Opinion: Tour de France Femmes GC battle finely poised as FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope the biggest losers on eventful Stage 2

The pressure on the shoulders of the women’s peloton ahead of stage 2 of the rebooted Tour de France Femmes was clearly visible as tensions led to a number of serious incidents on the route from Meaux to Provins. The nerves combined with the ever-present threat of crosswinds, narrow roads and excessive road furniture to contend with, made for a challenging day, which led to multiple injuries as well as significant losses for key contenders in the overall classification.

Crashes are, of course, an inevitable part of professional cycling, but following a particularly brutal day, FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope will be wondering what they did to deserve the carnage that ensued. A series of unfortunate events is a diplomatic way of describing the French team’s day in the saddle, the impact of which will be felt quite literally for some time to come.

It didn’t do their GC campaign any favours either, and although this is of course secondary to the safety of the riders, for those that remain in the race, it’s going to be a battle to claw back the lost time for their leader, Danish champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. For Marta Cavalli, brought down in a bizarre and alarming incident by another rider going at full speed towards a peloton that had slowed due to a crash, the race is sadly over, as she is taken to hospital for assessment.

Uttrup Ludwig’s GC campaign was not the only one to be dealt a blow as a result of the day’s numerous incidents. Team BikeExchange-Jayco’s Kristen Faulkner was distanced too, with her team mate Amanda Spratt another one of the riders hurt in the crashes. While Uttrup Ludwig sits at 1.54 back from current leader Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo-Visma), Faulkner’s bid for glory is all but over, as she languishes 4.04 back in the standings. Following a strong performance in the mountains at the Giro Donne, she may look to go for stages in the mountains, later in the race.

In closer order, the two pre-race favourites Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar) and Demi Vollering (SD Worx) lost a small amount of time to those who were able to steal a march by following Elisa Balsamo’s (Trek-Segafredo) late attack, immediately following the intermediate sprint.

Balsamo took team mate Elisa Longo Borghini with her as she launched a perfectly timed attack to leave Van Vleuten, Vollering and former yellow jersey wearer Lorena Wiebes in her wake. Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) was also able to go with the move, which showed promise with Marianne Vos along for the ride, along with Maike Van der Duin and Silvia Persico. Despite the contrasting goals among the six late breakaway riders – some of whom were going for the stage win, others to gain time on GC – there was enough accord to lead to cooperation, and the late move stayed away.

For Niewiadoma and Longo Borghini, the chance to take a few precious seconds from the likes of Vollering and Van Vleuten will not present itself very often and their clever riding sees them now positioned 3rd and 4th in the standings respectively, 12 and 18 seconds behind Vos.

While the chasing peloton was able to recoup some of its losses, Vollering and Van Vleuten, who were among it, now find themselves 45 and 50 seconds off the pace, respectively. Vollering’s team were noticeable by their absence from the sharp end of proceedings and Van Vleuten’s Movistar team mates struggled to stay with the pace, domestiques being shed from the back of the peloton, or getting caught up in the numerous incidents.

For those worst affected, it’s time to recover ahead of new challenges. For those who remain in the race but have suffered time losses, it’s back to the drawing board and a shift in focus, as GC hopefuls may now become stage hunters.

The chaos has been damaging for many, but fortuitous for a few who find themselves with a slender but valuable advantage going into the remaining six stages. On a stage that could have seen a bunch sprint, with GC times unchanged, instead the savage reality of bike racing, combined with precision attacking from the World Champion, has left the fight for the overall win finely poised. It will force the hand of those who were disadvantaged and all but guarantees explosive racing over the next few days.

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