Tour de France Femmes leader Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) crashed hard with 6.3km to go on stage 5 and saw what was a 22-second lead heading into the day, completely flipped on its head to a 1:19 deficit heading into the final three stages.
The incident unfolded at the exit of a roundabout where a touch of wheels caused a mass pile-up at high speed that left Vollering unable to remount her bike for 49 seconds as she clutched at the back of her left leg with what appeared to be a hip injury.
She began chasing at over a minute behind a lead group containing Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), who was placed third overall at 34 seconds and fourth-placed Kristen Faulkner (EF-Oatly-EasyPost). But a grimace was across her face as she battled the pain to try and defend the jersey.
Vollering fought mainly on her own to limit her losses, until Mischa Bredewold came back to offer up a helping hand, ultimately finishing the stage 1:46 down on stage winner and teammate Blanka Vas and dropping down the Tour de France Femmes overall standings as Niewiadoma moved into the maillot jaune.
“I must say, everything looked pretty in control until the last 6k, I think. We took responsibility for the chase as we prepared the sprint for Lorena. And at 6k, there was a big crash and unfortunately, Demi was there and it split up into complete groups so it was quite hectic," said sports manager Danny Stam as he described the incident to reporters including Cyclingnews.
Stam had no knowledge of Vollering's condition having not yet spoken to her, however, he had his rider's safety at the front of his mind ahead of where they were going to take the time back on the likes of Niewiadoma.
“I think the most important thing is that we see what is going on with Demi, how she feels and how the rest of the team feels. First, let's see how big the damage is with the body and then I think we need to see where we can find time back," said Stam.
"Tomorrow is not a day for us but I think we still have two days that are really hard.”
Among those worst affected by the crash were Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM-Firmenich-PostNl) and Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), with the Brit unfortunately having to abandon the race due to her injuries. Georgi was one of two riders who had to go to hospital after the race, alongside EF-Oatly Cannondale's Magdeleine Vallieres.
Vollering's teammate Vas (SD Worx-ProTime) won the stage ahead of Niewiadoma and Liane Lippert (Movistar), while Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) dropped down from second to third overall after also going down in the wreck and finishing in a chase group.
Grand Tours are no stranger to big crashes but the yellow jersey hitting the deck sent ripples through the SD Worx-Protime team and everyone waiting at the finish line who audibly shared their shock at the severity of the incident and time Vollering lost.
She'll be hungry to get back the time lost and the high mountain terrain of Le Grand Bornand and Alpe d'Huez suit her more than anyone. But she may not even be able to continue if the injury to her left leg is worse than it first seemed.
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