Medical Reports & Withdrawals Tour de France Femmes 2026 Stage 9 - Marlen Reusser crashes out of GC contention
Cycling
Across nine stages from Lausanne to Nice, the Tour de France Femmes can change quickly through crashes, illness and the accumulated strain of a compact route. With little recovery time between sprint finales, hilly stages, the Dijon time trial and the decisive mountain tests, one incident can remove a contender or significantly weaken a team’s plans.
This live medical reports and withdrawals hub will be updated throughout the race with every confirmed injury, DNS, DNF and abandonment. As teams issue further assessments following crashes, illness or other incidents, this article will track the verified developments affecting the 2026 Tour de France Femmes peloton.
Stage 1
Laura Tomasi became the first rider to abandon the 2026 Tour de France Femmes after crashing during the opening stage in Lausanne. Alison Avoine also left the race after finishing outside the time limit.
Several notable riders were caught up in crashes across a nervous opening day. Zoe Backstedt, Kim Le Court-Pienaar and Christina Schweinberger were among those brought down early, with Schweinberger later struggling with a wrist injury. Marlen Reusser was delayed after being unable to avoid a Movistar teammate who crashed in front of her on a descent, although she returned to the peloton with help from her team. Mackenzie Coupland, Henrietta Christie, Debora Silvestri, Dominika Wlodarczyk and Letizia Paternoster were also involved in separate incidents.
Stage 2
Christina Schweinberger was unable to start Stage 2 after suffering a fractured wrist in her crash during the opening stage in Lausanne. The Fenix – Premier Tech rider had managed to finish Stage 1 but was ruled out before the peloton departed for Geneva. Brodie Chapman was the other non-starter, with the UAE Team L'IMAD rider withdrawing due to illness.
Lotto Intermarche Ladies lost three riders during the stage as Elisabeth Ebras, Marieke Meert and Sterre Vervloet all abandoned. Laura Molenaar of VolkerWessels Cycling Team also failed to finish.
Stage 3
Victorie Guilman was involved in an early crash but was quickly back on her bike and able to continue. A separate incident then brought down Demi Vollering, Puck Pieterse, Magdeleine Vallieres and Noemi Ruegg. Vollering landed on the kerb, although all four riders were able to resume racing and returned to the peloton without any immediate medical consequences being reported.
Dina Boels was the only rider to abandon Stage 3. The Lotto Intermarche Ladies rider had continued to struggle with injuries sustained in her Stage 1 crash and was forced to leave the Tour on the road to Poligny.
Stage 4
Nothing to note.
Stage 5
Hannah Ludwig and Teuntje Beekhuis did not start the final stage whilst India Grangier did not finish it. Chiara Consonni, Usoa Ostolaza, Ema Comte, Clémence Latimier and Marte Berg Edseth were part of early crashes on the day. In a decisive part of the stage, Noemi Rüegg crashed after being struck by a motorbike.
Stage 6
Maria Trinca Colonel and Barbara Malcotti did not start the stage; whilst Eleonora Ciabocco and Yara Kastelijn did not finish it.
Stage 7
Three riders did not start the stage: Anna van der Breggen, Kiara Lylyk and Katrine Aalerud. Mavi García and Lore de Schepper were also involved in crashes during the stage.
Stage 8
The 2025 Tour de France Femmes Maillot Jaune Pauline Ferrand-Prevot was a DNS at the start of the day as illness ended what had already been a relatively disappointing return to her home Grand Tour.
During the stage, Maeva Squiban, winner of two stages in 2025, saw her day out in the breakaway ended in cruel fashion as a late crash left the Frenchwoman visibly emotional and struggling to told the bike with two hands
Stage 9
Valentina Cavallar, Alice Coutinho, Heidi Franz and Paula Patiño did not start the stage whilst several riders did not finish it: Sophie von Berwordt, Letizia Borghesi, Alicia González, Alison Jackson, Nikola Nosková, Morgane Coston and Marianne Vos.
Zoe Bäckstedt crashed early in the day on the descent of the Col d'Èze, whilst Marlen Reusser did so as well the next lap and lost touch with the GC battle.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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