Hungary’s Blanka Vas won the fifth stage of the women’s Tour de France on Thursday, while the yellow jersey holder in the general classification, Demi Vollering, unexpectedly had to give it up.
Six kilometres from the finish line, Vollering was the victim of a fall involving a dozen runners. After taking more than a minute to get back up, the Dutchwoman, visibly dazed, injured in the back and suffering from scratches on the left thigh, finished the race with difficulty.
This unfortunate fall opened the door to Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma, who took the yellow jersey from her. Niewiadoma, from the Canyon//Sram Racing team, now has a 19-second lead in the cumulative standings ahead of American Kristen Faulkner, and 22 seconds ahead of Dutch Puck Pieterse.
“I’m very happy to take the jersey. It’s exceptional,” said Niewiadoma, the winner of the Flèche Wallonne in the spring.
For her part, Vollering, the reigning champion of the Women’s Tour de France, fell to ninth place, 1:19 behind the Polish athlete.
For her part, Quebecer Simone Boilard was the best Canadian runner in 49th place, 1:43 behind Vas. Olivia Baril, from Rouyn-Noranda, followed in 114th place.e rank, and Alison Jackson, at 116e.
In the cumulative ranking, Boilard is now 27eat 3:44 from Niewiadoma. Baril and Jackson point to the 52e and 107e echelons, respectively. It should be noted that Quebecer Magdeleine Vallières was forced to abandon.
The race was marked by a long breakaway by a trio composed of the Belgian Julie Van de Velde and the Dutch Fem van Empel and Loes Adegeest. However, they were caught about 10 km from Amnéville, in eastern France.
Vollering is not at the end of her troubles, as the riders will face two very difficult stages in the French Alps on Saturday and Sunday.
But first, she will have to face the sixth stage on Friday, which will stretch over 159 km. The last part of this stage could be decisive, particularly because of the Côte des Fins (1.8 km with a 6.9% gradient), located less than 15 km from the finish.