After a mechanical left Demi Vollering out the back of the peloton at the Tour de France Femmes, the Team SD Worx leader made her way back into the peloton using the help of the team car. After the finish, Vollering was given a 20 second time penalty, a decision which Ine Beyen has criticised.
"At that point there is no battle for the ranking in the race, no one is disadvantaged by the fact that Vollering is brought back. Taking that into account alone, you can say that this is a statement," says ex-pro Beyen on Sporza as part of their coverage of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes. "But this is shooting the jury in the foot."
In fact, it's the lack of consistency from the race jury that has left Beyen especially perturbed. "Because the jury does not carry out those punishments consistently," continues Beyen. "Yesterday someone got a minute for the same thing. Where did that come from?"
"Everyone will look at each other. But Danny Stam should look at his own papers. Because he bears responsibility for what he has done there," she concludes, passing blame for the incident on to the Team SD Worx sports director in the team car.
Unlucky Tour day for Team SD Worx Demi Vollering lost 20 sec due to a penalty imposed on her by the jury for turning back behind the team car after a flat tyre 61 kilometres from the finish. "This time penalty falls raw on us." More: teamsdworx.com/en/news/tdff-s… Photos: Getty Sport
