‘Couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink’ – Annemiek van Vleuten charge hit by stomach bug at Tour de France Femmes

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) has revealed she is suffering from a stomach bug as she fights to stay in contention for the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes.

The pre-race favourite has leaked time on the last two stages and looked out of sorts on the first proper climbs of the race on Tuesday.

Van Vleuten’s struggles have raised questions about whether it was smart to ride both the Giro Donne and Tour de France Femmes in 2022, given there was just a fortnight between the two races.

But the 39-year-old, who won her third title in Italy, has offered another explanation for her surprise lack of form.

“Today was actually an awesome day compared to yesterday, because yesterday I was really, really, really sick,” Van Vleuten told Eurosport.

“It started two hours after the first stage, I had a real stomach infection. I had all the symptoms apart from flu – couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink, super tired. The last thing I was thinking about was racing.

“So yesterday when I woke up, I was also feeling so s***. I could not even think about finishing yesterday’s stage. So losing less than a minute was a big achievement.

“Today I was quite optimistic because I could have breakfast, I felt quite normal again. But your body is still recovering from a hard 24-hour sickness.”

Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) is leading a select group of GC favourites in the top 10, 16 seconds adrift of Vos, while Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek–Segafredo) and Demi Vollering (SD Worx) are also ahead of Van Vleuten. Uttrup Ludwig climbed into the top 10 with victory on Tuesday.

When asked about her routine ahead of Stage 4, Van Vleuten added: “Not worry about things I can’t control. But yesterday was super worse, so today I already feel 100 times better than yesterday.

“It’s on the way up and today was fine. I have confidence, it’s like a stomach thing so it gets better day by day.”

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