), Van Vleuten (Movistar) who now sit in third, fourth and fifth position respectively.
