The Tour de France Femmes did not start as hoped for Team SD Worx - Protime. The Dutch WorldTeam worked the entire stage to preserve their chances for the first yellow jersey. But unfortunately Lorena Wiebes's derailleur broke off at the worst moment possible.
Lorena Wiebes returned to the incident after the stage: "I had ticked this stage in my calendar for a long time. I am therefore disappointed that I didn't make it to sprint. I was sitting perfectly, but a race incident happens in a sprint. There was an impact and I immediately felt my derailleur was broken. Then, unfortunately, it's over. This is not an excuse to lose. It's a missed opportunity and this comes at a time."
Wiebes unsurprisingly had a really tough time trying to control the wave of emotions: "When you have been looking forward to a moment for months, it is human for you to react like this. You work very hard for months and then you miss out. But tomorrow a new opportunity presents itself."
Her teammate Demi Vollering was among the first to come to comfort the shook up Wiebes: "Lorena was in tears after the finish. She had really looked forward to this stage and dreamed of the yellow. It's painful when you don't get to sprint due to material failure and can't even try to win. You know it's part of the game, but when you can't take your chance, it's a real bummer. We rode strongly as a team today and until 500 metres before the finish it went fine, but then there was a contact in which Lorena's derailleur was hit. Then it just finished. At the finish, we grabbed Lorena well. It's a shame, but knowing her, she will turn this setback into motivation."
Sport Director Anna van der Breggen: "In sprints, danger lurks behind every corner. A contact happens quickly when you go into the last straight line at that speed. It often goes well, but unfortunately not now. It's sad that she didn't get to sprint. Our riders will be extra keen tomorrow. We will try to turn this setback into positive energy."
Mechanical breakdown fries chances for Lorena Wiebes The Tour de France Femmes did not start as hoped for Team SD Worx-Protime. The Dutch WorldTeam worked the entire ride to keep their chances cool in the bunch sprint. But unfortunately Lorena Wiebes's derailleur broke off in a…
