Tour de France Femmes: Dani Rowe criticises 'crazy' SD Worx-Protime tactics as Demi Vollering left isolated after crash

Published 16/08/2024 at 13:11 GMT

Eurosport pundit Dani Rowe has weighed in on the ongoing fallout from Demi Vollering's crash on Stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes, which saw the SD Worx-Protime rider lose the race lead and significant time as she rode to the finish line with little support from her team-mates. Rowe described the situation as "crazy", asking "where were they" as SD Worx rider Blanka Vas won the stage.

'Crazy!' - Rowe slams SD Worx-Protime after Vollering left to chase alone

Eurosport pundit and former pro cyclist Dani Rowe has described SD Worx-Protime's tactics on Stage 5 as "crazy" as pre-race favourite and yellow jersey Demi Vollering was left isolated after a crash and lost the race lead.

Vollering was among several riders to crash at high speed on an awkward sharp corner inside the final 6.4km of the stage from Bastogne to Amneville.

Team-mate Niamh Fisher-Black was also caught up in the crash but continued without stopping to check on her team leader, while Blanka Vas – who won the stage – and Lorena Wiebes did not drop back to shepherd Vollering to the line.

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"The fact that Demi Vollering was on her own is crazy, in my opinion," Rowe said on The Breakaway ahead of Stage 6.

"The big drama and the big talking point with this crash was the fact that there were no team-mates with Demi Vollering. Lorena Wiebes was one of those up the road, Blanka Vas, who went on to win the stage.

"This is the Tour de France and this is the yellow jersey. They came into this race with [sports director] Danny Stam saying, our number one focus and goal is the yellow jersey, yes it’s nice if we can get a stage with Lorena Wiebes. If that is correct, then where were they?"

A battered and bruised Vollering eventually crossed the line 1:47 behind Vas, having been forced to chase back to try to minimise her time loss.

European champion Mischa Bredewold was the only SD Worx-Protime rider to drop back but live pictures showed Vollering doing the majority of the chasing herself.

Van der Breggen says Vollering ‘bruised’ but ‘feeling good’ after crash

Stage winner Vas explained that her radio had not worked at the time so she did not hear the news of the crash.

"It comes back to this goal, as Danny said at the start of the Tour de France, like what is the goal here? And it has to be very, very clear," Rowe added. "Niamh Fisher-Black crashed or was within the mix of the crash alongside Demi Vollering, she then got back up on her bike and then had to stop for a bike change and ended up behind Demi at the finish.

"But the fact that she even got back on her bike when Vollering was still on the ground, or getting up, it raises those question marks as to why, because she should have been there in support."

Vollering will leave SD Worx-Protime at the end of the 2024 season and is believed to be signing for FDJ-Suez, although the move has not yet been confirmed. Rowe questioned whether that move was a sign of further issues behind the scenes.

"Is there something going on in the background, is there tension there? We don’t know. It shouldn’t have happened, regardless, because it’s the yellow jersey."

Vollering slipped to ninth in the general classification as a result of the crash, shipping 1'19" to new yellow jersey Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), who finished second in Amneville.

Niewiadoma had been in the first group on the road when the crash happened and the group continued to charge for the line to contest the stage win. Race etiquette typically dictates that at most points in a race other riders should stop if the yellow jersey crashes.

“I think it was fair in that scenario because we were in the thick of the bike race, inside the last 7km, with that crash happening at 6.4km to go," Rowe said. "It would have been very, very different, had it been 50km to go, and I think then the peloton would have respected the fact that Demi Vollering had crashed and they would almost sit up and let her get back into the peloton.

"It’s tough because as Kasia said, this is not the way [she] would want to have the yellow jersey, but she’s put so much into it and her performances over the past few days have highlighted the form that she is in."

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Rowe also compared the differing tactics of SD Worx, who finished with two riders in the top 10 on the stage but saw Vollering lose significant time, with Canyon-SRAM taking advantage.

"It was also a really good team performance, Kasia aside. She had Soraya Paladin there, she had Chloe Dygert who did a huge turn, even after the crash that she sustained in the previous day, and they really came together."

Several interviews with SD Worx-Protime riders after the stage suggested that the time deficit was negligible, but Rowe cautioned against assuming that an injured Vollering could easily reclaim the race lead.

"I don’t think with SD Worx they can be complacent here. We heard a couple of post-race interviews with them saying, ‘it’s only one minute and 19 seconds, she can still do it'.

"That is actually quite disrespectful to her rivals, when this is the Tour de France Femmes, and for Kasia, she has put everything into this. This is her one major goal of the season, and you’re really underestimating your rivals in this instance.

"It’s going to be interesting, and we’re going to have a big, big fight in the last couple of days."

Watch the Tour de France Femmes 2024 live on Eurosport 1 and discovery+

Tour de France Femmes