Stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes was a day of dizzying highs and crushing lows for SD Worx-Protime. Hungarian road champ Blanka Vas sprinted to a career-making stage victory, but her joy was tempered when she learned that her teammate and team leader Demi Vollering had lost the Yellow Jersey after a dramatic crash in the final kilometers of the stage.
Going into a wide left turn with just 6 km to go, a touch of wheels sent Vollering and several others tumbling on the tarmac at high speed. She quickly got back on her bike, bloody road rash showing through her skinsuit by her left hip. Without a bike change, she continued on while assessing her injuries and realizing that Kasia Niewiadoma of Canyon//SRAM was ahead, and she could now lose the jersey. Vollering put a big effort in and finished 1:47 behind the stage winner. Despite her best efforts, she has dropped from first to ninth in the general classification and now trails new race leader Niewiadoma by 1:19.
The crash exposed what could be a major vulnerability in SD Worx-Protime’s strategy, as radio communication issues left the team unaware of Vollering’s bad luck. Mischa Bredewold, the only teammate to eventually drop back and help, shared that she didn’t realize Vollering had crashed until it was too late. Meanwhile, Vas, en route to her stage win, also had no idea what was unfolding behind her due to her own radio malfunction. The result? Vollering was left isolated, scrambling to limit her losses with minimal support from her teammates.
Did SD Worx-Protime put too much trust in their team radios?
Relying solely on technology for communication proved costly in the chaotic, high-stakes environment of the TdF Femmes. The team was spread too thin in those critical final kilometers, leaving their leader vulnerable in a tricky section of the course. When the crash happened, there were no teammates nearby to assist Vollering immediately—it was hard to watch.
But could a focus on another stage win also distract the team from protecting their GC lead? It’s a bitter pill for SD Worx to swallow. While the radios failed them, maybe a combination of their race strategy and over-reliance on technology let them down. If my job as a domestique was to make sure Vollering was in a safe and good position, my priorities would be to have her in sight at all moments, especially during those last kilometers. But the only other teammates Vollering had between her and Vas were Bredewold, who came back to help, and Wiebes, who also had hopes of contesting the final sprint. The three other teammates were peppered in the groups behind Vollering’s, suffering from the high pace of the second half of the race.
But is there something more going on inside SD Worx-Protime?
The Dutch team does have a history of questionable tactics. The team’s issues with cohesion and support are not new but rather part of a pattern that might ultimately hurt their long-term success. Additionally, Vollering’s departure at the end of the year could be influencing team dynamics and decisions on the road. Who knows.
Yet, before the race started, we had assumed that not much team drama would ensue due to Lotte Kopecky’s absence from the TdFF roster. Vollering and Kopecky have a history of tension and uncomfortable situations. As we know, in the 2023 Strade Bianche, they sprinted each other out for the win—Kopecky later acknowledged communication issues and the lack of team orders during the race. Their tension carried into the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, where Kopecky won the first stage, raising questions about leadership and support for Vollering. After Kopecky led through the first half of the eight days, Vollering claimed the overall victory in the final two stages.
But maybe the problem wasn’t just a tactical blunder but a reflection of the team’s deeper strategic choices, some of which may have been flawed but had their own rationale.
“I don’t think it would have made a difference to make the whole group wait,” Danny Stam, sports manager for SD Worx-Protime, said after the race.
“In the last four or five kilometers, if Blanka or Demi went full gas, they would be alone anyway... We let Demi ride her way as much as possible and got the best out of it.”
Still, in a sport where positioning is everything, the fact that no one seemed to be physically close to Vollering in the final kilometers proved a costly mistake. The teammates’ concerns after learning what happened seemed genuine, so it could be that the intensity of the high-paced day, splitting their defenses into various groups, took its toll on the team.
“It was such a rollercoaster... I’m really happy for Blanka to win, but for Demi, it’s really sh*t,” said Bredewold on Vollering’s efforts in the final kilometers.
However, “the Tour is not finished. On the last day, it will be minutes and minutes,” added Bredewold. And she is right.
With three brutal mountain stages ahead, SD Worx-Protime now has to regroup, refocus, and find a way to take back the lead. Vollering’s fight isn’t over yet, but she’ll need every ounce of determination—and much tighter teamwork—if she’s to claw her way back to the top.
What’s Next: Stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes, 159.2 km from Remiremont to Morteau
Stage 6 is a crucial hilly stage before the riders head into the mountains. Following a major shake-up in Stage 5, this stage promises to be eventful, with the possibility of more changes in the GC standings.
Scattered thunderstorms will add an extra layer of drama while riders maneuver slick roads and tricky descents. Vollering and her team must approach the day cautiously to avoid crashes on the wet descents while being ready to respond to attacks from rivals looking to extend their time gaps.
While Vollering may also conserve energy for the mountains, she must remain alert and stealth as the hilly terrain could create gaps that impact the overall GC making the next two days even more challenging.
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