Kasia Niewiadoma celebrated a hard-fought second place on stage 5, the place she moved into the yellow jersey on the Tour de France Femmes. The Canyon-SRAM rider was a part of a small entrance group that emerged after a mass crash with 6km to go cut up the sphere. However, she mentioned she was unaware that in a single day chief Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) was concerned within the accident that induced her to lose 1:47 in Amnéville.
“I did not know {that a} crash occurred and thought that the sphere cut up up on the descent as a result of it has occurred many instances main into the ultimate. At that second, racing intuition kicked in, and we simply wished to make it to the ultimate,” Niewiadoma mentioned.
“We knew the ultimate could be good for me. We did not recon the stage, so we weren’t certain what the final 500 metres regarded like, however our foremost purpose was to win the stage, after which we realized about all the pieces that occurred [in the crash – ed.].
“It’s not one thing we have a good time or are happy with however can also be a part of racing, sadly.”
A break of three was virtually caught close to the top of the 152.5km stage from Bastogne to Amnéville when a pointy chicane out of a roundabout simply over 6km from the end induced a mass crash. Roughly 25 riders, together with Vollering, hit the bottom.
A bunch that included Niewiadoma and teammate Chloé Dygert cut up off the entrance, and the time trial world champion put the strain on till 1.2km to go, when Niewiadoma attacked. In the top, it was the Polish rider together with Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime), Liane Lippert (Movistar) and Kristen Faulkner (EF-Oatly-Cannondale) who sprinted for the road with Vas taking the win.
“This entire week, I’m asking the ladies to inform me what to do and the entire time Kasia is like, ‘go Chloé, go Chloé’, I’m simply following what I’m presupposed to do and getting good steerage,” mentioned Dygert, who arrived on the Tour de France Femmes after profitable the gold medal within the Team Pursuit on the Olympic Games.
Dygert confirmed that she did not know Vollering had been injured within the crash. “At that point, no, I heard that there was a crash on that flip, however once more, I simply adopted what I used to be instructed by our chief,” she mentioned.
Soraya Paladin, who additionally made it within the entrance group, mentioned the riders have been notified of the crash after the race had completed, and he or she expressed her concern for Vollering.
“I solely realised on the end line after they instructed me, within the race, I did not understand it. On one hand, it is good to have the yellow jersey, nevertheless it’s not good to take it due to a crash. I hope that Vollering is OK, and they’re going to struggle within the climbs,” she mentioned,
Niewiadoma now leads the Tour de France Femmes GC standings, 19 seconds forward of Faulkner and 22 seconds forward of Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck). Vollering dropped to ninth place, 1:19 again. However, the general classification will not be sewn up with the 2 mountain phases nonetheless to come back: stage 7 into La Grand Bornand and stage 8, which finishes on the prime of Alpe d’Huez.
“1:19 within the mountains is nothing, to be sincere. I additionally know that I spent loads of time getting ready for these two last phases. I really feel like since beginning in Rotterdam, I’ve simply been ready for these mountains,” Niewiadoma mentioned.
“In some methods, I really feel assured, figuring out I put loads of effort and work into enhancing my lengthy climbing expertise. I’m additionally conscious that Demi is extraordinarily sturdy, and equally, she has been engaged on the identical factor, so it’s a honest battle.”
