Blanka Vas emerged victorious in stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes, sprinting to the win from a reduced group in Amnéville. However, the stage was overshadowed by a dramatic crash that saw her teammate, the maillot jaune Demi Vollering, lose significant time and drop out of the overall lead.
The day’s 152-kilometre route from Bastogne to Amnéville featured five categorised climbs, testing the peloton from the outset. Early attacks were frequent but largely unsuccessful until Loes Adegeest finally broke clear after the Côte de Saint-Pancré. She was soon joined by Fem van Empel and Julie Van de Velde, forming a trio that would lead the race for most of the day.
The peloton, controlled by Vas’s team with support from other squads, kept the breakaway in check, reducing their lead to less than a minute as the riders approached the final kilometres. Despite their efforts, the breakaway was almost caught when disaster struck with just over 6km to go. A sharp chicane out of a roundabout led to a mass pile-up, with about 25 riders hitting the ground, including Vollering.
Photo Credit: ASO-Thomas MaheuxVollering’s crash left her clutching her left leg in pain, delaying her by nearly 50 seconds before she could remount. She fought valiantly, assisted by a teammate, but ultimately finished 1:46 down on Vas, dropping her from the race lead.
Meanwhile, at the front, the trio of Adegeest, Van Empel, and Van de Velde were reeled in just before the final sprint, setting the stage for a thrilling finale. Vas, recalling a similar situation from the Olympic road race, knew she couldn’t let Kristen Faulkner escape and closed down the American’s late attack. Despite feeling the strain, she managed to out-sprint Kasia Niewiadoma and Liane Lippert to claim the win.
For Niewiadoma, the second-place finish was enough to seize the yellow jersey from Vollering. The crash also took a toll on others, with Pfeiffer Georgi and Magdeleine Vallières Mill both forced to abandon due to their injuries. Puck Pieterse, who had been second overall and leading the mountains classification, also went down but managed to continue, finishing in a chase group 28 seconds behind Vas.
Vas expressed her mixed emotions following the win: “It’s crazy, I still can’t believe it. I really did not expect this today because I felt so bad during the race. Lorena [Wiebes] said to me, ‘believe in yourself’, and it helped me a lot. My radio was not working, so I did not know what happened at the back. Demi crashed, so we lost yellow, that’s a shame, and now I have mixed feelings.”
She also reflected on the final moments of the race: “In the final, I was like, ‘I cannot let Faulkner go,’ because I did the same mistake in the Olympics. I was suffering so much, but I knew if I survive this small climb, then maybe I can win.”
Niewiadoma acknowledged the difficult circumstances surrounding her taking the yellow jersey: “It’s not how you want to take the yellow jersey in this way, and I hope everyone involved in the crash is okay.”
SD Worx-Protime sports manager Danny Stam summed up the day’s challenges: “I must say, everything looked pretty in control until the last 6k. There was a big crash, and unfortunately, Demi was there. It split up into complete groups, so it was quite hectic.”
With only three stages remaining, the Tour de France Femmes heads into the final mountain stages with Niewiadoma in yellow, 19 seconds ahead of Faulkner, and a determined Vollering looking to regain lost ground.
Photo Credit: ASO-Thomas Maheux2024 Tour de France Femmes Stage 5 result
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