Veronica Ewers' season ended within sight of her big goal - the Col du Tourmalet: "It happened on one of those days I just had to get through safely"

Veronica Ewers has said that she felt "pretty low for quite some time" after crashing out of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift earlier this year. The American was aiming to back up her debut performance in 2022, where she made the top 10, and was on course to do that. On the eve of the decisive Tourmalet stage, she was 15th overall and ready to climb the standings when the race reached the Pyrenean ascent.

Ewers’ race ended before she could get to the Tourmalet when she broke her collarbone in a crash on stage 6. In an interview on her team’s podcast, Explore by EF Pro Cycling, Ewers discussed the emotional fallout of the crash and how she relied on friends and family to help her through.

"It was tough, that’s for sure. The following day was the day I was working up toward the entire season and it happened on one of those days I just had to get through safely," Ewers said. "I was pretty low for quite sometime after that, given the timing. That was the hardest part, because of what would be happening the next day."

"Having the support around me from my coach and friends here in Girona. Everyone who helped me during that time; that was really massive. That helped me get out of sort of that space. Having a coach that really wants the rider to be happy and healthy, is a game changer. He and I are very open and honest about how I’m feeling. He’s been really patient with me through everything and he helped me get through that low point to look forward and get out of that hole, knowing that I’ll have opportunities in the future. Maybe I could have done well on the Tourmalet, but we’ll see how I do on the Alpe d’Huez this next year."