"The penalty makes it seem that we are doing something totally unheard of" - Team SD Worx left raging after 'unjustified' time penalty for Vollering

Demi Vollering's quest to take overall victory at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes was given a blow on Thursday's stage 5 as the Dutch, Team SD Worx leader was given a 20-second time penalty.

Speaking afterwards, the Team SD Worx sports director, Anna van der Breggen has slammed the race jury's decision to penalise Vollering for using the draft of a team car to return to the peloton after suffering a mechanical.

“This time penalty falls raw on us. I cycled at the highest level for a long time. It used to be allowed to come back behind the car after equipment failure or a flat tyre. The penalty makes it seem that we are doing something totally unheard of, while in reality, riders return behind the car every day," says van der Breggen. “It is the first time I have experienced such a punishment. The moment the commissaire indicated we should stop, Demi rode from car to car herself back to the tail of the peloton. Therefore, for Demi, this punishment is unjustified.”

Danny Stam, another Team SD Worx sports director and the man in the car Vollering drafted behind was also non-plussed over the decision. “It’s a ridiculous punishment, that in [Vollering's] eyes and our eyes, is not fair,” Stam told Cyclingnews. "If the decision is made by someone who sits in the car, probably never was on the bike, then I am disappointed in this kind of thing."